Hello Aqua Tutus,
Thanks to Laura Gill for her presentation on the work of the
Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. I had no idea they provided medical care for such a wide range of marine mammal sizes and the research they're doing to learn how to treat their patients even better.
For the club's general meeting on June 4, our past president Neil Benjamin will talk about and show photos from his trip to the Philippines earlier this year. Club treasurer Helga Mahlmann has agreed to lead the meeting on my behalf since I'll be one of many club members flying to the Philippines that night.
As I write this, the next club dives are Saturday, May 30 at
Wharf 2 Club Dive - 5/30/2026 in Monterey and the
Club dive - 6/7/2026 somewhere along Northern California's coast near Salt Point State Park. Vice president Dan Wilcox is serving as point of contact for the first dive and Sofia Krasovskaya is point of contact for the second dive. If you plan to join one or both dives, please click the event's hyperlink and register. To get the most up-to-date information, check out each dive's forum in our website's
Club Dive Forum.
Speaking of Sofia, I'm pleased to announce she's accepted the club's director of social media position. She's already begun posting to the club's
Facebook page and is setting up an Instagram page as well. You check out her photos and help her publicize the club by posting comments on her posts and posting yourself on Facebook and other social media platforms.
In the May General Meeting, I heard deer-in-the-headlights silence about planning for this year's holiday party in December. Director of Training Dennis Hocker contacted the club's traditional venue, La Cabana, and was quoted a price of $30/person (tax included, but not tip) for up to 30 people if we have the party in Newark's La Cabana Mexican Restaurant's back room on December 12th. If that offer sounds palatable (pun intended) to you, email
board@aquatutus.org to let us know.
If possible, please attend the June general meeting, so you can vote to determine the club's board members at large. Thanks to Derek Suring, Linday Martin, and Giuseppe Ciaravino for serving this past year.
I hope to see lots of you at the Wharf 2 dive, and many of you at SFO on June 4th for the flight to Manila.
Warmly,
Jim Driggers
Club president