January 5, 2007
Hello all. Friday night's meeting, the first Blackbeard's meeting of 2007, was a huge success. We had well over 30 people attend to enjoy Greg McFall's presentation. Ryan opened the meeting by welcoming everyone. He then gave an overview of the club and explained some of the benefits of membership for first time visitors and those new to the club. Some of the points he highlighted were the Websites (www.scubamarketusa.com and www.georgiaoffshore.com), training available through the shop, club trips, and club participation in the Ocean Film Festival and handicap scuba classes. Membership also includes a membership card which can be used at Georgia Offshore for a 10% discount! Ryan also set the February meeting as tentatively being scheduled again at Tony Roma's. Please check the site before the next meeting to ensure there is no change.
The treasurer's report was next with Mike filling in for Brooks who was unable to attend. Mike reported that the club started with $323 dollars. After expenses of $146 (which included purchasing a new presentation screen for the club), the club balance stands at $178.
Mike also mentioned club tee shirts are available at the shop and brought up possibly bringing some shirts to meetings in the future for purchase. Proceeds from the sale of these shirts benefits the club.
Mike outlined the club's first trip for 2007. The trip is scheduled to depart Georgia Offshore at 7pm on March 9th. The bus will take us to Epcot for a Dive Quest dive on March 10th. We will then go to Crystal River for a March 11th snorkel with the manatees. Their may also be a spring dive available after the manatee snorkel. The trip is looking to cost about $325 which covers the bus, hotel, dive and snorkel. The cost of enjoying Epcot before the dive is optional and will be paid individually at the park. The possible spring dive would also be optional and paid individually. Mike stated that there are only four Dive Quest slots left open. There are additional non-dive slots still available, but if you want to dive the Epcot tank, let Mike or Ryan know as soon as possible.
In old business, Bob Jackson reminded everyone of Aaron's quarry in Hinesville. With a max depth of 25', a platform at 15', and easy availability, the quarry is a great benefit to club members to check out new equipment and do refresher dives.
In new business, Mike reminded everyone that, as this is a new year, it's time for dues. Membership is $20, or $30 for a family membership.
Greg McFall, of Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary was next. He presented a great photographic display he termed, "The Gray's Reef You've Never Seen." Most of the stunning photography captured by Greg was macro photography. It brought to life those miniscule wonders so often overlooked by divers. He brought us up close and personal with some of the sanctuary's most beautiful and amazing creatures. A big thanks goes out to Greg for his presentation and support of our club. What a way to start the year off.
Lastly, Michael Jordan announced that his television documentary, "Blue, White, and Red," will air on Channel 3 (NBC) from 7-9pm Saturday January 13th. It is about life on a French aircraft carrier and how it compares to life on an American aircraft carrier. Looks to be a good show, so make sure to tune in or set up the Tivo.
October 6, 2006
We had a good turn out at the October meeting. The meeting started out with the Vice President talking about where the club stands. The treasurer was able to get a non-profit account with Wachovia. Membership cards are almost ready to be handed out to members. With the membership card, a member is able to get one free tank fill and a 10% discount of items at Georgia Offshore / Scuba-Market USA. Issues with membership dues were also mentioned. At the next meeting we will be taking a vote on payment of membership dues. One plan mentioned was that members who paid during the 1st 6 months of the year will have to pay again during the first of the year when membership fees are due, while members who paid during the last 6 months of the year will not have to pay again next year. This issue will be brought up again at the next meeting and discussed.
The handicap class was a success. 5 members was certified in the course. It was mentioned that they need a little more practice and they will be ready to start getting candidates for the course. The club is looking for some military candidates to take the class. The discover scuba class went very well. 14 boy scouts went through the class and did very good. Everyone enjoyed the class and it was a huge success. It was mentioned that we need to get together more discover scuba courses. The Ocean film festival went well. Mr. McFall thanked everyone that volunteered. The club will volunteer again next year.
Future events were mentioned. Around the 2nd week in November 10-12, there will be a scubabus trip to West Palm Beach. It will be around 4 dives. Also Sunday October 8, there will be a dive at a quary, ~25ft deep, in Hinesville all members are welcomed to come. They are going to meet at the Walmart in Hinesville then head to the dive site.
The next dive meeting is going to be at someone's house. We will be having our end of the year party. It is going to be a low country boil. People are asked to bring their favorite side dishes and pictures of the club's activities. It is going to be November 3 around 6-6:30pm.
September 1, 2006
At our September meeting, we had speakers come from the dolphin watch to tell us about their program and about their studies of bottlenose dolphins in the GA and SC area.
We also discussed the setup for the Handicap scuba course and the Discover scuba class that we will be having later this month. The Ocean film festival was brought up and information was given to those that volunteered.
A future trip was mentioned. We are planning to take a scubabus trip to West Palm Beach in November.
The next meeting will be held October 6 at 7:30 pm in the Pirate's House.
August 4, 2006
The August meeting was a smaller one than usual with a lot of members on dive trips from the Fl Keys to North Carolina. But thank you to all those that did make it and hope for a great turn out in September.
Thank you to Danny Gleason from Ga. Southern for his excellent presentation on there studies of Georgia's Gray's Reef NMS. His knowledge and passion for his work really came through.
The treasurer's report showed us to have $610 in club funds. Now that we have the paperwork back for Blackbeard's incorporation, our money will be put into a special account for non profits at Wachovia.
In old business, the incorporation of the club as Blackbeard's Scuba Club Inc. is complete which will open up many doors for us now that we are a true non profit. A company will be decided on and an order placed for our new t-shirts this month. The handicap scuba course will be coming up in September or October depending on participation. Keep an eye on the 'scuba instruction' section under the forums for more info. Upcoming trips will be posted as they are planned. No more bus trips are scheduled until maybe in November depending on the hurricane season. Springs trips and Jax trips are always running though so keep looking for posts.
In new business, the end of the year party is coming up on Friday, November 3. We all need to be thinking about where we can hold the event and what we want on the menu. Whatever is left over in the clubs funds will go towards the cost. The film festival is next month and opportunities will be available for the club to get involved in helping out. The times and date of the festival and those opportunity's will be posted soon.
We hope everyone can join us for next month's meeting at The Pirate's House at 7:30.
July 7, 2006
Thanks to Scott for his presentation on the CSS Moniter Expedition. It was interesting to find out that the Civil War vessel, Moniter, was the first of its kind to be made entirely out of iron. Scott pointed out to the members that one of the major features of the Moniter was that it had a rotating turret. Previously a ship would have to rotate around to fire on an opponent with the rotating turret a ship could be in any position and fire. Scott also had a slideshow, which allowed us to take a look at the Moniter in 240 feet of water. Overall the presentation was wonderful.
Also brought up at the meeting was the ocean film festival. Members were reminded to help participate in the festival in September. Greg Mcfall also mentioned that the video clip of the anchor ledge was sent to a historian. The historian said it could have been the Oconee but believes it might be from a larger ship. The Oconee displaces 460 tons, but based off the size of the anchor it would be more appropriate for a ship that displaces 1200 tons.
Some of the old business this month was to determine where we are going to purchase our shirts. Some ideas mentioned was to have bids or have a shirt done up by the companies and see which one is better. The non-profit paperwork was turned in and the check cleared. An article should be placed in the paper soon to find out if there is another Blackbeard's Scuba Club.
Another thing brought up by the club was the idea to have a spearfishing tournament. The details are still be working out but it would be a good way to bring some good divers together and get our name known.
Recent trips were discussed and can be found in the forum. While members mentioned about getting a query so new divers can get more experience diving. Next month's big trip is the 3-6 in August and will be to Moorhead in N.C.
June 2, 2006
Thanks to all of you that joined us for our June club meeting at The Pirates' House. We had a good turn out for our speaker of the evening, Aaron Duncan, who is one of our talented instructors at Ga. Offshore. He did a continuing education class on the causes of anxiety divers face and how to combat it. It was a very informative presentation that everyone got something out of.
The treasurer report showed us to have $814 in the club budget. The secretary's report said we have three new members this month that have paid. Also paying of club dues was mentioned as a reminder to potential members that haven't paid. In old business filling for our non-profit status is done and the paper work is sent off. We will be Blackbeard's Scuba Club Inc. now and be listed as a nonprofit organization.
Upcoming trips were discussed and can be found under the scuba trips section. Look out for day trips to Jacksonville being posted during the summer. The clubs officers will be spending the day on the NOAA ship Nancy Foster on Wed. 06/07 to observe there scientist at work researching Grays Reef. Also, Blackbeard's will be involved with a reef clean up sponsored by NOAA on 06/11.
Changing of the time we meet from 8p to 7:30p was voted on and passed to allow for an earlier departure. Also, the ordering of more club t-shirts was voted on and passed. This money goes toward the club budget. In new business, members discussed some recent dives. The July 7 club meeting will be held at The Pirates' House and we are trying to get Greg McFall back to give a presentation on there findings from this years Grays Reef research. Hope to see you there.
May 5, 2006
Some ideas for future trips were mentioned this meeting. One of the ideas was to go to Gray's Reef and do some diving sometime in August if there are no hurricanes. Another thing mentioned was changing the Bonaire trip to a trip to South Africa and dive with great white sharks.
We will have a vote at the next meeting to decide whether to change the meeting time from 8:00pm to 7:00pm. The club has also repaid the the club's debt to the scuba shop.
The treasurer mentioned creating an application form for membership including emergency numbers and a record of receipts. Also, there is an interest in creating membership cards and a waiver for club members.
The next meeting will be held on June 2nd at the Pirates house at 8:00pm.
April 7, 2006
During this meeting, we voted on our club charter. There were no objections to the charter, so it will now become official. The charter will be sent to the Secretary of State. We are now in the process of incorporating our club into a non-profit organization.
Future club trips were also discussed. The North Carolina trip will be a scuba bus trip with a couple of the dives at a U-boat. The Florida keys trip will start at Biscayne and end at Isle Morada. Anyone interested in the Bonaire trip can go to Georgia Offshore for more information. The reservation deadline for the West Palm Beach trip is April 14.
Greg McFall gave a wonderful presentation on Gray's Reef and NOAA's purpose there. You can view the presentation's information here. He mentioned some ways the local divers can get involved in helping Gray's Reef. Some of the ways divers can help is to get involved in the volunteer core. They will also need volunteers during the ocean film festival to help set it up and people to go and see it. The ocean film festival this year will be around September 24. The best way to help the sanctuary and NOAA is just to spread the word about Gray's Reef.
Our next meeting will be May 5. The time and location will be anounced soon.
March 3, 2006
The meeting began with a refresher class about dive tables given by Shannon McAteer. You can view the class notes here. After the class he mentioned that people who are interested in the handicap buddy course can view information about it in a folder located at Georgia Offshore. The plan is to get 4-6 people certified then find a person. To join the course, you will have to purchase a book and have 35 logged dives.
From this meeting on, every club meeting will be held of the first friday of the month. Members are asked to read over the club charter and voice their opinions on the club forum or at the meeting next month. We will vote on the charter again next month. The papers for incorporating the club as a non-profit organization will also be brought.
Next month, we will have Greg McFall giving a presentation about Gray's Reef. It will cover what is at Gray's Reef, why it is there, what is NOAA's role there. We will also have the Z2 Atomic Aquatics Regulator Raffle.
The meeting will be held at Pirate's House in downtown Savannah on April 7 at 7:00 PM
February 17, 2006
The issue about which bank to use was voted on and the club decided to use Wachovia. Captain Bob said he will bring the paperwork to incorporate the club as a nonprofit oraganiztion. It was decided to hold the club meetings the first friday of the month.
Several events were mentioned. We plan to have a Discover scuba class in March. There will be a Scuba Bus Trip in West Palm Beach, around April 21-23. Around May 20, there will be a one day trip to Jacksonville. Around June 29 - July 2, there will be a Florida Keys trip. In July after a Springs trip, there will be a trip to the Gulf Coast. In August, there will be a North Carolina trip. In September, we plan to have a trip to Bonaire.
Next meeting, March 3, the club will have a class session at Georgia Offshore at 7:00PM. Shannon McAteer will be teaching about dive tables. After the class session we will head over to Steamers.
The April 7 meeting we will have our guest speaker from NOAA and also the Atomic Aquatic regulator drawing. It will be held at the Pirate's House.
January 20, 2006
We discussed several things at this meeting begining with funds. Our Treasurer is searching banks for the best checking for our current funds. There was also discussion about ways to generate funds such as more raffles and car washes. It was also decided that members will pay annual dues. It will be $20 for and individual membership or $30 for immediate family membership. These dues will be used toward active members with a big trip or cookout and the dues will also go toward good causes. To be considered an active member, you cannot miss more than 3 consecutive meetings and you must pay your annual dues. Exceptions will be made for members that are in active military or live extremely far off.
Some future trips that were mentioned was a diving trip to North Carolina and another to Florida. On the North Carolina trip, divers will be diving on a German U-Boat in depths of 120-130 feet. It will be required that divers have advanced certification. The Florida trip will be to the Keys. Possibly a wreck tour with 3 days diving with a minimum of 6 dives total. Around September/October the club will try to hold another big trip. The current place suggestion is Bonaire. Eventually the club will hold trip farther away from here such as South Africa. Plans for these trips will be from 3-5 years from now but maybe have a payment schedule where you can pay it off in two years prior to trip.
We had a speaker and fellow member come to this meeting. Shannon McAteer, a Naui and Padi Master Instructor Trainer, talked to us about future technical classes he will be doing such as, Decompression techniques and Heliox. He will also be teaching sometime next year, cavern and cave diving. Shannon made excellent suggestions for the club such as free continuing education. It will be taught on a quarterly bases. One of our fellow members will pick a diving subject that they enjoyed or had troubles on and research it. They will bring their findings to the club and give a lecture on it. This will be a perfect way to keep our members learning and increasing their knowledge about diving which helps us to become better divers. Another suggestion Shannon made is a pro bono handicapped scuba buddy course for active members. After members have been certified, the club will go out and find handicapped to give to course to free or at cost. So far the club seems to agree that the best candidates for this is soldiers that have been injured in the war. It will be one of the clubs best ways of giving back to the community. Hopefully through this the club will be able to get some recognition through the news and possibly find some sponsers. Also it will be a way to get our heros diving and show them that there is still ways to have fun even though they are handicapped. Another way to become more active in our community is to do a discover scuba class for the community and our friends who are interested. We can also hold discover classes for the club such as, discover rebreather or two tank.
What will be held next month? We will have NOAA's manager Greg McFall giving a presentation of Gray's Reef and NOAA. We will also be having the Atomic Aquatics regulater's raffle drawing. Also prior to nexts month meeting, our members need to read our charter marking problems they see with it and bring these issues to next month's meeting. We will discuss these issues make changes where needed then vote to ratify our charter in order to incorporate our club. We will also be discussing creating a club calendar with a list of all the clubs meeting dates. We will also be deciding to change the current meeting date of the 3rd Friday to some earlier Friday in the month. Next's month's meeting location and date will be posted on the forums.
Future meetings: March we will have a Continuing Ed. class on dive tables. The club will meet at 7 pm at Georgia Offshore then we will go over to Steamers to eat.
We held elections at this meeting. Ryan Johnson was elected President. Mike Mullenix was elected Vice President. Megan Bunkley was elected Secretary. Brooks Phillips was elected Treasurer. It was decided that there will not be a meeting held in December due to the holidays. The next meeting will be held in January. The cub will also start using active and inactive membership. A person who misses 3 meetings will be considered an inactive member and they will not get any of the benefits from the club's funds. Some of the other things discussed in the meeting is about more ways the club can get involved with the community and diving. Some of the ideas mentioned was having speakers, such as officals from NOAA, talk at the meeting, do a discover scuba class, and do a Gray's Reef clean-up. Also mentioned was future trips the club could take. Some trips mentioned was one to Crystal River after the first of the year. There are pictures of Crystal River in the gallery. Another trip mentioned was one to Jacksonville. A two dive boat trip would cost around $65. The west palm beach trip is still going on almost every month. Last months divers enjoyed the trip. The club will have to decide where to go to for the next major trip. One suggestion was Bonaire. The club will also start hosting fundraisers. One idea was a fund raiser for cancer. The next meeting will be held in January at Cory's restaurant in Richmond Hill between Interstate 95 and Hwy 17 on 144. It serves pizza, hot wings, and subs.
In the meeting, the scuba bus trip to West Palm Beach Trip was discussed. The trip is close to having enough people to go down there. Due to the Curacao trip, we will be holding the metting one week early. Some of the other things discussed was new places for open water students. A group was going to Troy Springs to check it out. We will also be holding elections for leadership positions at our next meeting. So it is important for all members to attend. It was decided that we will meet at Skyer's again for the next meeting.
In the meeting, we discussed the West Palm Beach Trip that is going to be held in November. We also started the raffle of the Atomic Regulator. The raffle will be held up through December. We decided to meet at Skyler's for the nest meeting.
