MONTHLY
Dive Local. Dive Safe. Dive Often..
J A N U A R Y
2 0 1 5
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
President/Treasurer:
Derek Wheeler
VP/Secretary:
Jill Hurley
Board Members:
Jeff Haveman
Tom Penninga
Mike Rainwater
Jim Beedell
FIND US
www.grscubaclub.com
6145 Idaho Ave.
Belmont, MI 49306
[email protected]
Facebook
www.ScubaBoard.com
INSIDE
From all of us to all of you, we would like to wish you a healthy and happy new year!!
December Dry
Dive - Jeopardy
2
Holiday Party
Wish List
3
Why Santa
Doesn’t Dive
3
Where Am I?
4
Scuba Swap
5
A big thank you to everyone that brought toys to the December Dry
Dive. We made a “huge” donation to the Toys for Tots Marine
Reserve Program. Your donations were dropped off at The Squire
Newspaper in Rockford on Dec. 2.
Thanks to your generosity, our contributions more than filled their
official container.
We appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity!
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2
December Dry Dive / Scuba Jeopardy
By Jim Beedell
During the last dry dive we had an ultimate tournament of almost 22 competitors for Jeopardy hosted by Jeff Trebek,
aka Jeff Haveman. The following is a not so serious summary of the events. Accuracy is subject to this competitor’s
interpretations of the events and may differ from other participants’ perspectives (but I got to do the write up).
Action during the first round: Team 1 started out slowly and only went downhill from there setting what is believed to
be a GRSC Jeopardy record low. It seemed funny as they knew the answer to every other question except their own
(according to one source). I think they were thrown off by the lack of a buzzer.
Team 2, contrary to rumors of cell phone usage, was on a record setting streak of correct answers until the judges got
together to fix the outcome. The judges started requiring very specific answers to Team 2 questions, like what is the
Latin name of the trout and how many rusty spots did the crayfish have?
Team 3 was stuck in the corner and I’m not sure that they knew the game had started. Somehow, by pure chance,
Trebek was able to pull a correct answer or two from their conversations.
Team 4 was unable to capitalize on the lack of focus of Team 3 and was in last position at the turn. To help the team
out, a bonus player was added to the team for the second round.
During the second round, Trebek was beginning to question the intelligence of the competitors, the question writers,
and the point of this whole game. Team 1 began to climb out of the cellar with some amazing answers, only to have
the ladder pulled out from under them by Team 2 (who refused to be in the red alone). Teamwork began to breakdown as half the team continually tried to pick the 8000 point question, which did not exist. The other half of the team
tried to answer all the questions with “Who is Derek Wheeler?”
Team 2’s monstrous lead from round 1 was quickly decimated as they tried to counteract the judges’ conspiracy by
going conservative. They ended up in the red zone. That's life in the putty knife factory. Team 3, who seemed lost for
the entire first round, all of a sudden “somehow” had a commanding lead by the end of the second round. Team 4,
spurred on by the introduction of the ringer (Deb), was the only team to give Team 3 a run for their money.
Final round: Everyone entered the final jeopardy round determined to have a good time, even though they knew the
fix was in. Trebek took pity on the teams, which were fairly or unfairly in the negative column, by giving them 100 pts
each. As the game spiraled out of control waiting for the final round wager, Trebek requested that we just write down
a number, any number. At this point, it didn’t really matter (not sure if he was talking to the group or a specific team).
Team 1 bet 0 hoping that the charity of Trebek and the total implosion of every other team would lead them to victory
(not a bad plan with this group). Their answer was … not sure why they even answered since they bet 0 … so I didn’t
listen.
Team 2, with morale low and questioning the belief of fair play, wagered something but was unable to come up with an
answer for the severely unfair question. Team members may have been Narced!
Team 4 bet all they had hoping to put it out of touch for all other teams. However, the only thing that was out of touch
(with reality) was their wrong answer – something like “ abba dabbi.”
Team 3, having bet a portion of the amount that was given to them, was the only one with an answer even close and
was declared the winner.
The winners left with cash, gold and amazing prizes.
All joking aside, everyone had a good time and maybe learned a few things. We got to meet some new members and
joke around with friends. We hope to see you at the Holiday Party.
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3
Holiday Party
We hope you will join us on Saturday, January
17, at the Walker Sportsman’s Club. Your
official invitation will be sent separately, but
here’s a rundown of the event.
Arbor Circle HBP Wish List:
Crayons, coloring books, child safe scissors, white
coloring paper, Arts and Craft Supplies, Stickers
GRSC will provide the main dish, water & pop,
but we ask that you bring a dish to pass.
Board Games, Card Games, Mazes, Puzzles,
Crossword Books, Bands for making bracelets
Since it’s always a big hit, we will be having
another white elephant gift exchange. Let’s be
creative!
Ball pump, jump ropes, frisbees, small toys/ trinkets
Once again we are partnering with Arbor Circle,
Home Based Programs. If you plan to attend the
party, we are asking that you to bring any item(s)
from the following list:
First Aid Kit, gloves for handling food, non-perishable
food (graham crackers, waffle cones, frosting, pretzels, microwave popcorn, crystal light
A complete list will be attached to your invitation
Once you receive your official invitation to the Holiday Party, don’t forget to send
in your RSVP by January 15.
You can email us at:
[email protected]
The reasons Santa Claus doesn't dive
●
●
●
●
●
He's jolly enough without getting narced.
He hates it when his dry suit leaks and his fuzzy red woolies get wet
Still mourning the mysterious disappearance of his dive buddy, Frosty
the Snowman, while diving in the Bahamas.
Rudolph's nose shorts out under water.
Have you tried to get 32 fins on little reindeer feet.
PAGE
4
Where am I?
All floors are decks, walls are bulkheads, ceilings are overheads, stairs are ladders,
ropes are line and the wheel is the helm. Any ideas where you are? This is the
terminology of the seagoing vessel.
The front of the boat is referred to as the bow, a term that comes from the old German
word meaning "to bend or to curve". The bow area is also called the head and that's why
the ship's toilet is often called the head, because it is located up front. The back of the
boat is called the stern, from the Norse word "stijorn" meaning to steer because the
rudder is located at the rear of the vessel. The term rudder itself comes from Old
English, rodeo meaning to row, but the steering board was not always hooked on the
stern. When one stands at the rear of the vessel, looking forward, the right side is called
starboard. This name actually has nothing to do with the stars but rather steor bord, from
the Old English, meaning steer board as early ships had a steering board attached to the
right side. The left side of the ship was once called the larboard, probably from the word
lade, which meant to load, because the ship needed to dock by the larboard side due to
the position of the steering board on early ships. Later, in order to prevent nautical
confusion, larboard became known as port. The term port comes from the French
"porter" meaning to carry and "porte" (a door) because there was a door on the larboard
side through which the cargo was loaded onto the ship. The porthole, the ship's window,
originally was the opening through which guns fired upon enemy ships.
As nautical people, we exhibit caution by giving any potential hazard a wide berth. To
probe a problem we still sound it out and knowing the ropes shows sophistication. A
surprise on the seas will leave a maritime person "taken back" which is to have the wind
confuse the crew, striking the sails in the opposite direction. In desperate straights, maritime jargon calls it "being at the bitter end". This is the very last piece of the anchor line
that is available at windlass. Thus, is a ship is riding out a gale in a treacherous stretch
of water with no more line left to pay out, the ship and crew are indeed in trouble when
at the bitter end. The term "fathom" comes to us from Old English and meant "to encircle with extended arms". The total length of a person's outstretched arms was determined to be roughly six feet. Thus, Samuel Langhorn Clemens got his pen name of
"Mark Twain" from the Mississippi riverboats that needed eight to ten feet of water underneath them for smooth sailing. The leadsman would sing out the depths while in shallow water. The second mark on the lead line was the "mark twain" indicating two fathoms, thus assuring the steamboat safe passage. An American Indian word (scoon-to
slide quickly) was used to label the fast, new sailboat design the schooner that was first
constructed in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1721. Later, about 1858, the covered wagon
was called the prairie schooner due to it's large canvas top.
Hopefully, now or in the future, when aboard a dive boat you will be an informed diver
knowing to enter the water from the back of the boat when the divemaster says to go to
the stern. The term landlubber need not be a term applied to you anymore.
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5
OUR SPONSORS
Scuba Swap
It is time to get this
thing going again!
If you have anything
you would like to add
to this list, please email Jeff at [email protected]
Also, please let Jeff
know if you sell your
item, or would like it
removed for any reason.
Middle Island
Keepers' Lodge
Items For Sale:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------EVO Hooded Vest,
Size Large, $20.
Scuba Pro .5 mil
full length Rash
Guard, Size Large,
$30.
Contact Gary at
616-669-1265 or
[email protected]
This is a portion of our newsletter that will
be posted each month. If you have any
items you want to buy or sell, or are looking
for something specific, just let us know.