NVD Upcoming Events:

April 21, 2012:  Whale watching.  Location, time and cost TBD within the next week.

June 15,16, 17, 2012:  NVD Abalone Campout to be held at either Salt Point State Park or Ocean Cove Campground.  Come camp with us or come up for a day.  Location TBD.

Monterey diving is in the planning stages.

Contact any Board Member or stacey@napavalleydivers for more information.

Come join us at the next NVD club meeting for a very interesting speaker!   Our guest speaker will be, Dave Kendall, who is a member of the State of California, Caltrans “Structures Maintenance and Inspections Dive Team”.  Federal law requires that bridges be inspected every five years, and this elite team of commercial divers and engineers inspect the underwater sections of 150 California bridges per year.  Dave has been diving for 20 years, teaching for 15 years, performing underwater inspections for 11 years, and dove for Solano County Search and Recovery for several years.

The next Napa Valley Divers monthly club meeting will be on November 14, 2011, at Filippi’s Pizza Grotto, 645 1st Street, Napa, 707-254-9700.  Dinner (Dutch Treat) begins at 6:00pm and the club meeting will start at 7:00pm.

Good friends with great fellowship.  Incredible and abundant food – including four different abalone dishes on Saturday evenings potluck.   Sunshine including some sunburns.  Fun times.  Decent ocean conditions.  29 abalone taken for the weekend.  Life does not get much better!!!  That summarizes the abalone campout at Ocean Cove Campground on August 26-28, 2011.  Vis was low, so we canceled the dive at Gerstle Cove Preserve.  Club members and non-members came for one night, both nights or just for the day on Saturday.  Everyone was welcome, and everyone is looking forward to the next trip!  A big thank you to Ken and Teresa L. for the incredible job they did to organize this trip and to provide the boat for Saturday’s diving adventures.

Saturday morning abalone dive adventure.

Cleaning Station – Jon, Keith & Sonya.

Kent, Jon, Bruce, Sonya and Pamela.

Game time.  Ty (yellow lab), Ryan, Colleen, Stacey, Jennifer and Jim.

Abalone pounding.  Stacey, Ken, Kent and Bruce.

Sonya preparing the abalone for her world famous abalone cakes.

The line begins for abalone cakes……everyone is in awe of the preparation….

Preparing crab and ribs.  Colleen, Ryan, Jennifer, Jim and Stacey.

Saturday evening potluck – including 4 different recipes of abalone, ribs, crab and then rum cake for dessert.

Saturday night potluck.

Saturday night potluck.  Good friends.  Great food.  An incredible time together.

July 16, 2011  Napa Valley Divers Movie Night:  A fun night at Jon & Sonya N. home for movie night.  Jon and Sonya will provide tri-trip and chicken.  Arrive at 7:00pm and bring a side dish to share, your favorite beverage, a sweater and a chair.  The movie will begin around 8:45pm and the club will provide popcorn.  You can get the address of the location by contacting any Board member:  craig@napavalleydivers.com, terryz@napavalleydivers.com, becky@napavalleydivers.com or terrys@napavalleydivers.com.  It is requested that you RSVP by Friday, July 15, 2011.

Join Napa Valley Divers for the second abalone camping trip for 2011.  Ken and Teresa L. will be our hosts on August 26-28, 2011, at the Ocean Cove Campground, just south of Salt Point State Park.  Plans are being made to secure the group campground and it is hopeful that we will have two dive boats to use.  The NVD Salt Point State Park Gerstle Cove Preserve dive has been changed to August 27 and has been combined with this abalone camp out.  We will drive up to Salt Point State Park for the Gerstle Cove Preserve dive(s) on Saturday.  Come up for the day or come camp with us.  For information contact: keith@napavalleydivers.com or any Board member.

The weather may have not been the best….but it did not stop NVD from having an incredible and fun time at Salt Point State Park for the Abalone Camp Out.  A total of 11 abalone taken for the weekend and fantastic group dinners on Friday and Saturday nights.  Click on images to enlarge.

 

Pam relaxing by the camp fire.

Keith preparing abalone.

Sonya preparing her abalone cakes.

Keith and Pam cooking abalone.

Preparing Friday night's dinner. Jon, Sonya, Katie, Keith and Pam.

Sonya with her famous abalone cakes -soooo yummy!

Friday night dinner - Jon, Sonya, Pam, Keith, Bill and Katie - Joan taking the photo. Abalone steaks and abalone cakes were the main course for the meal - with left overs for Jim and Stacey when they arrived later that evening.

Saturday night dinner - Keith, Pam, Stacey, Jon, Jim, Bill, Katie and Joan.

Saturday night dinner - abalone, tri-tip, sauteed vegetables, curry over rice, vegetables, garlic bread, Caesar salad, pasta salad, wine, margaritas - we ate incredibly well!! All under the NVD canopy that kept us dry all the time.

Saturday morning - Stillwater Cove

Stacey with her pink ab float.

Join Napa Valley Divers on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe for the Labor Day Weekend.  Host/coordinators will be NVD club members, Randy and Becky Fitt (also owners of Adventures-Downunder).  Randy, a PADI Master SCUBA diver trainer, will be providing instruction in Open Water, Advanced Open Water, as well as Adventure Dives  To sign up for SCUBA classes, you can contact Randy at randyfitt@comcast.net .  You can also plan your own diving activities or just join us to enjoy the Tahoe area.  Accommodations are being coordinated at the Cedar Glen Lodge, which offers a variety of rooms and cabins, as well as a pool, spa and BBQ area.  Contact Becky Fitt at rebeccamoorefitt@comcast.net, who is coordinating rooms for us at the Cedar Glen Lodge.  You can also contact Randy or Becky at 707-255-6030.  Other nearby accommodations are available, as well as campgrounds for tents and RVs.  Book your rooms soon, as they will fill up for the holiday weekend.  For additional information: contact keith@napavalleydivers.com or any NVD Board member.

AMTRAK TO RENO ON THE CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR
May 14 & 15 OR May 21 & 22 (TBD by response)
Join Napa Valley Divers for a fun weekend adventure on the California Zephyr!  We will combine efforts (potluck) for drinks and food on the train and enjoy the amazing journey through the snow-covered Sierra Nevada.  Once in Reno we can gamble and catch a show or concert.  Are you a party animal???  You can choose to get a room or stay up all night and sleep on the train coming home!  Hotels within walking distance of the Amtrak station include Harrah’s, Eldorado, Silver Legacy, and Golden Phoenix.

The train departs the Davis station (DAV) at 10:36am on Saturday and arrives Reno (RNO) at 4:06pm.  The return train departs Reno (RNO) at 8:36am Sunday (subject to delay!) and arrives Davis (DAV) at 2:44pm.  Everyone is responsible for making their own reservations.  Make your reservations either online at www.amtrak.com or by calling 1-800-872-7245.
Round-trip adult fare is $84.00 (AAA discount of 10% or Senior discount of 15% available!).  Once you have your reservations, please contact Pam Reuter for further trip coordination!
pamela@napavalleydivers.com or 707-321-4119

June 4  – 5, 2011   Abalone and Camping Trip Salt Point State Park in the Woodside Campground.  Come camping with us, or come up for the day on Saturday to hang out in the campground.  Reservations at www.ReserveAmerica.com.  You need to reserve your camping sight early!  For additional information, contact: keith@napavalleydivers.com