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drbill's Content

There have been 23 items by drbill (Search limited from 04-May 23)


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#305705 Diving With Great Whites At Guadalupe Island Outside Cages

Posted by drbill on 11 January 2013 - 10:48 PM in News Bites

Geez... I dive outside a cage with great whites frequently... but usually I just don't know they are there. We had a number of GWS sightings off Catalina this summer, mostly munching on sea lions but also one munched on a stand-up paddleboard (the young girl was bounced off it but climbed on board another one safe and sound). We had a recent sighting my a GUE friend of mine (Steve Millington) at 160 fsw off Ship Rock. He told me it looked as big as a school bus. I had one swim by me a few years ago according to my dive buddy Wyland... but of course I didn't get to see it because it snuck behind me!


#305704 Is it time for a "No Frills" down and cheap trip?

Posted by drbill on 11 January 2013 - 10:41 PM in Trip Suggestions

I've never been one to pamper myself if I can find a safe, inexpensive way to dive more places around the globe.


#305703 SingleDivers.com Featured on Atocha

Posted by drbill on 11 January 2013 - 10:39 PM in Claim To Fame

Mel Fisher? The same guy who plundered the wreck of the Valiant off my hometown? Grrr.


#305702 Trip Report: Cuba: Jardines de la Reina

Posted by drbill on 11 January 2013 - 10:38 PM in Your Trip Reports

Whew... glad it wasn't Catalina Island's great white steam ship the Avalon! It sank years ago.

Now that travel restrictions are being eased for Cubans, maybe our government will start allowing US citizens more leeway to go there. I've heard from friends that the diving is great. After all, for whatever else he is, Castro was a SCUBA diver and Jacques-Yves Cousteau apparently was impressed by him.


#305701 Merry Christamas Everyone...

Posted by drbill on 11 January 2013 - 10:34 PM in Let's have some Holiday Fun!

I spent it at my son's house playing with my 2 1/2 year old granddaughter, but went back to the island before my newest granddaughter was born Dec 31st (just in time to be a tax deduction as my son hoped)


#305700 Would like to see a Bahamas trip for 2013

Posted by drbill on 11 January 2013 - 10:33 PM in Trip Suggestions

Too bad I wasn't following this earlier since I'm heading to the Bahamas at the end of the month. Would have been fun to join you instead.


#305699 I've Been Missing But You Can Read Them Still

Posted by drbill on 11 January 2013 - 10:29 PM in The World Aquarium

Due to time constraints the past year (2012), I haven't been on line near as much as I used to be. I was diving (a total of 326 dives last year despite only being able to dive for 8+ months). Therefore my scintillating, thought provoking, censor attracting "Dive Dry with Dr. Bill" newspaper columns have not been posted here regularly. However, all 520 of them are archived on my web site for those intersted in the marine life of kelp forests. Just bookmark this web page: http://www.starthrow...DDDB/column.htm


#303641 Lift the ban on commercial and recreational fishing of great whites?

Posted by drbill on 13 October 2012 - 09:40 AM in News Bites

Back in June we had a GWS take a sea lion just outside the dive park boundary line (nice of it to respect the line!). Last month a sea lion with its left rear flipper and a big chunk of its hind end missing swam into the harbor. Yesterday a sea lion surface right by the dive park steps with several big chunks taken out of its body. Yep, the landlord has been active here lately.


#303640 I sometimes like to dive alone....

Posted by drbill on 13 October 2012 - 09:27 AM in Technical Diving

I dive alone. After 50 years of doing it, I feel pretty comfortable when diving familiar sites. I do carry a redundant air source though. When diving in new areas, I dive with a buddy. A few years back I calculated my incident frequency diving solo and diving with a buddy. The rate while diving with a buddy was 17 times higher than when diving solo (and only one of the solo incidents was potentially life threatening... due to equipment failure, a clogged valve, and brain failure, diving without my redundant air source).

However I do NOT advocate solo diving to anyone else. Not my job. IMHO one of the most important things you need to know about whether you are ready to dive solo is how you respond to emergency situations. If you are cool headed, then maybe; if you panic, don't bother.


#303639 I have or have not dove alone...

Posted by drbill on 13 October 2012 - 09:21 AM in Technical Diving

My first dive back in the winter of 1961-62 was solo... because we only had one set of gear. The vast majority of my dives since then have been solo, largely because buddies were not available or diving with a buddy distracts me from the focus of my diving... underwater videography or research. I've been diving Catalina waters for 43 years now so I'm pretty familiar with the sites I dive. However, when I dive sites in new destinations, I always dive with a buddy.

While diving solo I almost always have a redundant air source (pony bottle).


#301824 Hello

Posted by drbill on 28 July 2012 - 10:14 AM in New to SingleDivers.com or Returning?

Good for you. Enjoy your new activity. If you're ever out at the Casino Pt. Dive Park, feel free to stop by the Dr. Bill Mobile (golf cart) and say hello.


#301823 Lift the ban on commercial and recreational fishing of great whites?

Posted by drbill on 28 July 2012 - 10:12 AM in News Bites

We've been seeing what may be a resurgence of great white activity along our coast recently. It's THEIR world and if we enter it as bathers or divers, we need to recognize that. The post-"Jaws" hysteria with GWS being killed all over the world was sad. Let's not return to those days. Of course here in SoCal I believe there has only been one diver death due to GWS in the last 50 years. Of course I don't surf, paddleboard or do ocean swimming over "deep" water!!


#301822 What bugs you about being single?

Posted by drbill on 28 July 2012 - 10:07 AM in Topics Related to being SINGLE!

One thing that USED to bug me about being single was that so many would continue to ask "When are you going to get married?" I think my parents gave up on this well before they died... at least I gave them a grandson (and Mom a great-granddaughter). I would smile when a friend or acquaintance would ask this question shortly after they talked about their marital problems. I guess misery loves company.

Of course I'd still consider marriage.... but not for procreation. Been there, done that. As I "mature" (fat chance), the idea of company is a pleasant one.. as long as she dives as much as I do.


#301223 Now Network News Story=16' Great White Shark Inshore Beach Cape Cod, MA

Posted by drbill on 10 July 2012 - 09:25 AM in The World Aquarium

We have a few roaming around nearshore off Catalina. So far they haven't mistaken me for a sea lion!


#301191 Happy Birthday to Bill aka drbill

Posted by drbill on 09 July 2012 - 10:05 AM in The Birthday Club

It was great seeing my son, DIL and granddaughter. Little Allison saw me from the window and ran to the door yelling "Papa Bill! Papa Bill!" Priceless.

Have been busy diving so I haven't logged on in a while. Did 30 dives in May and 50 in June. Fewer this month because I'm doing a monitoring job for two straight weeks with only occasional diving involved.


#301190 Quantas Airlines in trouble....

Posted by drbill on 09 July 2012 - 10:03 AM in Travel Tips

If they are still flying those ancient 747s, maybe fuel costs are a big part of the reason. A shame, of course, but there are other carriers that serve Down Under (at least from "Lost" Angeles).


#301189 Separated, divorce pending, divorce final...

Posted by drbill on 09 July 2012 - 09:58 AM in Topics Related to being SINGLE!

Never been married so never been divorced. In general I date women only after the divorce is final, although I've made exceptions for ladies that I knew were just separated but very serious about completing the divorce process. Then again, in my youth during the 70s I dated one that had few thoughts of divorcing her current husband. Shame!


#301187 There are no mermaids: US government

Posted by drbill on 09 July 2012 - 09:55 AM in News Bites

Curses... all these decades I've been searching for something that doesn't exist? Oh, wait... it's the government telling us this. Never mind.


#300416 Happy Birthday to Bill aka drbill

Posted by drbill on 12 June 2012 - 10:57 AM in The Birthday Club

Thanks. For once I'm not diving on my birthday, but heading over to "the Big Island" ("Lost" Angeles) to see my son, daughter-in-law and my little granddaughter. Ordered a new 7mm wetsuit for my birthday present... to replace the extremely "holy" Henderson Neosport XSPAN that felt like I was diving in my "birthday suit." My new 3/2mm doesn't quite cut it yet as temperatures in the shallows have been oscillating between 55 and 70 F.


#300413 One step closer to fees for carry on's...

Posted by drbill on 12 June 2012 - 10:33 AM in Travel Tips

I almost never fly with more than one carry on. After they're through charging for that, my bet is that they'll start charging passengers by their weight. Good thing I've dropped 20 pounds the last 9 months!


#300412 I'm back after 9 months

Posted by drbill on 12 June 2012 - 10:16 AM in New to SingleDivers.com or Returning?

No, I didn't get pregnant... or get married... or stop diving, but I've been away from SD since last October. Now that our lawyer is informing our estranged sister, I can explain why.

Back in October I was to meet Mom in Atlanta and fly up to Michigan for a family wedding. She called the day before and said her doctor told her she couldn't go, but she didn't know why other than that it was a medical concern. I arrived at my sister's in MI for my niece's wedding. We set a place for Mom next to me at our table. Then we learned that Mom had cancer and was going to be operated on. My sisters and I flew down to Florida to be with her when she went in for surgery.

Mom did well in recovery, insisting she be taken off her pain meds within two days. What a trooper. Unfortunately the news wasn't good. It had metastasized and was terminal. I elected to stay with Mom during her rehab and helped her when she got back home. I was extremely fortunate to be able to spend the last three months of her life with her, and my sisters flew down several times including Christmas when many of the family joined us. Mom's favorite time of the year. I had a good 2+ months of quality time with Mom, and made her final months much easier through my caregiving (poor thing, she even had to eat my cooking).

In mid-January she took a turn for the worse and passed on Jan 20th. We sensed it coming and were all at her bedside the afternoon and evening she expired. Sister Judy had the great idea to play her favorite music during Mom's last hours and we all toasted her with her favorite wine. I put a few drops on her lips as she was unresponsive.

Following her passing we tackled the estate and getting her condo straightened out. Mom said no services were to be held, but she didn't say anything about a party... so we invited all her many friends (a number of them dating back to her high school days!) to a Celebration of her life.

Each of us flew home in February, then returned in April and May to finish the task of the condo and her estate. So I've been away for most of the last 9 months and had very spotty Internet service while in Florida (thanks to Verizon... grrr).

Although I appreciate condolences, that is not the intent of this posting. I was incredibly fortunate to be able to spend that time with Mom. I consider that a tremendous gift as I never could have done it if I were something other than a divebum and had to sit in an office all day.

I didn't do a single dive while in Florida (Mom lived on the West Coast and diving the Gulf is not high on my list) so I only did 97 dives last year. Ever since I came home I've been diving as often as my wallet will let me. Good to be back.


#300411 Albert Falco passes away 21 April 2012

Posted by drbill on 12 June 2012 - 09:58 AM in News Bites

No replies to this? Wow. Back on Cousteau's 100th birthday a manager at one of LA's radio stations wanted his bosses to approve a piece on JYC's birthday including an interview with me. The bosses didn't think that story was important enough. How sad when the truly greats in SCUBA are ignored, especially by those who have directly benefited by their early pioneering efforts.


#300410 What bugs you about being single?

Posted by drbill on 12 June 2012 - 09:52 AM in Topics Related to being SINGLE!

At my age, not much "bugs" me about being single. Sure, I'd like a nice relationship with a wonderful woman who dives, but if it doesn't happen I'm still pretty content with my life.



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