February 2012 - 1

The Rebel Yell A Newsletter for the Diving Rebels - One of the Oldest Scuba Clubs in Texas - Established 1958

February 2012

2012 DIVING REBEL BOARD Danny Bouska, President Mark Estill, Vice President Kelly Barentine, Treasurer Rita Simpson, Secretary Tina Caron, Activities Director Danny Barentine, Sr. Board Member Connie Mitchell, Jr. Board Member Appointed Positions Sandra Playle, Newsletter Editor Danny Bouska, Webmaster Connie Mitchell, Historian To contact a member of the Board, please

visit our website at:

WWW.DIVINGREBELS.ORG

or send an email with your question(s) and/or comments to:

We are on the web in multiple locations: Click on an image to go to the site!

February Meeting Program

Steve Ogden will present a program on Scuba Diving in Norway

Upcoming Events Calendar Jan 28-29 San Marcos River Outing Feb 1 Monthly Membership Meeting Feb 25-26 Arctic Dive and Wine & Cheese Outing Mar 7 Monthly Membership Meeting Mar 24-25 Blue Lagoon Apr 4 Monthly Membership Meetin

What’s Inside?

Pg 2 President’s Report Pg 3 What to Expect at upcoming Events/Outings! Birthdays and Anniversaries, Feb 25-26, Arctic Dive and Wine & Cheese Festival March 24-25, Blue Lagoon and Susan Banda Memorial Pg 4 Feb 25-26 Arctic Dive Outing Information Pg 6 Mar 24-25 Blue Lagoon Outing Information Pg 9 Restaurant of the Month New Years Dues Special Pg 10 New Years Day Polar Bear Trip Report Pg 12 January Restaurant of the Month Report Pg 14 Club Sponsors

MEMBERSHIP MEETING Wednesday – February 1, 2012

Meeting Time 6:30pm Social

7:15pm Meeting

Don’t forget to join us on Saturday January 28 for the

San Marcos River Cleanup! Please see the January Newsletter for more details, or contact Steve Ogden at

(214) 641-6013.

Happy Valentines

Day!

February 2012 - 2

President’s Report

Hi Everyone, Each month before I sit down to compose the Presidents Report, I wonder what will this months discussion entail. Somehow, something always seems to trigger a thought on what to write. The trigger for this month’s letter was an email I received from a person who is interested in joining the Club, but is newly certified, hasn’t dove since being certified about a year ago, doesn’t own any gear other than mask, fins and snorkel and asked “Can this group work with someone like me?” I didn’t need anything to trigger a response to the question as I knew the answer! I immediately began composing my reply………..Of course this group can work with someone like you………..the Club’s members range from beginners to instructors……….to dive with and learn from……….to gain experience………..to become friends with………to travel with……..and have fun with. It wasn’t hard for me to compose a response to this person’s question as I firmly believe that the Diving Rebels are for every type of diver, from newbie to those of us who have been diving since Jacque Cousteau was a minnow. During the classroom portion of an Open Water class, the importance of getting out and diving is stressed, and I always mention how advantageous it is to join a dive club, particularly one like the Diving Rebels that hosts dive outings every month to locations in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and sometimes the Gulf, Caribbean or more exotic locations like Fiji, Utila, Bonaire and Roatan. One of the major diver education programs states that their advanced classes enable a student to Meet People, Go Places and Do Things. Well, they don’t have anything on the Diving Rebels as for 54 years the Club and its Members have been Meeting People, Going Places and Doing a lot of things! In 2012, I challenge each of you to Meet People by attending the monthly meetings, socials and events and saying hello to visitors and new members, Go Places by attending the outings, go on a Club Blue Water trip and attend social events, and Do Things by coordinating outings, being a meal share coordinator, and/or diving and having fun with old friends and new friends. I made this statement last year and it’s worth repeating this year “The Diving Rebels Scuba Club opens its doors to all levels of divers, makes new divers as well as experienced divers feel welcome and provides a venue for education, camaraderie and diving for the membership. Those who organized the club in 1958 built a strong foundation on which the club has grown, but without you, the members of today, the club cannot be successful; therefore, if you haven’t renewed your membership, please remember to do so……….” The New Year Membership Renewal Special currently underway ends when the meeting starts at 7:15pm on February 1st and renewals will revert to normal dues pricing at that time. Our Club’s brochure states “Continue your dive experience; Join the Diving Rebels Scuba Club”! Renew your membership or join for the first time and continue your dive experience with what I believe to be the Best Scuba Club in Texas, the Nation and the World! Keep blowing bubbles, Danny

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Don’t forget Diving Rebels Wear On sale at any monthly meeting!

NAVY & NATURAL

BLACK NAVY

Merchandise sold to Diving Rebels Members Only

Wine and Cheese Extravaganza Marietta’s Landing, Lake Murray,

OK – February 25-26

Please see details in this newsletter

What to Expect at Upcoming Events/Outings!

January 28-29 San Marcos River Dive: Want ocean quality visibility and 73 degree water in Texas during the month of January? Make plans to attend this outing and experience a fun and enjoyable “drift dive” in the San Marcos River. February 25-26 Arctic Dive and Wine and Cheese Festival at Lake Murray near Ardmore Oklahoma. Dive if you dare, but come out and enjoy great food, bring your favorite wine and cheese to enter into the contest for the best or bring your worst wine and cheese to enter into the contest for the worst! Either way, this outing is a lot of fun! March 24-25 Join us as we place a memorial in the Blue Lagoon for Susan Banda April 14-15 Tyler State Park is always a fun outing. This shallow lake warms up quickly and offers descent visibility, lots of fish and turtles. May – December 2011 Let the board know where you want to go diving. Coordinate an outing or two or coordinate meals. Become active in YOUR DIVE CLUB!

Birthdays

Feb 3 J Madison Feb 4 Paula Boyett Feb 4 Trevor Walker Feb 5 Marcus Greenberg Feb 12 Jay Boyd Feb 14 Taylor Boyd Feb 19 Jeanne Mason-Howerton Feb 20 Scott Playle Feb 20 Mark Estill Feb 28 Kevin Campbell

Anniversaries

Feb 22 Kelly & Danny Barentine Feb 29 Rita & Jim Simpson

Did we miss your special date? If so, it’s not in our database. Contact Mark Estill to update your info!

A Rebel Welcome to New Members and Visitors reading out newsletter and

joining us at our outings and meetings!

Make sure to say “Hi” and give a Rebel Welcome to our new members and visitors!

Memorial for Susan Maree Banda Blue Lagoon March 24-25

Please see details in this newsletter

February 2012 - 4

FEBRUARY 2012 OUTING Saturday, February 25th

Arctic Dive & Wine and Cheese Tasting Lake Murray Oklahoma

The Wine and Cheese / Arctic Dive outing at Lake Murray has returned to its traditional weekend time frame of the last weekend of February, this year on February 25th. As for quite a few years now, this event is conducted as a joint outing for the Diving Rebels as well as the Scubadillos. As in the past, we will have the park to ourselves since the park does not officially open until the following week.

In keeping with the outing theme, diving will be available throughout the day, typically entering the water from a cove near the campground. During the day, we will be conducting a silent auction of various dive-related items. If you have any items that have been lonely and languishing in your garage or closet and you would like to contribute those to the auction, we invite you to bring them with you as a donation. Last year, we did quite well with revenue from the auction and hope to do at least as well this year. The meal of pulled pork accompanied by various side dishes and desserts will be in the 5 PM time frame. We will have tickets available for advance purchase at the February club meeting. The wine and cheese contest will follow the meal. We invite all comers to submit their choices of red and/or white wine that will be subject to intense scrutiny concerning aroma, body, bouquet and taste by a handpicked jury of prestigious judges. The best red and white wines as determined by the total of the judge’s scores will be crowned the “vintnering” victors. The wines receiving the lowest scores will be awarded the notorious worst wine designation.

We also invite the submittal of cheese for a similar judging process. The best cheese will be honored, presumably by rapid consumption, but please – no candidates for worst cheese. We cannot irreparably harm the palettes of the prestigious judges. Currently, there is no burn ban listed for the park and we anticipate having a healthy “campfire” again this year, so bring your s’mores fixings as well as firewood if you would like to indulge your pyromaniacal tendencies.

Camping, either tent or trailer modes, will be available in the park. Additional lodging can be had with cabin rentals or a room in the park lodge. The contact information for these options is also included on the flyer. A series of maps noting the location of the park is presented below.

Place: Marietta Landing, Lake Murray Oklahoma Tickets: $10 in advance or $15 at event When: Saturday, February 25 Camping: Sites with electricity and water are $15 and $18 Tent sites without are $8 Other Accomodations: Lake Murray Resort/Cabins 1-800-257-0322 / 580-223-6600 Additional lodging / hotels available at nearby Ardmore OK Additional Info Contact: Steve Ogden – steveogdentx@yahoo.com / 214-641-6013 Tina Caron – tlcdigital@verizon.net Elizabeth Neumann – 817-995-4677

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Diving Rebels Scuba Club Saturday, March 24th

Dive Outing & Memorial Placement for Susan Maree Banda

Blue Lagoon – Huntsville, Texas Our Diving Rebel March outing will be in honor of our late member Susan Banda, who passed away on September 24, 2011. Susan was an active member of the club whose first dive outing with the Diving Rebels was at Blue Lagoon in October of 2010. Ironically her last dive with the club before her passing was at Blue Lagoon in August of 2011, where she and dive partner Sandra Playle won the Navigation Competition. The club has created a memorial tank with a plaque that will be placed underwater for everyone to see who will dive Blue Lagoon. Notes to Susan will be collected at both the February and March meeting to be sealed into the tank permanently. We will have blank sheets that you can use or you are encouraged to bring your own to the meeting to be placed in the tank. If you are not sure you will make either meeting you are welcome to email your note for Susan to Kelly Barentine at kelldan2667@hotmail.com and it will be printed it off, sealed it up and placed it in the memorial tank. The Blue Lagoon is hidden away in the piney woods north of Huntsville, Texas off I-45. For over twenty years the lagoon has served the divers of Texas with aqua blue bodies of water, training platforms, sunken boats and miscellaneous items. There is primitive camping and an onsite air station and concessions which include hot sandwiches, sodas, water, various sport drinks and an assortment of candy bars and chips. The entrance fee for divers and non-divers is $16.00 per day. Non Divers must be accompanied by a C-card holder. There is no charge for children under 10 and non-diving parents accompanying minors during diving lessons. The Blue Lagoon opens at 8am on Saturday, March 24th. Come any time after that and spend the day or the weekend, campout under the stars in the piney woods (club has 2 sites reserved), or grab a hotel room (listed below) in nearby Huntsville. The dive to place the Memorial Tank will be approximately 2:30pm.

• If you wish to camp, your entry fee allows you to camp overnight but there is a two day minimum fee so if you come in Saturday and leave Sunday the fee is $32.00.

• Air fills are $8.00, rental tanks are $12.00. If you need other gear: Regs $20.00, BCD $20.00, Wetsuits $20.00, Weights

$10.00

• The Blue Lagoon does not allow pets.

• There are Port-a-Potties scattered throughout the property.

• This outing will be a meal share for Saturday lunch and Saturday dinner. If you would like to be a meal coordinator for either of those meals please contact Kelly Barentine at kelldan2667@hotmail.com or call her cell at 817-676-4936. You are responsible for your own drinks. Outing Coordinator is Kelly Barentine.

We need to know if you’re coming! Sign Up sheets will be available at the February 1st and March 7th meeting to assure we have plenty of food for Saturday lunch & dinner. If responding via email (kelldan2667@hotmail.com) please include: When you will be arriving, how many people in your group, if you are camping, staying in Huntsville or just making a day trip, and in which meals you will be participating. Directions: Take I45 south from Dallas/Ft Worth toward Houston. Take Exit 123 approximately 7 miles north of Huntsville and turn left (east) at Farm to Market Rd 1696/Pinedale Rd Continue to follow Pinedale Rd for approximately 2.9 miles. The Blue Lagoon entrance will be on the left.

February 2012 - 7

AVAILABLE HOTELS

BEST WESTERN -201 W Hill Park Circle Huntsville, TX 77320 Phone: (936) 295-9000

HOLIDAY INN EXP-148 I-45 S Huntsville, TX 77340 Phone: (936) 295-4300

COMFORT SUITES-631 I-45 S Huntsville, TX 77340 Phone: (936) 436-9600

SUPER 8-3121 Montgomery Road Huntsville, TX 77340 Phone: (936) 730-8888

ECONO LODGE-112 I-45 N Huntsville, TX 77340 Phone: (936) 295-6401

DAYS INN-160 I-45 S Huntsville, TX 77340 Phone: (936) 438-8400

LA QUINTA INN-124 I-45 N Huntsville, TX 77340 Phone: (936) 295-6454 !!!!!!!

!

If you would care to write a note to be placed in the Memorial for Susan Banda, feel free to use the formatted stationery provided below. This stationery will also be

available at the February Meeting.

February 2012 - 8

!!!!! !!!! !! ! !!"#$%&'!()'*&+,!-.//! ! ! ! ! ! !!!!!!!!!0#1&!2)3$$+!-.//!

In Memory of: Susan Maree Banda __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

February 2012 - 9

Restaurant of the Month

Where: SWAMP DADDY’S 740 Lincoln Square Arlington, TX 76011

(South Svc Rd of I-30 between Center & Collins)

When: Friday, February 3rd at 7:00 pm

Email: Connie at officemomma_2000@yahoo.com or Kelly at kelldan2667@hotmail.com

Our next RofM adventure leads us to North Arlington upon the request of a couple members who crave some seafood fare. Some of you may have been to Swamp Daddy’s before but most have not. Please come and join us to sit, have a good meal and just “chew the fat” over whatever topic comes up. Each month Connie and I will come up with a place to meet and eat in various areas of the DFW Metroplex. We encourage you to shoot us a place in your part of town that you would like to include and we may just do that. We know that North Texas is filled with great places to sit, enjoy a good meal and maybe a drink or two. Please note that this is voluntary and there will not be any sign up sheets at the meetings nor does it replace any of the Social Outings that Michele Estill will bring to the club. However, we do ask that you email one of us if you can so we have a tentative head count for the restaurant but you are not committing to anything financially. We must mention that this is NOT subsidized by club funds so be sure to bring your wallet to pay for your meal. Thank you, Kelly Barentine, Treasurer

New Year’s Dues Special

*** Last Chance ***

Hurry before the Savings Ship sails! The deadline for accepting 2012 dues at a “SPECIAL” rate will be leaving port. If you choose to take advantage of the offer your dues must be paid by the

February 1st meeting. If you mail in your dues they must be postmarked by February 1st to qualify and can be sent to 1310 Webb Ferrell Rd S Arlington, TX 76002.

For initial member the price is $22 (normally $25) and each additional family member is $13

(normally $15) and non-diving members are $5.00. This offer only applies to current membership in good standing.

**NEW** Family Membership Plan Available: For current members we will offer the 2012 dues at $50 rate (includes up to 4 divers) and New Members are eligible to take advantage of the savings as well. Family Membership Plan $50 + $15 Initiation Fee (includes 1 DR T-shirt, additional shirts may be purchased for $10 per shirt at the time of joining)

Make checks payable to: The Diving Rebels

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Diving Rebels Scuba Club

January 1, 2012 Annual Polar Bear Dive

Clear Springs Scuba Park – Terrill, Texas

Every year for the last 11 years Clear Springs Scuba Park in Terrill Texas has held their annual Polar Bear Dive. This event is on New Years day. There are awards given for Oldest Diver, longest distance to travel, longest time in the water (bravest), shortest time in the water (wimpiest), best represented Dive Shop, and best represented Dive Club. This year 5 beary brave divers from the Diving Rebels Becky, Travis, Kevin, Ray, and Johnny with help from the lovely Lisa and Connie prepared to inter the Crisp Clear waters. Screams of profanity could be heard as the first of the divers entered the water. As I looked around at my fellow rebel divers all I could see was a look of shear determination as we prepared our rigs. I followed Ray as he hit the water claiming it felt “just like bath water”. Travis and Becky followed with Kevin coming in a little late. The actual water temp was around 50 degrees from the top to the bottom. Ray had the longest dive at 1:19, he beat me by 1 minute. However I had about 110 cu.ft and he only had 80 cu.ft. As I was coming up there were 2 guys floating on top of the water by the exit ladder. I asked them to go ahead and get out and they said you guys go ahead. As soon as we got out of the water they got out. They won the longest in the water award. I was told they did a 40 minute dive and had been floating on top of the water for 45 minutes waiting for Ray and I to come up. Oh well my hat is off to Ray, you did the longest dive my friend. After the dive there was food and beverages and a warm campfire for all to enjoy. Following this was the award ceremony. We took two awards (1) Best represented Dive Club (2) Ray won the longest distance to travel. We saw a few other divers from the Scubadillos, William being one. William was at our Blue Lagoon and Christmas Party where he won a nice gift in the raffle. We also met a man that was parked next to us that used to be a member about 10 years ago. His name is Gary Gressett , we had allot of fun with him. He seemed like a really good guy to me and is going to try and come to our next meeting. The only problem is that he is a Rebreather sales rep and Connie says she doesn’t want me playing with him, we will see about that. All said I think we all had a great time, I know I did. Thanks to all that showed up. See you underwater soon.

Johnny Griffin

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January’s Restaurant of the Month Sopranos Italian Cuisine in South Arlington

By: Kelly Barentine As Diving Rebels we are known to be willing to strap on a tank and fins to go as deep as possible to discover the fantastic underwater world. This year our group has decided to partake in the bounty that the land offers as well. For one night out of the month we leave the tank and fins at home and strap on a bib (figuratively) instead. Our group began arriving at Sopranos Italian Cuisine about 6:00pm for our first ever Restaurant of the Month event and by 7:00pm we were requesting additional tables to be added. By the end of the evening which wrapped up at about 9:00pm we had 19 friends sitting around the table chatting up a storm. The conversations varied from; diving adventures, showing off pictures, discussing various wines to sports. There really was not a topic that did not get touched upon even for the briefest of moments. The quietest moment in the evening was when the food finally arrived and everyone began enjoying their meals, many even passed around samples of their food for others to try. We are not food critics so there will not be recommendations on any of the restaurants we go to in our articles. However, we do encourage those who attend the RofM events to go to www.divingrebels.org and in the “Restaurant of the Month” section and there you are able to make comments about the outing and you are welcome to critique the restaurant that we chose for that month. This event is just another way we encourage our members and their friends to come out and enjoy a peaceful evening and forget the hustle and bustle of life. We have already picked out our next RofM for February and look forward to seeing everyone there. We had a request for seafood so we will be visiting: Swamp Daddy’s in North Arlington on Friday, February 3rd at 7:00pm. REMEMBER, we want to know about “your” favorite restaurant so that we may possibly make it a RofM and all we ask is that you not recommend large chain restaurants. Please email your recommendations to Connie Mitchell at officemomma_2000@yahoo.com or Kelly Barentine at kelldan2667@hotmail.com.

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Remember to Support Our Great Diving Rebel Sponsors!

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