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Also serving: Washington DC, Georgetown, Germantown, Rockville, Potomac, Gaithersburg, Wheaton, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Hyattsville, College Park, University of Maryland, Tacoma Park, Glenmont, New Carrolton, BWI, Lanham, Upper Marlboro, Suitland, Aspen Hill, Olney, Beltsville, Cheverly, White Oak, Adelphi, Laurel, Fort Meade, Columbia, Bowie, Odenton, Glendale, Largo, Bladensburg, Clinton, Annacostia, Camp Springs, Oxon Hill, Riverdale, Mayo, Fort Washington, Andrews, Rosaryville, Accokeek, Seat Pleasant, Burtonsville, Calverton, Savage, Jessup, Ellicott City, Baltimore, Severn, Severna Park, Pasadena, Crofton, Crownsville, Annapolis, Stevensville, Graysonville, Queenstown, Easton, Ridgely, Centreville, Arnold, Edgwater, Eastport, Deale, Dunkirk, Prince Frederick, Mitchellville, Glen Burnie, Linthicum, Elkridge, Indian Head, Lexington Park, California, Solomons Island, Waldorf, St. Charles, La Plata, Temple Hills, Federal Hill, Fort Meyers, Arlington, Alexandria, George Mason University, Reston, Annandale, Fairfax, Falls Church, Dulles, Vienna, McLean, Chantilly, Sterling, Springfield, Newington, Manassas, Merrifield, Langley, Leesburg, Baileys Crossroads, Mount Vernon, Fort Belvoir

Rangers Have Meeting Location

The June 13th Ranger meeting will be held at a new (to us) location at 1200 Sandy Spring Rd in Laurel - the Fidos for Freedom conference room. Click here for maps and directions. We will no longer meet at the Greenbriar Apartments in Greenbelt.

Next Open Meeting Friday June 13^th 2008:Doing It Right

Local instructor Gary Truslow will give a presentation on the DIR dive philosophy. Gary is also leading a practical session at Haymarket Quarry on Saturday. Try diving doubles and get hands on experience with the DIR equipment configuration. Same time (8:00PM Friday) but new location - click for directions. Visitors are welcome.

2008 Dive Plan On-Line

The Atlantis Rangers have the most active dive schedule of any club in the MD/VA/DC region. In addition to regular wreck and reef diving trips, we sponsor tune-up dives and clinics at local quarries, "intro" wreck dives for divers new to Atlantic wreck diving, and special new member trips for divers who join the club later in the season. Come on out to a meeting for further information.

Bonaire July 5-12, 2008 Click for flier.

Galapogos May 5-14, 2010 Click for flier.

Manatee Tour - January 18-21 Cool in Every Way Six Rangers traveled to Homosassa Springs on the Gulf Coast to meet our Florida Branch for a weekend in warm water - but unfortunately cool air - of Florida's springs. We had two early AM excursions to snorkel with manatees, one afternoon of spring/cavern diving, and a drift dive in the Rainbow River. Full report coming soon.

Photo by Heather Sears

Other Recent Dive Trips
	September - The Maldives Five Rangers joined a group of divers from Germany for a week of diving in this exotic Indian Ocean archipelago. The trip must have been especially rewarding after Rangers Kim & Rob Seegers presented a Maldives photo show at our August meeting. The Seegers' pictures were from 2002 and 2006 trips and showed Kani Island (north atoll) and Vila Mendhoo Island (Ari Atoll). More info on the 2007 trip coming soon.
click photo for larger view	October - Beaufort NC Six Rangers spent a weekend diving with Capt. Leroy off his 6-pack Captains Lady out of Discovery Diving. It was mostly sunny all weekend with air and water temps in the low 80s/ It was bit rough on Saturday so we stayed in-shore to visit the Hutton and Indra. Visibility was poor, but we had the opportunity to check out new equipment on an open water dive. Sunday was almost calm and we headed off shore to the Schurz and Spar. Visibilty was 50 feet or better except when completely surrounded by fish. Highlight was the abundance of lionfish on the Schurz. We'll have 2 or 3 trips to Beaufort on our 2008 dive schedule November - Bonaire Bonaire in brief: air 80-90F, mostly sunny but occasional brief showers, pleasant breeze; water 84F; viz 60-100'. We did 3-6 dives daily sometimes starting at dawn and ending with a night dive; 21-26 total over 6 days. 6 were off boats; the rest were shore dives. Our package included airfare, airport transfers, accommodations at Buddy Dive Resort for 8 people in two 2-bedroom suites, a 4-door compact pickup truck for each suite, daily breakfast buffet, 6 boats dives and unlamented tanks for shore diving (air or 32% nitrox). We could pick up a tank at the dock any time or take our truck to the drive-thru fill station and load up on tanks to take to the 30+ marked shore dive sites on the island. Best dive was at dawn when all the fish seem to boil out of the reef, Photographed octopus, sea horses and tropical fish of every description. Saw no large animals, except a couple of turtles. Possible return trip in 2009
click photo for larger view

Rangers on TV A recent History Channel episode of "Digging the Truth" included Atlantis Ranger Mark Ragan and his K250 submarine. The show explored potential reasons for the sinking of the CSS Hunley - the famous Civil War submarine. Mark's latest book included his theory about how that boat sank after their successful attack. The star of the show spent some time underwater in Mark's sub (aee photo) to get a sense of what it would have been like underwater at night in a small submarine. Ranger Brian Huges was the safety diver and did all the underwater camera work with the K-250. Watch your local listing for rebroadcasts.

Curt Newport briefs Rangers on Deep Sea Salvage & Exploration

Curt Newport from the deep-sea salvage and exploration firm Phoenix International spoke club about his line of work, in particular the expedition he organized and led to locate and recover Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom’s Liberty Bell 7 Mercury spacecraft. The Liberty Bell 7 splashed down after the nations second manned spce flight in 1961, but sank before it could be pulled on board the recovery vessel. Curt succeeded in finding the tiny capsule on May 1, 1999 and recovering the space-age artifact from waters 16,043 feet deep later that year. He has participated in numerous high-profile undersea operations such as the search for the Space Shuttle Challenger, TWA 800, the broadcast of live images from the sunken ocean liner RMS Titanic, as well as many other classified missions involving the loss of military aircraft and weaponry. He also led an expedition to the Philippine Sea during a search for the Heavy Cruiser USS Indianapolis (covered by Discovery Channel in 2001).

The Secret Life of Lobsters

Author Trevor Corson was featered at our September meeting to give a presentation on his books “THE SECRET LIFE OF LOBSTERS: How Fishermen and Scientists are Unraveling the Mysteries of Our Favorite Crustacean” and “THE ZEN OF FISH: The Story of Sushi, from Samurai to Supermarket”. Trevor’s presentation focused mostly on all the interesting aspects of the life of the American Lobster - the "bug" we chase off NJ, DE and MD. The presentation included great underwater video footage and discussion on the lives of lobsters, lobstermen, lobster industry, lobster scientists, etc. As a “spin” on the scuba/underwater theme, Trevor also gave a quick synopsis of his new book on sushi that also includes profiles of a number of interesting sea creatures. The meeting was well attended by current and prospective members.

Click here for a sample.

Rangers Offer Discount to New Divers

In an effort to expand interest, the Atlantis Rangers have voted to offer reduced-cost membership vouchers to students in local academic dive programs. Come as our guest to a meeting and see how to take advantage of this offer. Click here for details

Rangers Support Divers Alert Network

The Atlantis Rangers live auction of dive related goods and services raised over $1000 to support Divers Alert Network (DAN). Many thanks to the bidders who participated and especially to members and local dive shops who donated items for the auction. Divers Alert Network is a 501(c)(3) non-profit medical and research organization associated with Duke University Medical Center and dedicated to the safety and health of recreational scuba divers. DAN is supported by the largest association of recreational divers in the world. DAN has recognized the Atlantis Rangers as one of just six clubs worldwide for fund raising at the silver ($750-$2000) level.

Jim Graham in Ray Tray. Photo by George Cathcart.

Rangers Dive into National Aquarium Club members took a behind the scenes tour of the National Aquarium in Baltimore and watched the winners of our guest diver raffle dive in the ray tank and Atlantic Coral Reef exhibit at feeding time. Safety Officer Chuck Eichholz guided us through a maze of corridors and rooms to see the dive equipment area, fish food preparation,nursery tanks, labs, and even an operating room. He talked about care, treatment and research for the animals on exhibit, including giving a male Sand Tiger hormone treatments to reduce his aggression. (Did they try counseling first . Our raffle raised $295 that we donated to the NAIB dive program for CPR and O2 training. Click here for more photos.

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The Atlantis Rangers are recognized by Divers Altert Network as a Silver Donor Dive Club.