San Francisco Reef Divers June 2014 Volume XLII No. 6 … · 2014-06-13 · San Francisco Reef...

San Francisco Reef Divers June 2014 Volume XLII No. 6

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STAMMTISCH

By Pierre Hurter

Last month I mentioned a few of the movies that take place in

San Francisco,

specifically those

incorporating the Golden

Gate Bridge. With the release of Godzilla, we have another film to add to the list, along with The Rock, Nicholas Cage, Sean Coney (how can you go wrong?) Ed Harris, nerve gas, rogue Marines, Navy Seals, the usual suspects. The animated Monsters vs. Aliens, A View to a Kill, not a big fan of Roger Moore, no one did it better than Sean Connery, the real James Bond. I will say Daniel Craig looks to be a worthwhile successor and besides he is married to Rachel Wheisz. The Book of Eli a classic post-apocalyptic tale of redemption with Denzel Washington and printing presses on Alcatraz. Finally lets not forget the Towering Inferno or the classic from 1953, It Came From Beneath the Sea.

Having survived the latest attack by Godzilla I was hungry and looking for lunch. My first thought was to try out La

Rondalla on Valencia. We used to go there when we lived nearby, the walls were covered with framed photos of people posed with freshly shot deer, ducks and stringers of fish. Christmas lights that never came down and best of all Margarita’s on tap. The food wasn’t great, but the Margareta’s made you forget about what you were eating and it’s hard to completely wreck Chili Colorado. I poked my head inside, but the place seemed wrong for lunch, clean is great, but sterile is not my favorite restraint ambiance.

So I kept going, heading down 24th to La Torta Gorda. Small Formica covered tables, vintage

Coca Cola light fixtures. My second time here, I sat at the counter so I could watch the griddle in action and ordered the Torta Al Pastor, next time I’ll try the queso de Puero, or explore the

Especialidades Poblanas in more

detail. Good food, decent prices and I can now answer the burning question, “can I tell the difference between Mexican and American manufactured Coca Cola?” The answer is no, but then I’m not much of a Coke fan and they don’t serve beer.

I notice that upscale Mexican seems to be the trend right now.

Smooth, modern looking interiors, lots of natural wood and folk art mixed with free range, locally sourced artisanal ingredients and the prices to match. Not necessarily a bad thing, but considering the number of good non-expensive spots in town you have to wonder.

Before going too far astray we did get in at least one dive in May. The waters on the bay were wind swept, white caps and sunny skys making for great photo opportunities, but for diving … We dropped down the anchor chain through a primordial green soup hoping that it would open up at some point, it never did. I tied off my reel and headed into the stew for ten minutes, turned around and found my tie-off point by feel (I ran into it).

We headed back to the dock and went to Loulou’s Griddle in the Middle for breakfast. Unfortunately, the wait for a table for six was a bit longer than we could handle. So we walked downtown to the Old Monterey Café.

Gerda and I had the Monte


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REEFER’S RAP - 2014

JANUARY 01 -‐ New Year’s Day 18 -‐ Sanctuary Boat Dive -‐ K -‐ Dock 15 -‐ Movable Feast -‐ Rosamunde 20 -‐ Martin Luther King Holiday

FEBRUARY 08 -‐ Sanctuary Boat Dive -‐ K -‐ Dock 14 -‐ Valentine’s Day 17 -‐ Presidents Day Holiday 19 -‐ Movable Feast -‐ Little Yangon

MARCH 08-‐ Sanctuary Boat Dive -‐ K -‐ Dock 09 -‐ Daylight Savings Time Begins 17 -‐ Saint Patrick’s Day 19 -‐ Movable Feast -‐ Pig & Pie 28 -‐ Beneath the Sea -‐ beneathesea.org -‐ New Jersey

APRIL TBD -‐ Abalone Opener 12 -‐ Sanctuary Boat Dive -‐ K Dock 16 -‐ Movable Feast -‐ Giordano Brothers

MAY 03 -‐ Dive Show -‐ Santa Clara Convention Center 10 -‐ Sanctuary Boat Dive -‐ K -‐ Dock 21 -‐ Movable Feast – Hakka, 4401 Cabrillo St. & 45th Ave. 26 -‐ Memorial Day Holiday

JUNE 07 -‐ Scuba Show -‐ Long Beach -‐ scubashow.com 18 -‐ Movable Feast -‐ Check our Yahoo Site for Location

JULY 04 -‐ Independence Day Holiday 03 -‐ Sanctuary Boat Dive -‐ K -‐ Dock -‐ 08:30 16 -‐ Movable Feast -‐ Check our Yahoo Site for Location

AUGUST TBD -‐ Abalone Opener 09 -‐ Sanctuary Boat Dive -‐ K -‐ Dock -‐ 07:30 20 -‐ Movable Feast -‐ Check our Yahoo Site for Location

SEPTEMBER 01 -‐ Labor Day Holiday 17 -‐ Movable Feast -‐ Check our Yahoo Site for Location 20 Channel Islands -‐ Jim Vallario -‐415.566.0784

OCTOBER 11 -‐ Sanctuary Boat Dive -‐ K -‐ Dock -‐ 07:30 16 -‐ Movable Feast -‐ Check our Yahoo Site for Location 31-‐ Halloween

NOVEMBER 02 -‐ Daylight Savings Time Ends 08 -‐ Sanctuary Boat Dive -‐ K -‐ Dock -‐ 07:30 11 -‐ Veterans Day Holiday 20 -‐ Movable Feast -‐ Check our Yahoo Site for Location 27 -‐ Thanksgiving

DECEMBER 08 -‐ Sanctuary Boat Dive -‐ K -‐ Dock -‐ 07:30 18 -‐ Movable Feast -‐ Check our Yahoo Site for Location 25 -‐ Christmas Day Holiday


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Stammtisch from page 1

Cristo, one of my favorite treats if done right. The Monte Cristo sandwich is a variation of the French Croque Monsieur. The original grilled cheese sandwich consisted of Gruyere cheese and lean ham between two slices of crust-less bread, fried in clarified butter. It’s been a popular snack or casual meal throughout France and Switzerland since the early 20th Century.

Fast forward to this side of the pond and American cookbooks published in the 1930’s to1960’s featured this sandwich under different names such as French Sandwich, Toasted Ham Sandwich, and French Toasted Cheese Sandwich.

Like so many things we take for granted … Mickey Mouse, Disneyland, Mattel Toys, the Armalite-Stoner-Colt M-16 progression and the Monte Cristo Sandwich was probably first served in southern California in the 1950s. Disneyland contributed to the trend featuring it on the menu of the Blue Bayou and Tahitian Terrace restaurants in New Orleans’s Square. Sandwich, Toasted Ham Sandwich, and French Toasted Cheese Sandwich.

Others in our group went for the Huevos Rancheros, eggs Benedicts, French toast, the usual suspects. It was a great day even if the diving wasn’t what we might have hoped for.

One of the joys of wandering around the City are the hidden in plan view gems you stumble upon. I was exploring 3rd street heading towards the southern boundaries of San Francisco when I stumbled on the Bayview Opera House in the heart of the Hunters Point District.

Constructed in 1888, the Bayview Opera House Ruth Williams Memorial Theatre is San Francisco's oldest theater and a registered historical landmark.

If you’re in the neighborhood check out G. Mazzei & Sons’ Hardware Store. The window display alone is worth a look. This is one of those places that provide a glimpse at a world that has all but disappeared. It reminded me of the long gone hardware store on Green Street run by two older Italian gentlemen. I needed a new gasket for my espresso pot, “oh yeah, that’s a #4 mocha” as he opened a drawer and asked me, “how many? “ The sort of place that has parts for things those haven’t been made for a long time can tell you how to fix them.

Continuing on my amble I ended up at the 7 Mile House on Bayshore. I know this is no longer in San Francisco and is in fact just over the line in Brisbane, but when you’re on foot and thirsty who’s going to quibble? I was in need of a place to park my can and get a load off my feet and maybe enjoy some sort of electrolyte replacement sports beverage while I was at it. The watermelon wheat beer hit

the spot.

7 Mile House was built in1853 as a stagecoach stop, being 7 miles from the San Francisco Ferry Building. It is the last “mile house” left standing in its original location. Mile Houses were established in the mid 1800s, served as local post offices and stagecoach stops where horses were rested and exchanged. Later, Mile Houses evolved into neighborhood watering holes, Pony Express stops, hotels and in some cases sporting houses.

During Prohibition the neighborhood now called Brisbane, was known for moonshining and bootlegging, the 7 Mile House became one of the few locations licensed to sell whiskey. In the early 1980’s the bar became known as a hangout for truckers, bikers and large, tasty burgers served up by an elderly lady named Doris. This was also the era when if you wanted to indulge in a wager on your favorite sport, this was the go-to place. Rumor has it that it was the largest operation of its kind West of the Mississippi with ties to overseas organizations until the FBI raided the place and closed that part of the business down.

When I dropped in it was packed with locals, firemen enjoying burgers on the patio, a couple of a certain age canoodling in a quite corner of the bar, and me, enjoying an electrolyte replenishment beverage. The food, Italian,


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American, Filipino is good, the gal behind the bar a quick and friendly. A great family operation and in the evening they have live music, featuring local jazz and they also feature one of the best T-shirt logo’s I’ve seen in awhile, “Better buy me another drink. You’re still ugly.”

So far the most interesting discoveries of the month, in no particular order have been Bob’s Used Typewriter shop, by appointment only on 9th Street, near Howard. The Movette Film Transfer shop on Valencia Street; if you have cans of 8 and 16 mm film featuring flickering memories from your child hood and like most of us no longer have a projector, this might be worth a visit. The collection of projectors and splicers in the window is worth the trip alone. Johnson Leather, on Polk Street, making leather motorcycle jackets, vests and pants since 1979. If you get pulled over by a motorcycle cop in the City or most of the Peninsula, the officer leaning in on your window asking for your license, registration and proof of insurance (just kidding, no one asks for that) will in all likelihood be wearing one of their jackets. Tal-y-Tara Tea & Polo Shoppe on California in the outer Richmond. A nice pot of tea neatly ensconced in a tea cosy, a scone or two and maybe a new pair of polo boots, the patio is being renovated. If your looking for some interesting beer, head for Cerveceria de Mateveza on 18th Street across from Dolores Park; a very small batch brewery serving some truly interesting suds and great empanadas if you’re hungry. Finally there’s Samiramis Imports on Mission Street, packed from floor to ceiling with cheeses, olive oils, preserves,

dips and hookah tobacco; the best selection of Middle Eastern food in the City.

On the topic of beer, here’s an interesting factoid, prior to January 1, 2010, when Assembly Bills 59 and 1191 became law and amend Section 25660 of the Business and Professions Code, a passport, US or foreign or a military ID card where not proof of age for the purposes of buying alcohol. That may something about our world view and parochial does not begin to explain it.

On Memorial Day weekend, Gerda and I decided to take an impromptu paddle on the Bay. It’s been awhile since we had the kayaks on the water. Judging from the cobwebs and dust Gerda had to sweep it’s been quite awhile. Anyway we tied them to the roof rack of the Toyota and headed for the public boat ramp at Pier 54. The ramp next to the Bay View Boat Club a venerable leftover from a San Francisco that is rapidly disappearing. The parking here costs $1.25 for all day parking; slightly more if you have a boat trailer and again more if it is a “special event” day. Still parking in San Francisco for less than a duffel bag full of quarters, hard to believe.

The ramp is next to the old Santa Fe and Western Pacific ferry terminal connecting their east bay terminals to San Francisco; but both discontinued ferry service in 1933. Service to

Sausalito was suspended in 1938 by order of the State Railroad Commission, and the last ferry to Alameda ran in 1939. Many of the large passenger ferries were idled until World War II, when they were mobilized to transport military personnel around the bay and shipyard workers from San Francisco to Marinship and Richmond Shipyards. The last Southern Pacific ferry ran

between Oakland and San Francisco on 29 July 1958.

Anyway, we launched our kayaks along with one of the two outfits that provide amphibious tours of the City, Ride the Ducks and Bay Quakers, headed south towards Hunter’s Point. There’s something poignant about paddling past the City’s maritime history as it literally falls apart and returns to the earth and sea around it, "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.”

The area was the most important center of shipbuilding and heavy manufacturing on the West Coast for well over 100 year. After World War II shipbuilding went into immediate decline after the war. In all, seventeen ships were built after the war, including several tankers, freighters, and four frigates for the U.S. Navy. The last ship built was the frigate U.S.S. Bradley, delivered on May 11, 1965.

Though shipbuilding had come to an end, the Potrero yard continued to build large barges well into the seventies. Another


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significant project was making the large steel tubes that would take BART trains under the Bay. In 1967, 57 sections, each 325 feet long and weighing 800 tons, were fabricated here.

Ship repair continued, but by the 1970s the Potrero yard was suffering from the depressed shipping industry in the U.S. In 1979, the Bethlehem Corporation celebrated its 75th anniversary and the Potrero yard was recognized as the oldest active civilian shipyard in the US, but active shipbuilding would no longer take place here. On November 1, 1982, the City of San Francisco became owner of the Potrero yard property, paying Bethlehem one dollar.

Memorial Day weekend, a day of remembering the men and women who have died while serving their country. Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans. It’s a bit confusing, as so much of our history is. The first Memorial Day was a celebration by African Americans in Charleston, South Carolina. During the Civil War, Union soldiers who died while being held as prisoners of war at the Charleston Race Course were buried in unmarked graves. Black Americans recently freed

from slavery honored the dead with flowers and songs.

Arlington National Cemetery was established during the Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, which had been the estate of the family of general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna (Custis) Lee (a great-granddaughter of Martha Washington).

The property was high and free from floods, it had a view of the District of Columbia, and it was aesthetically pleasing. It was also the home of the leader of the armed forces of the Confederate States of America, and denying Robert E. Lee use of his home after the war was a valuable political consideration.

The government acquired Arlington at a tax sale in 1864 for $26,800, equal to $400,000 today. Mrs. Lee had not appeared in person but rather had sent an agent, attempting to pay the $92.07 in property taxes assessed on the estate. The government turned away her agent, refusing to accept the tendered payment. In 1874, Custis Lee, heir under his grandfather's will, sued the United States claiming ownership of Arlington. In December 1882, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Lee's favor in United States v. Lee Kaufman, deciding that Arlington had been confiscated without due process. After that decision, Congress returned the estate to him, and on March 3, 1883, Custis Lee sold it back to the government for $150,000 at a signing ceremony with Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln.

Aside from our weekend paddle, we decided to wander down to Mission Street and checkout the 36th Annual

Carnival Parade. There’s something about the excitement, the kids, the scantily clad women and don’t forget the pushcarts grilling bacon wrapped hotdogs

and onions, an aroma that is almost irresistible.

After wandering round and enjoying the parade we dropped into the Chinese butcher shop and picked up a couple of pounds of pork fat, the basic ingredient for one of the pillars of Viennese cooking. Schmaltz,

schmalz or shmalz … rendered chicken, goose fat or pork fat used for frying or as a spread on bread in German, Austrian and Polish cuisine. The first two renditions are stables of Ashkenazi Jewish cooking, the pork version for everyone else. It’s also used to describe something sentimental or florid music or art. We were interested in the culinary aspects. You cube the fat and slowly reduce it, producing Grammeln and what’s left, when it congeals, schmaltz. Schmaltz spread on a piece of rye bread and sprinkled with grammeln, all that’s missing is a glass of Grüner Veltliner.


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There will hopefully be

some interesting

diving in June, stay tuned to hear all about diving in the

49th state, the largest by area and the least populated state. Stay tuned. Just finished the Social History of Bourbon, as my uncle would say, God’s gift to

America. Sipping a 20-year-old elixir and thinking about our run to the home of Sarah Palin. In the meantime, I’m heading to Whiz Burgers (since 1955);

I have a craving for a cheap burger, some hot fries and a mango shake. Oh and what’s with the billboard on Columbus Avenue … Doc Ricketts & Doc’s Lab, Coming Soon. This and other mysteries will be

covered in depth in the next issue of The Stammtisch

The End of Livaboard diving in British Colombia and Alaska

Looks like our trip to Alaska was well planned, the Swell will be out of the liveaboard business on December 1, 2014. The Nautilus Swell was the last of a long line of dive boats starting with the Oceaner, the Clavella, the Skenna, the Spirit of the Pacific, Shoal Searcher, Lady Goodiver, Sea Venturee, Manro and the Nautilus VI, VII and the Nautilus Explorer. The Nautilus Swell will be retiring at the end of this season.

Announcing a new Historical Diving Society (HDS) fund raising raffle.

Here is a chance to win the opportunity to dive a Nuytco Research Exosuit. The winner can select from options ranging from a single dive to a full 5 day Exosuit pilot training program. Only 1000 tickets have been printed, and your chances are better than Megabucks. The drawing will be held

on August 16th, so act soon! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Go to www.hds.org website for more information. Tickets are $100 each or three for $250. Order tickets from [email protected] or call 805-934-1660 ext. 2.

You know you want one

Who doesn’t like snorkeling at the beach, watching the

underwater world go by or at least until your mask fogs

up and you can’t get over the weird feeling of only being able to breathe through your mouth.

Just in time for summer, Tribord, a French sporting goods company, has released the Easybreath mask, that the company claims allows for easier breathing and better visibility underwater.

Instead of just breathing through your mouth, the Easybreath full-face design allows you breathe through your nose too. The headpiece allows for a full 180-degree-range so you won’t miss that sea turtle swimming by.


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It also features a double airflow system that prevents mask fogging, and a built-in component that automatically plugs the top end of the snorkel when it's immersed.

For the stylish snorkeler, the Easybreath comes in five different colors to match any wet suit or bikini.

But you may have to go to Europe to pick one up. Tribord announced via Twitter that it does not yet have the capacity to ship the product worldwide.

Nemo’s Family Values

The movie

Finding Nemo made the clown fish stars, but the Disney film punts on the most

fascinating aspect of the

organisms. As sequential hermaphrodites, they lead unique home lives. All are born male, with the ability to change sex, but once a male turns into a female, she can’t turn back into a male. The largest and most dominant fish among those sharing an anemone becomes the female; the next-largest develops functioning testes. She lays eggs; he fertilizes them. One of the mated pair will eventually die, to be swiftly replaced by someone down the ladder. If the matriarch dies, the fertile male who was No. 2 takes her place as No. 1, metamorphosing into a female himself. Finding Nemo painted a lifelong romance between Nemo’s parents for more than just the sake

of simplicity: a real clown-fish father who loses his mate would not develop a psychologically complex system of grieving and overprotection. He would simply become Nemo’s new mother. Nemo (the only other fish remaining in the anemone) would rapidly develop mature gonads. He would become his own father while his father became his mother, and they would raise little incestuous Nemos together without a drip of sentimentality.

Adapted from The Extreme Life of the Sea, by Stephen R. Palumbi and Anthony R. Palumbi (published by Princeton University Press in March)

Ocean Trash as Art at the San Francisco Zoo

From a distance, the whimsical art displayed at the San Francisco Zoo's old elephant area looks like giant starfish, an eel, kelp forest, jellyfish even a whale’s skeleton. It’s the creation of Angela Haseltine Pozzi, lead artist and executive director of the environmental education group of Oregon.

The display is open to the public through the summer and is part of the 12 tons of garbage collected by volunteers on the beaches of Oregon and turned into art at the zoo's "Buoy, Beat 'n' Bop".

The collected materials were sorted by color and type and then incorporated into the sculptures, which can be touched, pushed, drummed on and spun.

Many of the materials may have been floating in

the flotsam and jetsam of the ocean for years before

heading towards Oregon and being deposited on the

beach.


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2014 Channel Islands Dive Trip

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday

September 21-22 -22

• The tradition continues into a new year, we have 1 spot left for 2014

• The Cost per spot is $450 - still one of the best bargains for Channel Island diving anywhere.

• To secure your spot, send a $100 deposit (per spot) to our treasurer - Pierre

Hurter, 515 Diamond Street, SF, CA 94114. Spots will go on a first check received basis, so don’t delay.

• The Peace leaves the dock at 10PM on Saturday, September 20th - The first

dive is on Sunday morning.

• Bring all of your dive gear, including one full tank. The Peace can refill air or 32% Nitrox. Alternatively, you can rent a tank and have it delivered onboard.

• For those diving Nitrox, unlimited Nitrox fills cost $75. If you want Nitrox,

bring your Nitrox certification card and a separate check for $75 payable to the Peace Dive Boat.

• Wine, beer and other adult beverages may be brought on board, but remember,

your 1st drink marks your last dive of the day.

• For additional information, directions to the boat, or to rent gear, etc. check out the Peace website … www.peaceboat.com.

• For any other questions, contact Jim Vallario at 415.566.0784 or 415.819.1159

(cell).


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SINCE JANUARY 1ST 1973

ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO REEF DIVERS (SFRD): The Reef Diver Times is the official newsletter of the San Francisco Reef Divers, a not for profit community organization dedicated to safe sport diving and the preservation of our ocean resources. Membership is $25 annually, dues payable to “SFRD”. The General Meeting is held the 3rd Wednesday of the month. Location is announced one week prior to the meeting. Please check our yahoo site for details http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sfreefdivers/ We meet at 7:00pm for socializing, drinks, food and club business. For more information, visit http://www.sfreefdivers.org/. SAN FRANCISCO REEF DIVERS Reef Diver Times C/O Gerda Hurter 515 Diamond Street San Francisco, CA 94114

San Francisco Reef Divers (SFRD)

$25 Please make checks payable to “San Francisco Reef

Divers” and mail to: Pierre Hurter, SFRD Treasurer, 515 Diamond Street,

San Francisco, CA 94114

San Francisco Reef Divers June 2014 Volume XLII No. 6 … · 2014-06-13 · San Francisco Reef...

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Transcript of San Francisco Reef Divers June 2014 Volume XLII No. 6 … · 2014-06-13 · San Francisco Reef...