From Sofia (Club President):
Join us for an exciting evening with Ken Kurtis, renowned diver and chamber operations expert, as he discusses Hyperbaric Chamber Rescue Diver Facility on Catalina Island, operated by USC. This is a unique opportunity to learn about one of the most advanced diver safety and hyperbaric facilities in Southern California. PLUS! He's the chairman of the Chamber EVE/DAY event coming soon in May. 

 

Date: March 4th
Location: Eco Dive Center
Who’s Invited? All divers—recreational, technical, and commercial—are welcome!

 

What to Expect:
Insightful discussion on hyperbaric chamber operations and diver safety.
Learn how the facility supports diver emergency care and research.
Hang out with fellow divers, expand your knowledge, and network

 

Bonus: Free tacos for all attendees! 
BYOB—bring your favorite drink and enjoy a laid-back evening with the dive community.

 

Don’t miss this chance to connect, learn, and share stories with fellow divers. See you there!

From Ken Kurtis:
Chamber Day 2025 will be later this year on May 7th at the Long Beach Aquarium Of The Pacific. And while every year we ask you t support our Chamber, there are probably things about what it does and how it came to be that you don't know about. So this coming Tuesday evening, you can learn some of that as Chamber Day chair Ken Kurtis will be presenting an informative talk about not only Chamber Day but the history of our Chamber and how it came to be. For instance, did you know that some of the first discoveries about the bends happened around the 1900s and was because of workers building bridges in new York and London? Do you know how they got our Chamber over to Catalina? And why was it put there instead of somewhere else? Ken will provide those answers and a whole lot more this Tuesday. And hell give you some of the "secrets" of Chamber Evening, where Eco Dive Center is once again the #1 table sponsor with four tables (40 seats) to fill. Hope to see you Tuesday night!!!  BUY TICKETS!

 
Bio:
Ken Kurtis was kicked out of swim class twice by the time he was six. (He didn't like putting his face in the water.) Hardly an auspicious start to a diving career. But Ken always loved being around the water, loved looking at fish, and in 1978 while running a radio station in Richmond, VA, was offered a chance to get certified and took advantage of it. Ken then became a NAUI Instructor (Top Candidate at his 1980 ITC) and has taught thousands of people over the years. He doesn't teach as much as he used to when the brick-and-mortar store was open, but still likes teaching Fish Identification and a few others. Ken's logged over 6,000 dives all over the world in such varied places as the Maldives, Indonesia, Yap, Tahiti, Bonaire, Cocos, Alaska, Easter Island and, of course, his beloved waters of Southern California. As the owner of Reef Seekers Dive Co., he speaks frequently to dive clubs about diving and especially safety issues. Ken's been chairman of Chamber Day/Eve since the early 90s, served as a member of the Statewide Interests Group for the MLPA (Marine Life Protection Act), and is a volunteer Dive Team Leader at the Aquarium of the Pacific. Ken's an accomplished photographer and his photos and stories can be found in the pages of the California Diving News, Sport Diver, Skin Diver, Undercurrent and other scuba publications, along with the monthly Reef Seekers newsletter. Since 2003, Ken has been a Forensic Consultant to the L.A. County Coroner for scuba fatalities, doing accident analysis. With all that he still finds time to maintain an acting career and leads all of the local and foreign trips for Reef Seekers. He's a very good cook, avid Scrabble & Boggle player, chases total solar eclipses, ran five L.A. Marathons, and is kind to animals and small children. Be sure to ask him his mantra about divers. He also claims to hold the Reef Seekers deep diving record of 3500' . . . but we have to add the caveat that he did it in the Alvin submersible for a PBS special so that might be cheating.

BUY TICKETS!

 

More from Ken Kurtis...

Chamber Evening is festive affair. (Remember that this year, it’s Wednesday, May 7.) A lot of you dress up, it’s great to
gather with all of you each year, and it seems like everyone has a lot of fun. And we’re delighted to again be able to do all of this in the Great Hall at Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.
As with last year, we’re limiting attendance. This year that means a maximum of 350 people (35 tables of 10). This likely
means that most table sponsors will only to get one or two tables per group. Some groups already report that their tables are filling. So make sure you secure your seat and don’t get left out.
Inflation has caught up with us and this year will see a price increase to $175/seat. You’ll have a chance to wander around and explore the Aquarium from 7-8PM, you’ll enjoy a fabulous feast that will start a little after 8PM (the menu is still being decided but there will be a veggie/vegan option), we’ll go into our program of raffle prizes and recognitions a little after 9PM, and we’ll send you home around 10:15PM.
Speaking of prizes, there will be about 20 of them during the “Pick-A-Prize” raffle as well as some other opportunities. You get five evening raffle tickets when you buy your dinner ticket. Plus you’ll be able to buy extra evening general raffle tickets at the Aquarium on May 7.
And would anyone like to win a week of diving Indonesia with Murex Dive Resorts? Our Grand Prize this year is their 9-day “Passport to Paradise” and ONLY people who attend Chamber Evening (or sign up for the virtual version) will have their
names in the hopper with a chance to score this wonderful dive experience.
For all raffle tickets, please remember to write your name on the back of the stub. That makes everything go more quickly. In fact, a lot of people bring pre-printed stickers and do it that way. Also remember that you need to deposit your raffle tickets into our bin. That’s how you get officially entered. If you don’t put your stubs in the bin, there’s no way we’ll be able to pull your name as a winner.
And if you’re unavailable or still not comfortable with a large group, there’s always Virtual Chamber Evening which allows you to participate from the comfort of your own home.
Remember that it’s all for a good cause which is keeping our Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber financially sound. The economy maybe be improving, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need your help. All the monies raised go to benefit our Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber, which in turn benefits our diving community. For more information about all of this, visit our website at www.chamberday.org. You can sign up there using our secure server, or you can call Chamber Day HQ at (310)652-4990. Chamber Evening has always provided a significant percentage of the overall total for Chamber Day/Eve each year. And we hope this year, like last year, will be no different. We hope you agree that we simply can’t be without an asset and a safety net like the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber. YOU are a critical component in the success of this event. We hope you understand how important our Chamber is to the diving community and that you will stand with us as we collectively stand by our Chamber.

WHY WE DO THIS
Those of us who work in this industry and behind the scenes for this event put a lot of time and effort into
Chamber Day & Eve 2025. That’s because we believe it’s really important to have our Chamber available to us
24/7/365. When a dive accident occurs, getting an injured diver to our Chamber alive means that he/she has an
excellent chance of survival and recovery. Knowing this while you’re performing first aid, administering oxygen,
or doing whatever it takes is a reassuring thought. Our Chamber is an invaluable safety net that we simply don’t
want to lose. Your participation in any or all of the aspects of Chamber Day will help to ensure our Chamber’s
future. Please go to support our Chamber.