January 5, 2003

Non-Maui Stuff:
 

• We have the school the first Tuesday of every month.  Rent is paid so we should try to make better use of the facility.
   

• Our annual "Christmas dinner" will be held at the China Rose on February 1st.  Details will be e-mailed out when the booking is made.
   

• Camphosts are confirmed for the following dates:
  • February 6-8
  • April 2-4

• Sharpen the edges on your skis and haul out the snow shovels - Cookie Race is on February 28th and once again we'll be volunteering our services.  Following the race will be a day of skiing at Sunshine.
   

• Winter camp on March 13th.  Location TBA in the next few weeks.  Current idea's include:
  • Pinegrove
  • Lost Lake
  • Tunnel Mountain
  • A walk in location (i.e. Point)
  • Quait Valley

• Dominique is looking into scheduling a splash at SAIT.  Current plan is:
  • Book pool, invite other Scouting and Rovering groups to attend
  • Get Aquasport to run an intro for SCUBA in exchange for cheap gear rental
  • Date TBA
     

• A SAIT splash is also an option, however we did not like them last year as there were too many people

• We are selling much of our excess equipment.  Once group committee decides what is being sold and the price it will be offered to us first.  This would be a good chance to upgrade/aquire camping equipment for those of you who are lacking kit.  Don will be e-mailing this info out as it becomes available.

• We have officially run out of space for our webpage - all 30 megs of our space is taken and Geocities is refusing us more storage unless we give them money.  Bryan will beg for some free space somewhere else, otherwise we'll have to delete some of the bigger stuff.

• Our green food box needs a new home, otherwise it goes in the trash.  If you have space in an attic/crawl space/other please let Bryan know ASAP.  He will continue to house until next camphost.  At that point it must go somewhere else.
   

• Some christmas tree info is in, and the news is not good:
  • We made a profit - numbers aren't final but it looks like Pineridge is in for $2500.  This equals a measly $7 per shift.
  • The christmas tree counsel is meeting to decide what (if anything) will be changed next year.  Once the final decisions are made we have some important decision to make, including if we want to continue doing trees as a fundraiser.
  • On happier news Mike & Sean Fall (from Rundel?) were the kind "tree fairies" that carried away all of our extra trees to the dump.  In thanx we are sending them some gift certificates.
     

Maui Stuff:
 

• If you have not yet applied for a passport, or your passport expires before November 1 2004, you need to apply for a passport ASAP.  Passports take a while to get and we are running short on time.  Travel to the US without a valid passport is nearly impossible.  Forms are available on-line at: http://www.ppt.gc.ca/online_forms/index_e.asp

• Flights are booked & paid for.  We are traveling via Air Canada.  We leave Calgary on Saturday May 1st, at ~4PM.  We leave Maui on Sunday, May 8th at ~ Midnight, and arrive home at about 2PM on Monday.  Both flights have a transfer at Vancouver.
   

• Our condo's are booked.  We are staying at the Koa resort in Kihei.  Downpayment has already been made.

• You MUST have extended health coverage for travel to the US.  Some of you may have bought this from Darcy, others may have it through their private insurance.  If you do not have this coverage you MUST get it from somewhere (~$20 from AMA). 
   

• You may want to consider diving insurance.  It costs about $60 per year and covers expenses such as decompression therapy, evacuation, etc.  It is available through organizations such as DAN and DiveAssure.

• Other safety equipment you may want to bring is a whistle and safety sausage (long inflatable, brightly coloured tube).  These can both be used to signal the dive boat if you surface a long ways away from it, or can be used to signal for help if you have an emergency.  Everyone probably has a whistle.  Safety sausages are available from Aquasport and the Dive Shop for aprox. $35.  These items are not required - but in the words of a friend "What is the value of your life?  Spend accordingly".

• We will be renting our gear from SCUBA Shack Maui.  Cost is $22.50USD per day, including 1 tank per day.  This may not include a wetsuit (Bryan is looking into that).  The "full package" includes masks, fins, snorkel, BCD, regs, a tank, weight, and potentially a wet suit.  Of course you are welcome to bring your own gear.  However you need to get the following info to Bryan ASAP so he can book gear:
  • What size of wet suit you wear (this is only for Dominique and Bob, he has sizing info for everyone else)
  • If you want to use their fins/mask/etc or your own
  • If you have any other equipment that you are brining and do not need to rent.
     

• On advantage of this trip is that with 2 vehicles we'll have many options, so not everyone has to do every dive, etc.  This means people can do extra boat dives if they wish, or spend a day surfing instead of diving, etc. 
   

• We need to get our trip forms to Scouts Canada ASAP.  Dominique is taking care of this.

• Bryan is going to contact the BSA Aloha counsel to see if we can't hook up with some Rovers while we're in Maui.  Maybe we can even find a dive guide for a day or two.

• Members going (9):
   
  • Bryan
  • Greg
  • Ryan
  • Tim
  • Pete
  • Bob
  • Cody
  • Darcy
  • Dominique
     

Maui Budget:
This budget is essentially final at this point.  The exact costs of SCUBA rentals and food may vary.  Price may also change depending on the exchange rate. 

Mandatory Expenses:
 

Total mandatory expenses:  $1607.35 Canadian

Optional Expenses:
 

Note:  At this time every one has paid Pete $950.  Be prepared to shell out some more $$$ soon, as we'll need money for SCUBA rental down payment, as well as more money for the condo's.