Those of you with sharp eyes may have picked up on the fact in our last event update that the Cee Ray was no longer listed but the Great Escape was, a first for both.

We got a call last week from Arnold Lancaster, Cee Ray owner, telling us that his ongoing engine problems would not be resolved by May 6, and that he was reluctantly going to have to drop out of the event. We certainly understand and not only wish Arnold and the Cee Ray the best, but thank them for their unwavering support of our Chamber over the years.

Enter the Great Escape.

We have the can-you-participate discussions with the boat captains in late December and early January. At that time, Tim said he honestly didn’t know if he’d be able to do the event or not and said he’d rather not commit to it in January only to have to back out in May. He said he’d much rather be a last-minute addition than a last-minute cancellation.

So when we got the call from Arnold, we immediately put out a call to Tim, and explained the situation to him. Tim thought about it for maybe a nano-second and agreed to re-join the event (he’s done it in many previous years) and take all of those we’d originally booked on the Cee Ray. So we’re quite happy to welcome Tim and the Great Escape back into the event, and we’re certainly appreciative of not having to move 30 divers or cancel them outright.

Those of you previously booked on to the Cee Ray do not have to do anything different other than go to the Great Escape. The boat will still be open the evening before after 9PM for those who’d rather sleep on board. Departure time, as for all the boats, is 7AM on Wednesday, May 6. The GE will head straight for the Chamber and the walking tour, and then will do a dive, lunch, and another dive before heading back to Long Beach. The GE should be back at the dock around 5:30PM.

We’re happy to have the Great Escape participating again this year and, more importantly, we thank everyone who makes this event such a success. Without the collaborative efforts of everyone involved, from the boats to the stores to the clubs to the individual divers and more, Chamber Day simply wouldn’t happen.

Here’s looking forward to a successful result on May 6.

Ken Kurtis
Chairman, Chamber Day 2009
www.chamberday.org