Boat Dives in December

Catalina on the Great Escape:

Saturday December 3.  It's an open boat 4 dive special for only $115.  Contact the Great Escape directly at 866-348-3262.  The Great Escape is now docked at 22nd Street Landing

Oil Rigs & Wrecks on the Pacific Star

Saturday, December 17: Eureka, Elley & Ellen oil rigs
Depart from: 22nd Street Landing, San Pedro
Time: boarding at 6:00 am Saturday, December 16th (or after 8:00pm Fri night) and departing at 7:00am.
Cost: $120. ($10 extra per person for a stateroom bunk).  Includes 3 dives, meals, air and reserved bunks.

You can also pay online.  Check out complete details at www.channelislandsdiveadventures.com

Where

Pacific Star out of 22nd Street Landing, San Pedro (map)

Awesome meeting last night

If you weren't able to make it last night, you missed a great meeting. We were joined by Ross Overstreet, who is an underwater mapping kind of guy. He had some amazing GIS data at his presentation.

Ross is an avid local diver, boater, and shipwreck hunter. Ross got certified in 1991, got serious about diving in 2003, and has accumulated about 850 dives since then. He recently got his Trimix cert so he can check out of the deeper targets that’s he located. Ross admits to being odd for a wreck diver in that he’s more into the wildlife than the brass and he particularly enjoys “weird” dive spots like large concrete pipes out in the middle of nowhere and tiny little wrecks or reefs that are too small for commercial boats. Weekends when he’s not diving, Ross can typically be found somewhere around the water trying to get his 4 year old daughter as addicted to the ocean as he is. Ross has a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Auburn University and pays the bills by selling Infrared Cameras to Military Test Ranges and R&D facilities.

Here's a link to some of his stuff on Farnsworth.
http://www.rossoverstreet.org/scuba/Farnsworth/farnsworth_bank.htm

Surprise Raffle prize!!!

I like to thank our supporters Spot Chalet and Hollywood Divers for donating great raffle prizes every month.  You guys make the meetings that much more special.  The giddy look on divers faces when they win that $50 gift card from Sport Chalet, or the dive back pack from Hollywood Divers is priceless.

This months we were surprised when our guest speaker Colleen from the luxury liveaboard Solmar V, added a special prize to our raffle table.  A 50% off coupon for a Socorro Island Liveaboard trip on the Solmar V!  That is a prize worth $1500-$1600!  The most expensive raffle prize we've ever had ;-)

So, the winners are...

%50 off Socorro Island on the Solmar V Liveaboard: Cesar Palerm.
$50. Sport Chalet gift card: John
Hollywood Divers Air Card: Maggie McDermott
Hollywood Divers Air Card: Sheree Lahey
GUE Dive Book: Lenoard Kenny
Wetsuit hanger: John
Large T-shirt: Gary F.
Hollywood Divers Medium T-shirt: Lily
Avalon 3-D card: John
Tank carrier: Cesar
Mouse Pad: Lenard Kenny
Dive Snorkle: John
Line Cutter: Lars Dennert
Solmar V T-shirt: Dave Gaines
Solmar V T-shirt: Cesar Palerm
Adjusta strap: Leonard Kenny

Our Annual resort trip for 2012!!!

Ok, Sole Searchers... Here's what you've been waiting for. A trip of a life time!
May 3-14, 2012, Malaysian Borneo Scuba Adventure!!!

For our annual resort dive trip for 2012 we will be staying at the Borneo Divers Mabul Resort in Malaysian Borneo, and diving around Mabul island, and also the world famous Sipadan island!

I'm really looking forward to this, since for years I've heard great things about diving this area, especially Sipadan Island!  It's going to be an exotic location on the other side of the globe, which means a long flight, but the diving is going to be... well, just ask anyone who's been there, its spactacular!  Some rate Sipadan as one of the top five dive destination in the world.  You'll find unusual critters you just won't find in the Caribbean.  You'll find tornado of barracudas at Sipadan, lots and lots of turtles, bumphead parrot fish, sharks, healthy coral gardens, vertical walls, and on and on! Theres too much to write here, and there's plenty of information on diving Mabul and Sipadan everywhere so I won't waste your time, but meanwhile here are the basic information below.  

The package deal.

7 nights at Borneo Mabul Resort in air-conditioned chalets.  These chalets have ensuite bathrooms with modern hot water shower. Safety deposit box, etc. 

6 days of 3 tank boat dives a day between Mabul, Kapalai, Sipadan, Si Amil or Mantabuan Island with Professional Divemaster. Unlimited shore dives. (Borneo Divers is a PADI 5 Star IDC Dive Center). 

3 meals a day plus light snacks and beverages while at the Dive Resort (Except alcoholic and/or carbonated soft drinks) 

Free Broadband WIFI internet access. 

(Borneo Divers has an on site recompression chamber, and treat dive emergencies from throughout the region. Trained Hyperbaric Technicians are present and on call at all times.)

See the resort website for more information
Borneo Divers

And since we're all the way on the other side of the world in Borneo, we're going to get a sample of the jungle wilderness. 

2 nights at Sepilok Nature Resort 

 ~ 2 nights accommodation on twin sharing basis with en-suite bathroom 

~ Full board meals 

~ A guided tour to Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation centre 

~ 1 Day entrance fee into Sepilok Rehabilitation centre 

~ A guided night jungle walk at SNR resort jungle trail 

~ Half day Labuk Bay excursion for Proboscis Monkey (inclusive entrance fee) 

~ English speaking guide 

Then to relax and cleanup for the trip back... 

1 night at the Hyatt Regency Kota Kinabalu before our flight back home.   

Base Price: $2,350 pp/do for the resorts/transfers/dive/nature stuff.  (price may fluctuate slightly due to exchange rates, but the U.S. dollar and the Malaysian Ringgit is pretty stable). 

We will get one free spot for every 10 paid person, and as usual, we'll spread out the savings with everyone. If we get 12 people The average price per person will be $2044.23 for the resort portion.

Please Note:

1. Excluded Sipadan Entry Permit RM 40.00 per person per day (right now about $13 U.S. dollars).  We will dive Sipadan at least one day, but if extra permits are available I'm doing Sipadan as much as possible.  

Airfare: Round trip $1766.40 for airfare on Malaysian Ailrline

We have seats held on Malaysian Airlines. I hear Malaysian Airline has excellent service, so it'll help on this long treck to our destination ;-)

MALAYSIA AIRLINES Thurs 03 May Depart Los Angeles (LAX) 12:45 AM

Fri 04 May Arrive Tawau (TWU) 2:00 PM

1 MH 95V 03MAY TH LAXTPE SS1 1245A 615A#1/O $ E

2 MH 69V 04MAY FR TPEBKI SS1 800A 1130A/X $ E

3 MH2137Y 04MAY FR BKITWU SS1 115P 200P/O $ E

4 MH2043Y 13MAY SU SDKBKI SS1 830A 915A/O $ E

5 MH2605Y 14MAY MO BKIKUL SS1 1045A 110P/O $ E

6 MH 94V 14MAY MO KULLAX SS1 315P 655P/X $ E      

Deposit of $200 will hold your spot, (deposit for the resort $100./person + airfare deposit $100/person)

Important Deadline Dates: 

Jan 1, 2011: 1/2 of your resort + 1/2 airfare.

February 7, 2012: Total balance due 

Like I said, this is going to be a trip of a lifetime!

Dive Package put together by Gene Dold at Scuba Travel Ventures 

This Monday September 12

Our guest speaker chair Shawn Broes says...

Hay gang-

We have a cool speaker coming on Monday...

Colleen with Solmar V will come show off sights from their incredible liveaboard, the Solmar V.

Colleen Darling Planté has been scuba diving since 1985 and has attained the Master Diver rating.  Along with scuba diving 6 of the 8 Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California, she has also had the opportunity to scuba dive The Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Gulf of Mexico, Fiji, Roatan and Hawaii as well as, of course, the Socorro Islands and Guadalupe Island.  She has been with the Solmar V since 2007 and looks forward to sharing with you information about the magical 

underwater world that congregates at the Socorro Islands and Guadalupe Island!

A couple of cool raffle goodies are promised, too... so please come join us!

http://www.solmarv.com/
http://www.facebook.com/SolmarV.liveaboard
http://www.youtube.com/user/SolmarV
Proud Partner of DivEncounters Alliance   "Where Wilderness is the Ultimate Luxury!"

http://www.solmarv.com/

September 17th. Annual Family Picnic Beach Dive/BBQ

Saturday September 17. 9:00 AM. Picnic Beach offers something for everyone. Easy sandy beach entry, reefs to the East, reefs straight out, and the reefs over to the west at divers cove. This area is perfect for a family outing. The picnic area has many permanent picnic tables and B.B.Q. grill for us to use. There’s plenty of lawn area to lay down and relax, and several toilet facilities are available. Meet at the picnic area around 9 am. We will do a dive in the morning, followed by burgers and hotdogs, and then just relax. You can do a second dive if you and your dive buddy feel up to it, or you can drive a few blocks over to downtown Laguan Beach and check out the shopping. The club will provide the burgers, hot dogs, buns, and condiments. Please bring your own beverages and a side dish to share.

Please e-mail me Kaz for the type of side dish you will be bringing, and I'll create a list so we can avoid everyone bringing the same side dish.

Direction: I usually take I-5 South, then take the 133 South. Don’t take the 133 North, which comes up first. It’s also a toll road. 133 South is the one you want, and it will turn into Broadway eventually, and ends up on PCH. Take a right on PCH heading North, then take a left at Cliff Drive. (You'll see the Laguna Art Museum on your left, and Aster St. will be to your right). Dive few blocks until you get to the area where Myrtle and Cliff meet. Park in this area. If you're coming south on PCH, take a right on Myrtle Street & take your first left which will put you on Cliff Drive. You’ll see a sign for “Heisler Park.” Park anywhere near this area. Oh yes, bring quarters for the meters! 25 cents/ 15 minutes.

Dive access and Entry: There is a paved path to the protected cove with sandy beach.
Skill level: Beginner when calm; intermediate around the point with navigation skills.
Depth: average 30 ft.
Visibility: Good, averaging 20-25 feet.
Photography: Very good wide angle with good light, interesting rock features, gorgonians, Garibaldi, and more. Fair for macro with some small fish and invertebrates. Plenty of Christmas tree worms. Hunting: Too close to border of Vedder Ecological Reserve.

Parking & Facilities: all metered parking, .25 cents/15minutes, so bring lot’s of quarters.
This is a popular picnic site especially during the summer, so show up early to find good parking. I recommend dropping off your dive gear first at the picnic site, and then go park your car. There is a change machine nearby, a fresh water shower is located at the bottom of the paved path leading to the beach.

Benches and picnic tables with B.B.Q. pits. No portable B.B.Q. grill is permitted. No canopy type shade is allowed,
but individual beach umbrella with stand is ok in the picnic area.

Contact person: Kaz Aizawa

Two day Northern Channel Island dive trip

Hey everyone, I've heard nothing but good things about the Truth Aquatics boats, so let's go do a two day dive trip to the Northern Channel Islands!

1/2 the boat is chartered by a private group, but the other half is open for anyone... like us! I've signed up, so now there's only 12 open spots left for this Labor Day weekend trip.    So call Truth Aquatics and sign up soon for the September 3,4 on the Conception. They take credit cards, so all they need is a 50% deposit to hold your spot. Their phone number is 805-962-1127

September 3,4 on the Conception to the Northern Channel Islands.  Boarding the night before, departing at 4 a.m. on the 3rd.  Price is $363. Includes all food and air-fills.  They'll even fill your HP steel tanks up to 3500psi!

Truth Aquatics

July club meeting and Raffle Prize Winners!

Another great meeting! We had Scott Gietler, the owner of the new store "Blue Water Photo" come give us a talk on how to take better underwater photos.  I myself have only ventured into a point and shoot type digital camera, but he even had great advice for a novice like me.  It was an evening full of thoughtful questions and answers.  Scott also leads many photo class/dive trips, so check out their website for more info. Blue Water Photo

Beach Dive in July:  We're changing our July 23rd beach dive site to "Deadman's Reef," just to prove to Sheree that it exists.  By the way, congrats to Sheree for becoming a Dive Master.  I hear Jovy is, or almost is a Dive Master too.  They both took their course from Hollywood Divers, and really recommends the program to anyone who would like to improve their diving skills, or on their way to becoming a dive pro.

We just got back from Cozumel, but I'm already putting together our next years tropical dive trip, and I'll give you a hint...  It's going to be on the Pacific side of the ocean, in the Coral Triangle, and it starts with the letter "S".  I won't give you any details until Gene at Scuba Travel Ventures sends me the numbers, but great diving is waiting for us in May 2012. 

Tonight was also Lars' birthday, so we all sang a round of happy birthday with a candle lit flan.

September 3,4 Memorial Day weekend we're diving the Northern Channel Island on the dive boat Conception out of Santa Barbara.  More details will be sent out soon, but I hear nothing but great things about the boat and the crew.

Finally, great thanks goes out to Sport Chalet and Hollywood Divers for their generous donations to our monthly raffle.

Defogger: Leonard K.
EEZYCUT professional line cutting tool: Kaz
Magnifying glass: Dave Gaines
O-ring kit: Maggie
Reef Fish of Galapagos book: Jimmy Quan
Vanauata dive guide book: Jovy
Dive sausage: Dave Gaines
$50 Sport Chalet gift card: Maggie McDermett
Catalina Island book: Lanette
Dive Mat: Jovy

Great Meeting!

Thanks to everyone who contributed pictures and video to the May meeting! It was a wall of color from around the world and you played to a packed house. It's obvious what Sole Searchers enjoy doing; diving in far away places.

This evening's raffle winners are as follows:
$50 Gift card from Sport Chalet - Gary Faland
Pocket Snorkel - John Marin
Clip - Gary Faland
Signal Mirror - Lanette Stennes
Avalong 3D card - Jim Quan
Mask buckle strap - Steve Fuerstenau
Mask buckle strap - John Marin
Ikelite - Gary Faland (Ok lots of repetitive winners)
Mousepad - Laura Steckler
Ballcap - Matt Barbor
Aircard - Jim Quan
Mouth Piece - John Marin (Somebody bought lots of tix)

And thanks to Sport Chalet and Hollywood Divers for the discount prizes. We couldn't do it without you!

Also thanks to Gary Tollack for my raffle-less prize inflator.
Lars Dennert

May Club Meeting Raffle Prize Winners!

Congrats to the May Dive Club Meeting  Raffle Prize Winners!  We had some really nice raffle prizes this month donated by both Sport Chalet and Hollywood Divers!  We love you guys!

$50. Gift card from Sport Chalet: Lanette

Mini retractor: Bob James

Multi Tool: Laura Steckler

Line Cutter: Gary T.

Mouth Piece Holder: Jimmy Quan

Glow Stick: Glenn

DIR Dive Book: Lanette

Mini Light: Pete Barrale

Hollywood Divers Air Card: Dave Gaines

Hollywood Divers Air Card: Lanette

Hollywood Divers Air Card: Jim

Hollywood Divers Nitrox Card: Jimmy Quan

Mouse Pad: Barbara Potter

Beach Towel: Laura Steckler

Mesh Bag: Barbara Potter

Back Pack: Carolyn

2 SCUBA SHOW 2011 tickets: Jimmy Quan

A free week of Liveaboard diving for two in Raja Ampat: not really, just seeing if you're paying attention.

Great White Sharks this Monday at our May 9th meeting

This Monday we'll have Ralph S. Collier of the Shark Research Committee presenting on our local sharks. I first came to notice Ralph's work in 2009 when some terrific shark breaching photos were being emailed around. I've been pursuing him ever since...

Ralph S. Collier is recognized internationally as the leading authority on Pacific Coast White Shark behavior and ecology. For more than 40 years he has studied White Shark predatory behavior and biology as they relate to interactions with humans. His audio visual library extends for more than four decades and is unequaled in content. Excerpts from his exceptional collection of data and understanding about how, when, where, and why White Sharks attack have been published in professional journals, research symposium volumes, and appeared in more than 100 articles in the popular press. His book, “Shark Attacks of the Twentieth Century: from the Pacific Coast of North America,” has been proclaimed “a masterpiece” by colleagues and shark enthusiasts worldwide.

Mr. Collier’s achievements include:
•Founder and President of the Shark Research Committee
•Pioneering the technique using "interspace measurements"
from tooth impressions to determine shark species and size.
•The first researcher to cite the significance of White Shark attack “recurring locations,”
as they pertain to attacks on humans.
•The first researcher to note the significance, and correlation, between juvenile White Shark appearances at Southern California beaches and California Grunion spawns.
•The first to postulate the significance behind the oddity of “eye rolling” by the White Shark during feeding and/or investigation behaviors.

Mr. Collier has appeared in more than two dozen Discovery Channel Shark Week Specials and three dozen independent documentaries; including those for the History Channel, BBC, Animal Planet and A & E. He has been a continuing consultant for TV news programs including; NBC Sunday Today Show, KNBC News, CBS News, The O'Reilly Factor, ABC News, CNN, The Heartland on FOX News, FOX News Los Angeles, FOX News Geraldo At Large, KTLA News Los Angeles, NBC 7/39 News, KUSI News, KFMB News San Diego, KHJ-TV News Los Angeles, and most recently MSNBC.

Please join us in welcoming Ralph to the club this Monday!



http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/

SCUBA Refresher 4/16/2011

Before one of our club trip to a tropical destination, we try to make sure our gear is in good working order, and our SCUBA techniques fresh in our minds.  With the Cozumel trip coming up in about a month, it was good timing to jump into a pool and practice some SCUBA techniques.  Tom and Ginnie Reynolds volunteered their home and pool for the event, and instructor Mark Kampe guided the group refreshing their skills and augmenting their knowledge.  Dive Master John also helped in the pool sporting his new blue gator skin looking hood.

The day turned out to be a beautiful day, and the group of divers enjoyed the nice warm water in the pool.  Lori is just enjoying the water and didn't want to come out.

Tom shared his knowledge on the topic of underwater photography with Jimmy.

The girls say it was a success by their smiles.  Later Tom and Ginnie fired up the grill, and treated the group to a BBQ lunch.  Thanks to all that attended (about 13 of us?), and again thank you Mark, Tom, Ginnie, and John.

April club meeting raffle winners!

This month lucky raffle winners are…

2 Tank Boat Dive with Riviera Dive Charters: Jimmy Quan

2 Tank Boat Dive with Riviera Dive Charters: Lanette

$50 Gift Card from Sport Chalet, Laura H Sheckler

S.O.S. (Surface Observation Signal) surface marker: Jovy

Rescure Mirror: Bromley

Cozumel dive guide book: Jovy

Kizmet Wreck Card: Laura H. Sheckler

Mousepad: Shawn B.

Beach dive towel: Gary Faland

Hollywood Divers Mesh dive back pack: John Marin

Hollywood Divers T-Shirt: Bromley

Hollywood Divers T-Shirt: Laura H Sheckler

Hollywood Divers T-Shirt: Gary T.

Great thanks goes out to Sport Chalet, Hollywood Divers, and Riviera Dive Charters and Beach Cities Scuba for their generous donations to this months raffle prizes.

ACE wreck

Hey divers- Just a reminder that we'll have Rod Surratt & Hosam Elshenawi from Beach Cities Scuba at our meeting on Monday. They'll talk about local diving off Dana Point, and the ACE wreck, which we'll be diving on the 23rd. Some have asked if we can pay for the dive at the meeting, and yes you can! I never got bios from them, so I have info from their website: The Riviera is the only dive vessel located in the convenient Dana Point Harbor in South Orange County and is an exceptional way to experience Orange County’s local diving without the hassle of beach diving. The Riviera is focused on serving divers, snorkelers, underwater hunters, photographers and private charters. On the Riviera you will enjoy a 2 tank local dive trip exploring the reefs and kelp forests of San Clemente, Laguna Beach, Dana Point and Newport Beach. The Riviera is outfitted to accommodate 30 passengers, but we only take 14 divers to maximize your comfort! We certainly can't beat the price... If your dive club brings a minimum of 5 divers, we can give you each spot for $80. This goes for this trip as well as any other. Normal price is $99, so that is a good discount. If your divers wish to have nitrox on board, the cost is an additional $10 per tank, so $20 for nitrox on both dives. We need to know about this before hand. Once you have the minimum 5 divers, please phone us so we can set up payment and confirm the trip. After that, if you have more sign ups they can call us individually to sign up and get the $80 price. http://www.rivierayachtcharters.com/scuba-diving/ A little more on the wreck: http://www.rivierayachtcharters.com/news/ And, they do burials at sea, so bring those ashes that might still be lying around the house! (Sorry if that was in poor taste...) sb

SCUBA Show 2011 — June 4 - 5, 2011

Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, CA
The SCUBA Show, America’s Largest Consumer Dive Expo, will take place June 4-5, 2011 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California. This is the 24th year of this popular event. The show will consist of 76,000 square feet of diving related exhibits including new and revolutionary dive gear, equipment bargains, travel pros (many offering show discounts), and diving experts. Several exhibitors also offer free drawings for valuable prizes. The first 1,000 people in attendance on Saturday and Sunday will receive complementary tote bags and major door prize drawings will be taking place throughout the day.
Highlighting the exhibit hall will be a personal appearance by world famous artist Wyland. On Saturday he will be interacting with attendees while painting a new piece of art and on Sunday he will be painting an ocean mural with participation from children in attendance.
Legendary underwater filmmaker Stan Waterman will be headlining a weekend of seminars that include some of the most popular dive experts around. Some of the presenters include Marty Snyderman, Jack and Sue Drafahl, Bruce Watkins, Dale Sheckler, Ken Knezick, Ken Kurtis, and more. Subjects covered include underwater photography and video, marine life, dive travel, dive medicine, gear, and California diving.
A continuous underwater film festival will be running in the exhibit hall on a three-story high screen and will feature films from around the world by over a dozen underwater imaging experts.
Exhibit hall hours are Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $12 and includes admission to exhibit hall and film festival (seminars are an additional charge). Discount coupons are available at California dive stores, on California dive charter boats and through California dive clubs. Age 13 and under are admitted free. For information on SCUBA Show 2011 call (310) 792-2333 or visit the web site www.ScubaShow.com. Advanced registration online at ScubaShow.com is strongly encouraged to save time and money.

Thank you once again for supporting the SCUBA Show and the scuba diving community.

Christopher D. Sheckler
Marketing Director

St. Brendan Corp.
California Diving News
Scuba Show 2010
PO Box 11231
Torrance, CA 90510
310-792-2333
fax 310-792-2336

Chamber Eve 2011

Wednesday, May 4, from 7:00–10:30 p.m.

Again this year our club is sponsoring a table at the Chamber Eve fundraiser dinner at the Aquarium of the Pacific.

What’s great about this event is that all the monies raised go to the Chamber. No administrative fees are deducted from the proceeds, the local SoCal boats donate their time and services, the manufacturers donate gear for raffle prizes, the Aquarium of the Pacific donates their facility for the evening event, hundreds of volunteers donate their time, and we contribute our money by attending these fun-filled events to keep our Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber running.

Cost of the evening this year is again, $90 per person. (Folks who do the daytime and evening events will receive an extra $20 in raffle tickets as a bonus for doing both.) This event sells out consistantly, so the earlier you sign up, the better (they cap attendance at 500).  Each table seats 10 people, and dinner is a sit-down, served affair. You can sign up online.  Just be sure you click on the "Sole Searchers Dive Club" for your table preference. Once you signed up, shoot me an e-mail so we can have an idea on available seats.  As of today (3/20/11) we have 7 seats left, so don't delay and go to  Chamber Eve website now :-)

The doors will open at 7:00 and dinner will be served around 8:15. This gives you over an hour to explore the Aquarium exhibits, check out the prizes, and mingle. After some speeches and presentation of the total donation check, the evening should wrap up shortly after 10 p.m., and you’ll have until about 10:30 to wander around the Aquarium and take in any sights you missed earlier.

You’ll receive 5 evening raffle tickets, good for the special prizes. Plus there will be an opportunity to buy more raffle tickets when you get there. Total value of the evening raffle will be roughly $10,000, and prizes will include regulators, BCs, computers, and even a complete gear set.

They’ll also have a Blind Auction where you can bid on certain prizes, while not knowing what others have bid.

During the entire evening, we’ll have full access to the Aquarium and its 12,000+ critters, comprising over 550 species and representing three major regions of the Pacific. In case you didn’t know, the Aquarium of the Pacific is the only aquarium that focuses solely on the Pacific Ocean.

And if you're lucky enough to get Wednesday off to go diving, well here is the link to Chamber Day.

Hope you can join us at the Sole Searchers table!

Kaz

Shipwrecks of the Southwest presentation at the March 14 Meeting

I know this crept on us very quickly, but our next meeting is this Monday!
Not to fear, however... we have a really cool presentation by one the
cornerstone members of the California Wreck Divers, David Finnern.

David will be presenting his Shipwrecks of the Southwest presentation.

Finnern has spent over 35 years searching for shipwrecks and submerged ruins.
As an award-winning writer, he has published hundreds of stories on underwater exploration
and has written on-assignment for such magazines as Skin Diver, Western and Eastern Treasures, Wreck Diver, Underwater USA, Western Diver and Immersed. Finnern is the author of several books, including The Sport Divers’ Guide to Sunken Treasure, Passage Through Deep Waters and Lost Below:
The Southwest’s Most Intriguing Shipwrecks, Sunken Aircraft, Submerged Ruins and Undersea Treasures.
He has been a featured speaker at various functions throughout the United States
and has appeared as a guest and on-air technical consultant on national and international television.
He is a member and former president of both The Adventurers’ Club and California Wreck Divers, Inc., and was elected a Fellow of The Royal Geographical Society in 2002.

http://www.cawreckdivers.org/

Thanks Shawn

Avalon Harbor Cleanup 2011

What?  Where's the rain?

The forecast was for rain with possible thunderstorms, which seemed to have scared many divers away from participating in this years annual Avalon Harbor Cleanup dive.  But at least three intrepid divers from our club was not put off by the forecast.  And whatta ya know, we were rewarded with a beautiful day on Catalina.  Blue skies with a little bit of scattered clouds, and no wind… wow.  Meanwhile, hail was falling on some parts of L.A.

Although we were here for the cleanup dive, this year we opted to just dive in the underwater park.  The reason being Andrea and I needed to tune our buoyancy since we both had new gear.  After checking our weight and trim, we started our fun part of the dive. A semi-strong current was running from west to east laying the kelp down horizontally which made us kick harder than usual.  This was not a bad thing since it helped me burn off that muffin I had in the morning.  The vis was not great, but not bad either, about 25-30ish.  Water temp was a cool 55 degrees (did I mention before how I love my drysuit?). The usual fish and critters greeted us as we swam around the park.  I did notice some individual squid egg casings around 40 fsw, but nothing in mass.  Overall, a nice Casino Point dive.  Meanwhile, the other divers were pulling out some interesting items out of the harbor during the cleanup dive, but nothing like the amount of junk we used to recover five years ago.  There are less and less junk in the harbor every year... which is a good thing right?  Oh yea, and our buoyancy check? I think I can take another 4 pounds of lead off my weight belt!

After the dive we headed over to Coyote Joe's for lunch and drinks.  The day turned out to be a really nice day after all.  Thanks to John and Andrea for being brave enough to come out to dive with me on this supposedly the worst day of the month ;-)

-Kaz

February Raffle winners, and a funny story.

A funny thing happened with our February raffle.

I've never seen this happen anywhere before, but when the ticket number 709940 was called, two people had the exact same numbered tickets.  And better yet, they're both named Bob!  Bob james, and Bob Cartier!  It worked out well since they both wanted something different. Bob James got a two for one boat dive, and Bob Cartier got a nice Ikelite dive light..  

I bet we'll never see something like that again. 

Great thanks goes out to both Hollywood Divers, Sport Chalet, and Channel Islands Dive Adventures for their generous (and I mean generous) donations to our club raffle.

$25 Sport Chalet gift card: Bob C.

2 for 1 boat dive on the Raptor (donated by Ken Kollwitz of CIDA): Bob James

Line cutter: Jimmy Quan

Signal mirror: Kaz

Defog: Jovy

Camera lanyard: Andrea

Dry bag: Jimmy Quan

Ikelite PC LED dive lite: Bob

T shirt: Laura Steckler

T shirt: Gary T.

Aqua Lung Nautilus Travel snorkel: Kaz

Mystery raffle prize: Andrea won a $25 Sport Chalet gift card.

Also great thanks goes out to Alex Broes for his assistance with the guest speaker presentation.

Meeting date changed for this February

In honor of Valentines day… and also so you won't have to choose between spending the evening chatting about diving, or taking your significant other to a night out on the town, we're moving the meeting date to Feb 21 (a week after our usual 2nd Monday of the month).  This is just for this month of February.  In March, the meeting will again resume at our usual 2nd Monday of each month.

Meeting place is El Torito Mexican Restaurant in Pasadena.
Feb 21.  6:30 p.m Social hour.  7:00 p.m. Announcements. 8:00 p.m. Guest speaker.  9:00 p.m. Raffle.

Be Mine image copyright Kaz Aizawa 2011

Sea Lions at Anacapa

Barbara and I had a great trip out to Anacapa on the Spectre about a week ago. After all the bad weather it was so good to see the sun again. The water was a little chilly (51) but the real attraction was the sea lions. We just stayed under the boat at about 20' watching 20-30 of them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsh8f-r1kHI

Cozumel trip balance due. One step closer to warm water.

Hi everyone,


Just a reminder that your Cozumel trip balance is due February 7. This is the date we need to start releasing airline seats and unused rooms. Of course if you really want to go even after this deadline, I'm sure we can arrange something, but we can't guarantee room availability. Also, after releasing the airline seats, we cannot guarantee the same price we originally got from Continental ($630.51).


We have reserved 20 rooms and 20 seats, so let me know as soon as you can.


Garden Room ppdo:$ 829.00
Garden Room single occupancy:$ 889.00
Ocean View Room ppdo: $ 973.00
Ocean View Room single occup: $1,043.00


http://kazillustration.com/solesearchers/cozumel_2011/cozumel2011main.html
Fiesta Americana Resort: 7 nights accommodation in a garden view room, 3 meals a day, drinks (local alcohol, top shelf and premium extra), round trip airport transfers, 5 days of 2 tank boat diving, all taxes.
$829. ppdo Non-divers deduct $375.
Airfare - Continental Round trip LAX-Houston- Cozumel: $630.51
Total:
$1459! This is before any club rebate!
Not included: Tips, other extra optional activities, $2 Cozumel marine park fee per diving day. Talk about a deal!
Diving services provided by DIVE HOUSE COZUMEL.
5 days of morning two tank boat diving. Includes tanks, weights and belt and unlimited shore diving from the resort.


Dates: Saturday May 21 to Saturday May 28

The week of diving fun starts on Saturday May 21 leaving LAX, and returning Saturday May 28 LAX.


Cenote diving (optional, but many divers rave about it as a must do dive)
We're planning on diving the Cenote for Friday, the 27th. Those who are interested in touring the mainland can go over with the cenote divers. The Cenote dive through Dive Aventurasis a 2 tank cenote dive for $140. Includes tanks, weights, and belts, transfer from the ferry dock in Playa del Carmen. Transfer to the ferry dock in Cozumel and the ferry ride (round trip about $21) is not included, so plan on adding that amount.
If you would like to join us for this "must do" dive, let me know as soon as possible so we can get the guided groups organized.
Airfare:
We have 20 seats held on Continental Airlines. You can travel with us, or if you have frequent flyer miles, or another favorite airline, please feel free to arrange your own airfare.
RT air on Continental $630.50 pp from LAX-Houston-Cozumel on the following schedule:

1. #CO 1094 K 21MAY SA LAX IAH 1230A 532A 738 S 0 @
2. #CO 1696 K 21MAY SA IAH CZM 920A 1133A 738 S 0 @
3. #CO 1498 G 28MAY SA CZM IAH 325P 541P 738 S 0 @
4. #CO 47 G 28MAY SA IAH LAX 710P 844P 738 D 0 @

Note:
Important Dates:
Jan 1, 2011 deposit deadline. 1/2 of your resort + 1/2 airfare.
Feb 7, 2011 Full balance due.
Space is limited, so if you would like to go to Cozumel with us in May, let me know as soon as possible!
Contact Kaz Aizawa for more info: KazVacation Package arranged by Gene at Scuba Travel Ventures www.scubatravelventures.com

This is a test

This is just a test. Think of it like testing your dive equipment before you take it underwater. Really we are having some issues with our Blog to Facebook link. This is only a test and not a real dive.

Squid Patrol Night Dive this saturday changed to Deadman's Reef dive during the day.

Swell… just swell, Is my response when the ocean swells get larger just as the weekend starts.  The CDIP site is predicting large swells coming from west to hit our area this coming Saturday, which means it'll make for a rough or dangerous beach entry/exit on west facing beaches... especially at night.  So, we're going to do a beach dive at a south facing beach in Laguna, Deadman's Reef.  "Don't snicker Sheree."  As long as there's no fog, I think we will find the reef no problem :-)

Meet at Crescent Bay (the beach just on the West side of Shaw's Cove) at 10 am.  

Deadman's is a bit of a swim, but if you relax and kick on your back, you'll get there before you know it.  This time we're bringing an SMB, reel with line.  I'll go down and locate the reef, then shoot the marker buoy up from.  Just follow the line down.  The last person down can deflate the buoy and bring it down to me so I can rewind the line and stow the SMB.  

http://www.lagunapages.com/beach/crescent/crescent.asp

http://www.lagunapages.com/beach/default.asp

2011-01-22  10:25 PST   5.77 feet  High Tide
2011-01-22  17:06 PST  -0.55 feet  Low Tide

Facebook!

Ok lots of changes lately. Our old newsletter Blog crashed due to a bug in the software. We managed to salvage all the newsletters and saved them in the Newsletter Archive. Kaz set up a new blog at Blogspot and I linked it into our homepage.

Due to either a brain fade or miscommunication in our huge organization, Sheree setup a Facebook Group last year and I set up a Facebook Page recently. Sorry for the confusion with being members in both for some of you. Pages being a somewhat newer system in Facebook we decided to keep the Page and migrate our content over from the Group. Big thanks to Sheree for getting our presence going on Facebook. Please feel free to contribute content just as you did in the group.

If everything works right, our newsletter should also automatically post to the Facebook Wall and those of you on FB will be up to date on happenings in the club without needing to look at the newsletter. I have also embedded our Facebook Page feed to the club's website. Visitors can instantly get a dynamic snap shot of the club.

Avalon Harbor Cleanup Dive

Feb 26, Avalon Harbor Cleanup day:

Early Registration (12/1/10 - 1/31/11) $35.00  
$50.00 per diver for online late registration from February 1-12 and on the day of the event*

Like every year, we're signing up for the "Casino Point" as our entry location.  This allows us to do a second dive at the underwater park if you choose to do another dive, and then if enough time remains you can still go catch the awards ceremony and the auction/raffle.  We'll go grab some pizza and brew after our last dive.  It's a fun day with friends, and all for a good cause.  It's no guilt scuba diving ;-)

Make your reservation to take the Catalina Express from downtown landing in Long Beach: 6:15 A.M. to Avalon, and return on 6:00 P.M.
$66.50 round trip
http://www.catalinaexpress.com/scheduleFaresLongBeach.php

Remember to sign up for the casino landing or casino point. and under the "Team", there should be our club name "Sole Searchers Dive Club." But if you can't find it, no big deal.  We're going to be there to contribute and to have fun day.

http://www.catalinaconservancy.org/index.php?s=join&p=catalina_conservancy_divers

Squid Patrol!

Squid Patrol night dive: Saturday January 22nd. at Redondo Canyon, or some call it Vet's Park.  We'll meet in the parking lot above the stairs around 4:00 pm. Sunset is at 5:14 pm. Bring lots of quarters for the parking lot.  Check out Shorediving.comhttp://www.shorediving.com/Earth/USA_West/CalM/Veterans_Park/index.htm for a good description of the site.

I like to remind people that this is a deep dive (can get to 100+) and a night dive, so you should have experiences in both.  Most of the years, the egg casing can be found starting about 60 fsw.  We may see some squid mating, or none at all.  Some years we get lucky. The good news is that the commercial squid season is now over, so no need to fear the big BOOM sound from the fishing boats throwing M80's to ward off hungry sealions.

2011-01-22  17:06 PST  -0.55 feet  Low Tide
2011-01-22  17:14 PST   Sunset
2011-01-22  20:54 PST   Moonrise
2011-01-22  23:35 PST   5.00 feet  High Tide

January club meeting raffle winners!

Great thanks goes out to Sport Chalet and Hollywood Divers for their generous contributions to our monthly raffle.

$50 gift card from Sport Chalet - Laura H Steckler
Weight bag - Jimmy Quan
Hollywood Divers Ball cap - Dave Gaines
Hollywood Divers T-Shirt - Jimmy Quan
Mini gear keeper - Rosa Gaiarsa
Storm Whistle - Tricia Knopf
Dry Pack - Lars Dennert
Hollywood Divers air card - Cesar P.
Hollywood Divers air card - Cecile & Glenn
Hollywood Divers Nitrox card - Dave Gaines
Buddy caller - Shawn Broes
Mask Strap - Dave Gaines
Markine Paine - Gary T.
Zipper Cleaner - Gary T.
Oder Eater (for wetsuit)- Bromley
Sea Drops - Bob James

And the mystery raffle prize goes to - Cecile!

January 10th Dale Sheckler at Sole Searchers

Let's get the year started right with a visit from one one Southern California's diving cornerstones! Dale & Kim Sheckler have been writting & publishing California Diving News for more than 25 years, as well as writting books on local diving, and taking great photographs!

Dale is a SoCal native who has worked around the world as a commercial deep-sea diver, mostly on deep-water oil field projects. He's also the producer of the annual Scuba Show, the largest of its type, in the world.

So let's put down those skis, and give Dale a big Sole Searchers welcome this Monday!

http://www.scubashow.com/

http://cadivingnews.com/

Cozumel trip! May 21-28, 2011

Our annual resort dive trip for 2011 is Cozumel! Cozumel… it’s good to go back, and for some, it’s good to go for the first time. So, here is what we’ve got for our package deal.  Fiesta Americana Resort: 7 nights accommodation in a garden view room, 3 meals a day, drinks (local alcohol, top shelf and premium extra), round trip airport transfers, 5 days of 2 tank boat diving, all taxes. $829. ppdo   Non-divers deduct $375.  Airfare - Continental Round trip LAX-Houston- Cozumel: $630.51


Total: $1459! This is before any club rebate!Some of us are going to dive the Cenotes also.
For more info.