Picnic Beach Dive and B.B.Q.!

Come on! Join us for a day at the beach!

Saturday September 14. 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. We've been told no canopy type shade is allowed, but on some days we've seen groups with canopies up, so I guess it depends on what the latest laws are in Laguna Beach.  We do know that individual beach umbrella with stand is ok in the picnic area.

Contact person: Kaz Aizawa

Google Maps Link.

2014 Sole Searchers Dive Club resort trip!!!

Come join us! this is what you've been waiting for! We have a special package arrangement with...

Atmosphere Resort & Spa. 

Dauin Philippines

May 1-10. 2014

You'll have to check out their website to get an idea of this fantastic resort. 

http://www.atmosphereresorts.com

7 night 5 days unlimited diver package, 

• 7 nights / 8 days  accommodation  double or twin share in a suite room or one bedroom apartment depending on availability

• Manila airport meet and greet, domestic terminal transfer ( excluding domestic flights )

• Dumaguete Airport to Atmosphere round trip transfer

• Full board ( breakfast, 2 course lunch, 3 course dinner)

• Complimentary unlimited filtered water

• One amazing beach BBQ night

• Complimentary tea and coffee in rooms 

• Free Wi-Fi  internet 

• all government taxes ( excluding airport taxes)

Diving

• One  free  check out shore dive on day of arrival  

• 4 days unlimited day diving ( incl tanks weights, marine park fees, unlimited day shore dives, 4 scheduled day boat dives

• 1 day diving trip to Apo Island

• complimentary Nitrox  fills for the entire stay

Suite rooms:

Total price for the above 7 night  5 days unlimited Diver package published is US $ 2,156 per person twin or double occupancy in a suite room,

Non-diver rate is 7 night NON-Diver package published is US $ 1,299 per person twin or double occupancy in a suite room

Not included: International and domestic airfare, add-on service such as massages, tours, alcoholic beverages, and gratuities. Night dives are not included in the package due to higher park fee, and since not everyone night dives ($10/night permit fee if you want to night dive). See below for airline suggestion to travel with the group.

$200 deposit to hold your spot.  Space is limited, so reserve your spot!

Contact person: Kaz Aizawa 

Airline: 

For those who would like to travel with the group, the following flights are recommended (see below).

Meanwhile, people wanting to use different airlines, you can make your own customized flight schedule, and we will meet you there at the resort.  

Please note when creating your own flight itinerary, there is a date change as we fly to the Philippines. We lose a day on the calendar, but regain it on the return leg of our trip.  I.e., May 1 in the U.S. is actually May 2 in the Philippines. 

The recommended Philippines Airline flights.

LAX-MNL PR0103

Thurs, May 1. 2014, 22:35

MNL-DGT PR0543

Sat May 3, 2014, 15:05

Return flight

DGT-MNL PR0544

Sat, May 10, 17:05

MNL-LAX PR0102

Sat, May 10, 20:05

Round trip priced currently at $1,422.50

Purchase online at philippineairlines.com

or call 24 hour reservation at 1-800-I-FLY-PAL or 1-800-4-359-725 (24 hours) 

The Philippine archipelago comprises of 7,107 islands situated between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea. The vast coral fringed islands offer a truly memorable underwater experience to snorkelers and divers. Atmosphere on Negros Island is close to the city of Dumaguete, a bustling University town with an airport, several hospitals, shopping malls and other conveniences at hand. Atmosphere is located thirty minutes south of Dumaguete by car, in the coastal town of Dauin. The resort is close to the islands Apo, Cebu, Bohol and Siquijor.

Apo Island!

The whale shark snorkeling tour, is an addition we can pay at the resort. 

Annual Picnic Beach Dive/BBQ

Saturday September 22. 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

Happy New Year!

Wow, great turnout tonight at our monthly meeting!

It's our first club meeting of 2012, and we had several birthday announcements to make.  Although some couldn't make it to the meeting, we still had three of us with January birthdays. So, Sheree, Bob, and I blew out the candles on a big birthday cake, while everyone sang that song that we all sing at birthdays... now how does that go?  Thanks to Kari and Landen for getting the cake.

Beach Dive this Saturday! We're doing a Shaw's Cove beach dive this coming Saturday, so meet at the top of the stairs at about 9 a.m.  We'll survey the condition, and hopefully we'll find that frog fish that's been reported to be residing there (frog fish in the photo above was from Curacao).  Still hard to believe that there's a frog fish here in Southern California. Could it be global climate change?  We already have about six of us going, so come join us!

Ken Kollwitz from Channel Island Dive Adventure was present to announce that on top of their already low priced dive charters, they will give more discounts to club members if a charter is promoted by our club. Shawn and Bromley will be going over the club calendar to come up with trips to take advantage of this fantastic deal.  CIDA is now utilizing the dive boats Peace, Explorer, and the Pacific Star.  All great dive boats.

Our guest speaker Kevin Lee treated us with his trip presentation to the Arctic Ocean.  He had some very interesting story about almost being crushed by an iceberg, and lots of beautiful above and below photography.  Great thanks goes out to Kevin. 

And great thanks to Shawn for always scheduling such interesting guest speakers.

Being one of the contributing photographer to the book "Certainly More Than You Want to Know About Fishes of the Pacific Coast." Kevin donated an autographed copy to our club raffle.  I have to admit I was lucky enough to be the recipient of this generous gift.

January Raffle Prize Winners! Below you'll find the list of prizes and who won them. If you notice that Sheree, who claimed that she never wins anything, has won two prizes.  Perhaps 2012 will be a lucky year for you Sheree.

$50 Sport Chalet gift card: Wayne Lu

Easy cut tool: Barbara Potter

Slap Strap: Jovy

Hollywood Divers 10 Nitrox fill card: Cesar Palerm

Hollywood Divers 10 Nitrox fill card: Sheree Lahey

Beach Sandles: Ken Kollwitz

Slap Strap: Bob james

Wrist slate: Mark H.

Aqua Seal: Kaz Aizawa

Hollywood Divers T-Shirt: Shawn Broes

Dive Shears: Sheree Lahey

Dive Rite wet note: Laura H. Steckler

Tank Bangers and Mash: Bob James

Great thanks goes out to our club supporters!  Sport Chalet, and Hollywood Divers

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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.