Mystery Dive Site

Our monthly "Mystery Dive Site" quiz is for the "sole" purpose of challenging your diving related familiarity to; beach dive sites, boat dive sites, and other landmarks related to the sport of diving. Generally the dive sites are in the Southern California area, but every so often you may see an image from one of the Sole Searchers Dive Club resort dive trip (some are just plain humorous). There is no prize in getting the dive site correct, just that warm feeling you get when you know your dive sites...or like when you go in your wetsuit.

Answer to the Mystery Dive Site will be given at our monthly club meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please join us this Monday as we welcome back Kurt Lieber to tell us what ODA
has been up to in the three years or so since we first met him.

Kurt is the founder, and is extremely dedicated to the ODA cause,
and you'll find it's a pretty easy and fun group to get involved with.

Founded in 2002, and based in Orange County, Ocean Defenders Alliance
works to clean and protect marine ecosystems
through documentation, education, and meaningful action.
Working with affected communities, we focus primarily on the
reduction and removal of man-made debris which poses serious threats to ocean wildlife and habitats.

http://www.oceandefenders.org

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. 

Greetings fellow divers-

Please join us this Monday for Elaine Jobim's presentation on diving at the mysterious Clipperton Island, AKA Île de la Passion.
This crazy lonely atoll in the middle of nowhere has an interesting history, and looks like some good diving too. I've enjoyed Elaine's photography for several years (on diver.net), so I'm excited to have her out!

Clipperton Island on Wiki Travel

http://www.damninteresting.com/the-tyrant-clipperton-island

http://elainejobin.com/

http://diver.net/elaine2005.shtml

July Raffle Prize Winners!

Great thanks goes out to our supporters Sport Chalet, Hollywood Divers, and this month our guest speaker Steven Barsky for his Hammerhead Press books and DVD!

$50. Sport Chalet gift card: Bromley

Fin Grip: Melani

Zipper Lubricant: Melani

Dive Beacon: Jimmy

Mask Bag: Joan Gonzalez

Noise Maker: Jorge

Mini Yellow Light: Gary Faland

Ball cap: Jimmy

Mesh Bag: Melani

Mesh Bag: Zima

Dry Stuff Sack: David Hokanson

Dive Book: Kaz

Dive Book: Bromley

Dive Book: Andrew

Dive DVD: Bromley

Dive DVD: Kaz

Dive DVD: Lars

Also, a belated thank you goes out to Greg Tash of Aqua Adventures in Burbank.  Sorry many of us missed you since we were in Little Cayman, but Greg came to our May meeting and donated many dive prizes for our raffle. 

http://www.marinemkt.com

http://www.sportchalet.com/category/scuba+dive+center.do

http://www.hollywoodivers.com

http://aquaadventuresunlimited.com

Steven M Barsky at our next meeting, July 8

Good evening dive club speaker fans-

Since today is July 1st, and it's a Monday, our July meeting is fast approaching, so I wanted to get this out. This month I'm very excited to have Steve Barsky come down from Santa Barbara to do presentation on commercial diving.

He was scheduled for May, but was very kind to bump it so all could enjoy.

Steven M. Barsky started diving in 1965 in Los Angeles County, and became a NAUI instructor in 1970. His first employment in the industry was with a dive store in Los Angeles, and he went on to work for almost 10 years in the retail dive store environment.

Steve attended the University of California at Santa Barbara, where he earned a Masters Degree in 1976 in Human Factors Engineering. His master's thesis was one of the first to deal with the use of underwater video systems in commercial diving. His work was used by the U.S. Navy in developing applications for underwater video systems. Steve also graduated from the two year program in commercial diving at Santa Barbara City College.

His background includes being a commercial diver, working in the offshore oil industry in the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and South America. He worked as both an air diving supervisor and a mixed gas saturation diver, making working dives down to 580'.

In 1978, Barsky joined the staff of the Florida PADI College in Jacksonville, Florida. As Training Director, Barsky was responsible for open water training and screening applicants for admission. This program was the first private extended instructor training program in the world, after which all current programs of this type are modeled.

Barsky was marketing manager for Viking America, Inc., an international manufacturer of dry suits. He also served in a similar position at Diving Systems International (DSI), the world's leading manufacturer of commercial diving helmets. At DSI, Barsky worked very closely with Bev Morgan, a diving pioneer.

Steve is an accomplished underwater photographer. His photos have been used in numerous magazine articles, catalogs, advertising, training programs, and textbooks.

Pretty cool, no?

Please join us & give a rowdy, but polite Searchers welcome.

Oh, and he says he has raffle goodies...

http://www.marinemkt.com/