3Rs Beach Diving Workshops — August 14, September 11 and more
Rocks, Reefs and Rips program (3Rs) is a mini-course designed to familiarize divers with popular beach dive sites and improve their beach diving skills. Los Angeles and Orange County sessions will take place August 14 at Deer Creek Road (Ventura County), September 11 at Old Marineland (Long Point) 6610 Palos Verdes Dr. S., Rancho Palos Verdes and October 9 at Broad Beach Road in Malibu. A workshop will also take place in August 14 in San Diego County at South Casa Cove.

Diving is subject to weather and surf. Visit the web sites listed below for updates or for e-mail addresses to be put on a list for updates.

Instructors will demonstrate and supervise proper surf entry and exit procedures, explain unique aspects of the dive site, and discuss dive condition assessment techniques. Participants are then led on a snorkeling tour of the dive site. (Participants are to wear full wetsuit, mask, fins, snorkel, and a weight belt with half of the normal weight they use for diving. Tanks and regulators are not allowed.)

The Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura County workshops are organized and conducted by the L.A. County Underwater Instructors Association in cooperation with the Greater Los Angeles Council of Divers (GLACD). For more info on the L.A. County workshops, visit the GLACD web site at www.glacd.org.

The San Diego workshops are sponsored by the San Diego Council of Divers and the San Diego City Lifeguard Service. For more information on the San Diego program, visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rocks-rips-reefs on the web.

Coastal Cleanup Day — Sept. 18
Coastal Cleanup Day is coming up September 18th from 9am-Noon. In addition to 50 beach cleanup sites and a kayak cleanup in the marina, two dive cleanups will take place at both the Redondo and Santa Monica Piers. This is the 20th Anniversary of this world-wide event (91 countries last year).

For more information, visit www.healthebay.org online or call 310-453-0395 ext. 122.

Chocolate Lobster Dive — Sept. 25
Both certified scuba and skin divers are invited to participate in the Seventh Annual Cabrillo Chocolate Lobster Dive taking place on Saturday, September 25. Contestants will dive off the waters of Cabrillo Beach in search of hundreds of solid milk chocolate lobsters.

The event is limited to 500 participants who will be eligible to win thousands in prizes provided by dive equipment manufacturers and other sponsors. The grand prizes include a Cobra Play Kayak, and a four-day, three-night trip on a Royal Caribbean Cruise. Proceeds from the event benefit Cabrillo Marine Children’s Educational Programs.

Entry forms and other information can be obtained online at www.cabrilloaq.org, by telephone (310) 548-7562 extension 9039, or through dive shops and dive clubs. On the web also visit the event's website at www.chocolatelobster.com. Register before September 6 and receive a free parking pass (value $7) and lunch. Call Kathleen at (310) 548-7562, extension 4003 for further details.

CMA is a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks, located at 3720 Stephen White Dr., San Pedro.