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Great White Shark Rescued by Diver
It was another beautiful, sunny day at Guadalupe Island, Mexico, aboard the Solmar V. The clear, crystal blue ocean provided divers over 150 feet of visibility. A white shark slowly approached the surface, leveled off and swam directly underneath the divers’ feet on the swim-step. The shark was in trouble. Something was wrapped around the shark’s back, just forward of the dorsal fin near the gills.
Lawrence Groth, owner and operator of Great White Adventures, suited up quickly and got in the cage for a closer look. The shark was just passing in front of the cage as he entered it. When Groth surfaced, he said that a plastic strap was caught around the shark. It looked like it was on the shark for some time and started to cause big problems for the animal. Groth identified the shark as a male, approximately five years old and eight to nine feet in length.
The shark, quickly nicknamed “Bandit,” had grown since the strap was caught on it. It had dug into the flesh around the head and gill area, like a hangman’s noose. The band grew tighter as the shark grew. Eventually, it would strangle to death.
Groth decided to make a bold move. He planned to swim out of the cage after the shark and cut the strap off. This was extremely risky and other large white sharks swam around the boat at that moment. Groth was determined to save the shark and went to work on his rescue kit. Groth attached a Dive Rite Z-knife to the wooden handle of a deck brush. He would use this line-cutter to snag the band around the shark and cut it off, without any injury to the animal. Any other knife could cut the shark and would not grab the band securely.
Groth donned his cylinder and descended into the water between the two stern cages on the boat. The cages were about four feet apart and allowed Groth some protection to his left and right sides but nothing from the back, front, or below. Three adult white sharks circled the boat. It did not take long before he had his first opportunity. The shark swam in from the stern about 15 feet in front of Groth. Once the shark turned away he took off after him. Groth swam within inches of the shark’s right side, but just as he went for the strap the shark realized he was there and bolted away. His caudal fin smacked Groth right in the chest and abdomen nearly knocking the wind out of him. Groth slowly returned to the swim platform and exited the water. He waited patiently in his gear for “Bandit” to come back. It wasn’t a long wait.
Groth swam down and away from the cages. He disappeared deep below the cages and was gone. Someone yelled that another shark was coming in from the stern and then another shark was spotted. At that moment Bandit swam by, freed from his band. Everyone on deck cheered Groth’s success. The Z-knife had worked perfectly. The band was removed with no harm to the shark, and Groth returned safely. Bandit had a chance to live a long and happy life, thanks to the big heart of Lawrence Groth and a little knife from Dive Rite.
Photo Courtesy of Lawrence Groth, Great White Adventures
First Annual OceanVisions Underwater Imaging Festival Announced
OceanVisions is to be a unique contest bringing together both video and digital still shooters to La Paz, Mexico Sept 6-12, 2006.
With high definition video, as well as digital still cameras now making their way into divers equipment bags, UWDV.COM and H2O Photo Pros are announcing the first imaging competition for both video and still cameras. Taking place in the warm sun of La Paz, Mexico and sponsored by Gates Underwater Housings, the first annual Ocean Visions Underwater Imaging Festival promises to be a truly unique event as the sun sets on summer.
“What is unique about this competition is that not only is there separate divisions for both video and still, but we are also breaking down the divisions even further by having not only scuba, but free diving and rebreather diving as well,” says UWDV.COM Publisher, Cliff Etzel, “We want to give not only the scuba divers a chance to shoot, but free divers as well since it offers a unique perspective in shooting.”
H2O Photo Pro’s owner, Mike Luzansky came up with the idea for the festival as a way to promote an area that is gaining wider interest in the dive industry. “I felt that all the other contests focused solely on digital still, and since video is such a rich medium for telling a story, we felt it was time to give video shooters a chance at showing their stuff to their peers,” said Luzansky.
Luzansky and Etzel are highly qualified to put together such an ambitious event. Luzansky is a digital still and high definition video shooter, avid rebreather diver and a scuba instructor. Etzel has been a shooter for close to 30 years and has also won several awards from his work as a photojournalist, working with photographers from National Geographic, Life Magazine, and Newsweek.
September is considered one of the best times of the year to dive in the Sea of Cortez, so holding the festival in La Paz at the Marina Costabaja was the perfect choice. A wealth of marine life, including scalloped hammerhead and whale sharks, can be found.
In addition to the imaging contest itself, seminars relating to both shooting still and video will be held. “Professional underwater photographer Andy Sallmon is coming down to pass along his expertise through digital still workshops,” Mike Luzansky explains. “Most underwater shooters know Andy’s work from his career as a photographer for numerous dive publications and as the Sea & Sea Rep for Southern California.”
The competition has a wealth of prizes ranging from video editing software, high definition video housings and the grand prize of live aboard dive excursion. “As one of the prizes we have a free dive course from world renowned instructor and trainer Aharon Solomons,” said Cliff Etzel.
Just because this is a competition, doesn’t mean it’s all work and no play. The competition includes: entry into the Video & Photo Contest; 4 days of Video & Photo Seminars; 6 Nights accommodations at Marina Costabaja Resort; and 8 tank dives with weights and tanks provided. This will culminate into a BBQ Celebration and imaging show.
“We want this to become the premiere event for underwater content creators,” says Etzel.
For more information, you can contact either Cliff Etzel at 541-870-8938 or Mike Luzansky at 818-535-3251. Additionally, you can the visit H2O Photo Pros web site at www.h2ophotopros.com/oceanvisions.php
Peace Dive Boat Moves
The popular Peace dive-charter boat has recently just moved for the increased convenience of its diving customers. While they are still located in Ventura Harbor, they are now docked near Island Packers, past the Ventura Harbor Village at Dock G. Their new location offers you much better parking and easier access to the boat.
For specific directions to the Peace, call 805-650-3483 or visit www.peaceboat.com online. The Peace is a full service dive-charter boat serving all the Channel Islands.
Chamber Day 2006 Sets New Record
Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber Director Karl Huggins had a very succinct reaction to this year’s Chamber Day results: “Wow!!!”
For the first time ever, Chamber Day & Evening raised over $100,000 for the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber. The actual total of $103,376 easily surpassed last year’s total (a record at that time) of roughly $92,000. The new record is even more impressive when you factor in that the event was down close to 60 boat spots due to the sale of the Encore and the Westerly no longer doing dive trips. But that shortage was made up for in other areas.
“We had almost 100 people sign up for the Flying Dutchman,” said event chairman Ken Kurtis, “close to double what we had last year. There was also very good response to merchandise available at the Chamber as well as our daytime and evening raffles.”
Another factor was that more groups and clubs wanted to get involved this year. The demand for Chamber Evening tickets and tables was so high that 60 seats (6 tables) were added a few weeks prior to the event and the evening event still sold out 10 days ahead of time.
Another factor that added to the record tally was the Leon Slavin Memorial Fund. Slavin was a very active local diver who died suddenly (not dive-related) two months prior to Chamber Day and many of his friends contributed to his memorial fund, raising a total of $8,275 in Leon’s name. This was added to the general Chamber Challenge, bringing that aspect of the event to a record $25,195.
$100,000 was always a pie-in-the-sky goal, said Huggins, which this year became a reality. “And it just means we’ll all have to work that much harder next year,” said event chair Kurtis, “to see if we can set yet another record.” Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 2, for Chamber Day 2007.
DFG’s Abalone Checkpoint Results in 66 Citations
During April, the first month of the 2006 abalone season on the North Coast, Department of Fish and Game (DFG) wardens contacted 1,112 people and seized 79 abalones during an abalone checkpoint in Sonoma County. The checkpoint, the first of several planned abalone checkpoints along Northern California’s coast, resulted in 66 citations for a variety of abalone-related infractions.
“Checkpoints provide a method to help DFG educate the public about laws, regulations, and resource conditions,” said DFG Lt. Steve Riske, the April 30 operation commander. “They can also prevent, discourage, and allow for the detection of violations and apprehend violators of fish and game laws.”
Abalone season opened on April 1 along the state’s north coast. Divers can take red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) only north of San Francisco Bay and only by hand without the use of scuba equipment. Regulations allow the take of 3 abalones each day, with no more than 24 during the season. There remains no commercial take of abalone, and California has banned all abalone harvest south of San Francisco since 1997.
Riske said wardens routinely conduct checkpoints during abalone season along the coastlines of Sonoma and Mendocino counties. DFG plans at least two more checkpoints in June that will target the “Lost Coast,” the region north of Rockport marked by its inaccessibility and sheer cliffs that dominate the rocky shoreline. Well hidden with few paths to the water’s edge, wardens know the area draws abalone poachers who wish to hide from the watchful eyes of honest people.
Wardens caught two people who were sneaking 19 abalones in a soft-sided ice chest that they hid behind the seat of their truck. Both face possible felony conspiracy charges with the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office related to the illegal take of abalone.
DFG had 33 wardens on scene at Russian Gulch in Sonoma County. They worked with five Department of Parks and Recreation rangers, a Sonoma County Sheriff’s deputy, and a ranger from the county’s Regional Park Department.
Wardens stopped 403 vehicles during the six-hour operation. In addition to the abalone, wardens seized 130 illegally taken turban snails, 2 greenling, and 36 pounds of mussels.
The majority of violations stemmed from divers failure to complete the required abalone report card permits. DFG cited a dozen people for possession of abalone out of the shell, five people tried to alter the report cards, and four people had abalone too small to be legal.
“The vast majority of the people we contact during these checkpoints are positive towards the effort of the Department,” Riske said. “The two main comments we get from people are that they are glad we’re out there, and they wish we would do more of them.”