3Rs Beach Diving Workshops — September 9 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. Sessions will take place September 9 at White Point (Palos Verdes Peninsula) and October 14 at Reef Point on the southern Orange County coastline.

Sessions are also planned for the San Diego area.

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.) All classes begin at 8 a.m. but participants should arrive at 7:45 for registration. There may be a fee depending on the session (visit the appropriate web site as indicated below).

The Los Angeles/Orange County area 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, e-mail 3rs@glacd.org, call 310-344-3250 visit online www.lascuba.com/3rs.html. The San Diego sessions are hosted by the San Diego Council of Divers and various dive clubs. For more information on the San Diego 3Rs, visit www.sddivers.com/events.

Lobster Season Opens — September 30
Lobster season opens in California Saturday, September 30 at 12:01 a.m. in the morning (Most divers depart on their hunting expeditions Friday, September 29 and then hit the water right at midnight.) A fishing license is required and a measuring device must be carried in the water. There is a minimum size and no more than 7 can be taken in a day. See fish and game regulations for specifics. The October issue of California Diving News will have a feature article on lobster hunting (available in the dive stores the last week of September).

Several Sport Chalet locations, Dive N Surf in Redondo Beach, and many other dive stores will be holding lobster contests. Check with your local dive store.