3Rs Beach Diving Work-shops — Sept. 11 & 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 County sessions will take place September 11 at Old Marineland (Long Point), 6610 Palos Verdes Dr. S., Rancho Palos Verdes and October 9 at Broad Beach Road in Malibu.

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 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.

Northern Channel Isl. Chamber Days — Sept. 14 & 23
The Channel Islands Council of Divers (CICD) has announced that its annual Channel Islands Chamber Day dives will be held on September 14 and 23. Participating boats will be Peace and Conception.

Channel Islands Chamber Days are supplemental to Catalina Chamber Day held in May. CICD represents the diving community in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Proceeds from the Chamber Day dives support the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and CICD’s Uninsured Divers’ Fund.

The Catalina Chamber is devoted solely to the treatment of diving accidents, and depends on donations and volunteers to remain in operation. The CICD Uninsured Divers’ Fund is maintained to provide money for medical treatment of an unfortunate sport diver who may be unable to pay for treatment for a hyperbaric injury.

Participating charter dive boats generously donate their boats and crews, so that all income from the dives may be used for this charitable purpose. Dive trips will cost $75.

Current plans (dependent on weather and sea conditions) are for dives on Platform Grace. Please note that rig dives are usually considered “Advanced Dives,” due to open sea currents, “no bottom” conditions, and the need to dive from and return to a boat that is “under power,” rather than at anchor.

For more information or reservations, call Angie at (805) 650-DIVE or www.peaceboat.com.

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.

Historical Diving Conference — Sept. 25
The Historical Diving Society USA will be holding their annual conference in Wilmington, California on September 25, 2004. The program will be held at Banning’s Landing, near the site of the original Sparling School of Deep Sea Diving, which was run by the late E.R. Cross. Banning’s Landing is located at the foot of Avalon Boulevard, at 100 E. Water Street in Wilmington.

The Saturday program will include four very different presentations with speakers from around the world.

The program will also include exhibits of rare equipment and a special exhibit relating to the career of the late E.R. Cross. Conference tickets are $25.00, including lunch.

Attendees will also receive complimentary admission to the Los Angeles Maritime Museum on Sunday, September 26. There will be a demonstration of traditional helmet diving by The California Classic Equipment Divers at Banning’s Landing, starting at 10 am Sunday September 26.

On Saturday evening, a banquet will be held at the Marina Hotel in San Pedro. The guest speaker will be Dr. Andreas Rechnitzer, who will speak on his scientific diving career at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, including his world record submersible dive to 18,150 feet in 1959 and his role in the U.S. Navy Nekton project to 35,800 feet in 1960. The banquet will start at 6:00 p.m. with a no-host bar.

For more information or to make your reservation for the program, contact the Historical Diving Society at (805) 692-0072 or email hds@hds.org. Information is also available at www.hds.org.
— from Divenewswire.com