Dive With Scuba Santa Benefit - December 4
Here is your chance to visit with Santa and dive at the same time! Scuba Santa lets anyone 12 or older (scuba certified or not) visit Santa underwater.
Sport Chalet Dive Club of the Inland Empire, along with the California Department of Forestry and Firefighters are hosting a "Dive with Scuba Santa" in support of the "Firefighter's Spark of Love Toy Drive For Underprivileged Children" campaign. These diverse groups have come together and teamed up with ABC 7 television for this worthy cause. The event will take place Saturday, December 4, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Sport Chalet scuba diving training pool, 12449 Foothill Blvd. in Rancho Cucamonga. Scuba certification not required! There will be a special PADI "Bubblemaker" program for ages 8-11 too! Kids under 8 will be able to snorkel with Santa. Participants donating a new unwrapped toy or piece of sports equipment will be rewarded with the opportunity to have their picture taken with Santa Claus underwater for free! Bring a bathing suit and towel. Everyone will be able to see and speak to Santa through an underwater communications system and big screen TV in the Rancho Dive Center. For more information, call Sport Chalet Divers, Rancho Cucamonga: 909-987-4321 or Glendora: 626-335-3344 or Clarke Skinner: 909-247-8265.
The members of California Wreck Divers, Inc., one of the oldest organizations devoted to shipwreck research and exploration, will celebrate their 29th anniversary with a gala banquet on January 29, 2000 to be held at the Los Angeles headquarters of The Adventurers' Club.
California Wreck Divers began in 1970 from a relatively small group of divers who enjoyed exploring local shipwrecks. Today, many of the shipwrecks sport divers frequent were discovered and identified by C.W.D., and the group's dedication to public education is apparent in the lectures and slide presentations given free of charge, and through its mobile museum which can be seen at dive shows and exhibitions.
The organization's research and exploration efforts are ongoing. The most recent discoveries include a new wreck which has been identified as the Ace 1, a Navy ship sank in 1948 in 140 feet of water approximately six miles off the California coast.
The California Wreck Divers banquet will begin at 5 p.m. in The Adventurers' Club dining hall located at 2433 N. Broadway in Los Angeles. The festivities will feature legendary underwater explorer and author Willard Bascom as guest speaker. Bascom is best known for his deep-water work on ancient shipwrecks in the Mediterranean and for his book, Waves and Beaches, which was translated into six languages and widely used as an oceanography test. Bascom will offer a slide presentation on one of his recent projects, the discovery of the gold rush-era sidewheeler, Brother Jonathan. Tickets are $35 for a prime rib dinner, $30 for chicken and $15 for the program only. The evening will also feature a giant raffle. More information may be obtained by calling Steve Lawson at (949) 462-0462. As always, the public is cordially invited attesting to C.W.D.'s goal of, ". . . perpetuating the awareness of maritime history through organized exploration, research, restoration and display."
