Sport Chalet Opens 22nd Store, Re-locates and Expands Another

Southern California's leading specialty sporting goods retailer celebrated the grand opening of its new 43,000 sq. ft. store in Temecula, California, November 12.

The Temecula location is Sport Chalet's 22nd store, and its first in the Low Desert/Riverside County area. Concurrent to the Temecula store opening, the La Jolla Sport Chalet location in San Diego County has been re-located to a new, larger facility in the University Towne Center and will hold a grand re-opening the same weekend.

Sport Chalet is a leading operator of full service specialty sporting goods super-stores in Southern California. The Company's stores feature a broad assortment of nationally recognized brand name equipment, apparel, and footwear in all key categories including snowboarding, skiing, climbing, camping, scuba, running, racquet sports, fishing, team, fitness, cycling and water sports. In addition, the stores offer the Sport Chalet advantage of providing over 35 services for the serious sports enthusiast and expert advice to customers.

For a Sport Chalet location near you, visit their web site at www.sportchalet.com.

After more than four and a half years, an Oceanic-led initiative to remove restrictions imposed on the recreational dive industry by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) diving regulations has been signed by Assistant Secretary of Labor, Charles N. Jeffress. Published in the Federal Register on December 20, 1999, a permanent variance from the requirements of the Commercial Diving Operations standards will be in effect once an OSHA compliance directive is received by the states under OSHA's jurisdiction. The variance will apply when the employees of U.S. based dive operators use nitrox and rebreathers during their training and supervisory activities, to a maximum of 130 feet and when remaining within no-decompression limits.

Working on behalf of the entire dive industry to enhance and move dive training and recreational diving into the future safely and efficiently, Oceanic officials worked together with representatives from the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI), Dixie Divers and others, to develop a draft variance. This effort included negotiating and settling on issues such as the definition of recreational mixed gas diving, proper testing equipment and measuring standards for Nitrox, Mixed Gas Diving and Rebreathers.

"Increasing technology has taken the entire recreational scuba diving industry into exciting new directions in the last decade. Some of these new areas have forced the industry to look at ways to adapt and change. This includes the use of Nitrox breathing gases and recreational rebreathers. The Federal OSHA Variance allows those involved in the industry an approved course of action and guidelines that will ensure the safety and comfort of all involved," said Bob Hollis, CEO of Oceanic.

Aggressor Fleet and Peter Hughes Diving made another giant stride this summer in the live-aboard companies' ongoing effort to preserve and protect the natural diving environment of the Caribbean. Working together in Belize aboard the Belize Aggressor in September, Aggressor's Captain Wayne Hasson and Peter Hughes installed six new Helix moorings, known as the best anchoring system in the dive industry, and created five new dive sites representing some of the area's best diving.

"Over the past several years, Aggressor and Peter Hughes have helped to install public moorings donated to governments around the world and have invested over $70,000 combined for these installations. These efforts are part of our continuous commitment to care and respect the reefs and dive sites that we all enjoy, and ensure that they are preserved and protected for many years to come," said Hasson, who worked over 40 hours underwater with Hughes performing drilling work for the installation project.

The Helix mooring looks similar to a giant auger bit and screws into the sand and rubble bottom, sinking down to depths of eight to ten feet before locking itself down. The two-inch solid galvanized steel shaft is then connected to the ground tackle and buoyed overhead representing a permanent mooring stronger then any other mooring of its type.

Representatives of the Belize Audubon Society, Marine Fisheries Department and Port Authority provided valuable assistance to Hasson, Hughes and Aggressor crew members both topside and underwater during the installation of the moorings, a task that proved to be quite labor-intensive.

The Aggressor crew along with the Belize government representatives gave names to the dive sites with the new moorings dedicating one to Wayne Hasson and one to Peter Hughes. The new sites include "Wayne's World," "Peter's Peak," "Nurse Shark Alley," "Julie's Jungle," and "Long Caye Drop." All of these sites offer both deep and shallow opportunities on the edge of an incredible wall and symbolic of most diving in Belize, teeming with marine life.

Several other mooring sites were replaced and or repaired during this week of work, and plans for future combined efforts of the Aggressor Fleet and Peter Hughes Diving are underway.

"We're always looking for a few extra volunteers on these work weeks. Assistants are selected at random, so get your bid in to make a contribution on the next project, but be ready for some hard work along the way" explained Hasson who brought along Caesar Matos and Sean Meiman from Miami. "Both of these fellows earned their keep and enjoyed helping for the sake of protecting the environment."

For more information on Helix moorings, contact Dave Merril at (603) 654-2412 or e-mail: dmerrill@tellink.net.