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Catalina Express Cuts Fuel Surcharge
Catalina Express has cut fuel surcharges for passengers traveling to and from Catalina Island.
The 2001 fuel surcharge of $1.00 each way has been totally eliminated on trips between Long Beach and San Pedro and lowered to $.50 each way or $1.00 round trip on the longer crossing between Catalina and Dana Point in south Orange County.
“Although the California Public Utilities Commission has recently extended the authorization to collect surcharges until October 2002,” says Greg Bombard, President, “we have decided to lower the surcharge with fuel costs dropping to early 1999 price levels.”
In November of 1999, fuel costs doubled over the previous year. Six months later, the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) authorized freight carriers, motor coaches, trucks and passenger ferries to implement a fuel surcharge of up to 15 percent of their gross rates to offset the increased cost of fuel. At that time, Catalina Express elected to implement a 5.5 percent surcharge.
Catalina Express provides scheduled boat service to Catalina on a year-round basis. It operates a fleet of eight fleet of fast and modern vessels, including one 56-passenger boat, five boats carrying 150 passengers, a triple-decked Cat Express catamaran with a 360-passenger capacity and two high-speed catamarans—the 300-passenger Starship Express and the 381-passenger Jet Cat Express, which was introduced into service in May of this year.
For more information on Catalina Express, visit their web site at http://www.catalinaexpress.com or call 310-519-1212.
Video Film Search Underway
Assemble now your best underwater film footage for the SCUBA Show 2002 underwater film festival.
One of the most popular portions of the annual Southern California SCUBA Show has been the unique continuous film festival. Featured at past film festivals have been footage and films from some of the world’s greatest underwater cinematographers. Even so, some of the most well received films have been from non-professional underwater camera operators.
For this year’s show, the film festival will be wide open to this talented group. The management of the popular annual dive convention is conducting an aggressive and all-out search for the best in underwater video films. Underwater videos submitted for consideration should be new submissions, never before shown in a film festival setting or on television. Films of 5 to 30 minutes in length are preferred, but shorter is usually better. Footage can be from anywhere in the world, but the video should contain at least 50 percent underwater footage. Those films accepted for screening will be paid an honorarium. Firm deadline for film submission is March 22, 2002. For a complete guideline sheet on submissions, call (310) 792-2333, fax (310) 792-2336 or view the guidelines web page at http://saintbrendan.com/filmguid.html
Grenada Liveaboard
Grenada is proud to announce the debut of its first liveaboard dive vessel, the SeaHawk. Stationed at Rendezvous Beach Resort, Grenada’s first dive-dedicated resort, the SeaHawk is also the first liveaboard dive boat to debut in the Windward Islands. The SeaHawk offers everything dedicated divers need for a unique and comfortable week of exploring new, unspoiled dive territory. With three outside deck levels and two accommodation decks, the SeaHawk is designed to accommodate a maximum of 12 passengers, ensuring uncrowded diving both on deck and below. The SeaHawk has a total of six double cabins, each with a lower double bunk and a single above, and the “Penthouse,” with a queen bed. Each cabin also has its own private head with shower and separately controlled A/C. A cozy dining room, entertainment center, snack counter with refrigerator, library and camera gear storage make for easy and relaxed travel. Outside, the lower deck is dedicated to diving with a large dive platform, enabling diving from the ship. Multiple fill stations, state of the art nitrox membrane system, rinse tank, individual equipment bins, deck head compartment and shower on the dive platform complete the convenient setup. Packages include six nights/seven days, three meals daily, plus between-dive snacks, four to five dives (including night dive) daily, use of tanks, weights and belts and all wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverages.
For more information, contact (910) 798-1800 or visit the web site at http://www.seahawkcharters.net.
Farewell to “Mr. Hydro”
Jimmy Cunningham passed away at home on November 7, 2001 of congestive heart failure. He had battled complications due to diabetes for a number of years.
He was born and raised in Southern California with the Pacific Ocean as his playground. His love for the ocean drew him first to free diving, then to scuba. He was truly a fish out of water.
Because of his infatuation with the sport, he learned all he could about the early equipment of diving, as well as staying current with new innovations. His peers sought him out for this knowledge and his suggestions. If you needed something unique, Jimmy would probably have it, or know where to get it.
He started doing hydro’s part-time for Dick Spencer at the Dive Shop in Santa Ana. After Dick’s untimely death, with the help and encouragement from Ron Merker, Jimmy opened his own hydro shop. The territory he covered included much of Southern California and as far north as San Francisco. He will be missed.
Sport Chalet Opens Stores in Costa Mesa and Henderson, NV
Sport Chalet, full service specialty sporting goods superstores including complete dive stores, has opened two new stores in Henderson, Nevada, and Costa Mesa, California.
The SunMark Plaza location is the first store in the state of Nevada for Sport Chalet, and the 25th store location overall. The new Henderson store is located at 701 Marks St. and can be reached by calling 702-451-1211.
The 26th Sport Chalet was opened in Costa Mesa, California at South Coast Plaza in late November. The new style retail store covers 41,000 square feet. Craig Levra, Chairman and CEO said, “ I am thrilled with our new store and the ability to partner with South Coast Plaza in what we feel is one of the best all around shopping centers in the nation.”
Sport Chalet is a leading operator of full service specialty sporting goods superstores operating in Southern California for more than 40 years. For a second year in a row, Forbes Magazine named the company as one of America’s “200 Best Small Companies.” The company offers over 35 services for the serious sports enthusiast, including custom golf club fitting and repair, ski rental and repair, full dive training and certification programs, scuba charters, team sales, racquet stringing, and bicycle tune up and repair. The address for Sport Chalet’s web site is http://www.sportchalet.com.
REEF Survey Dives West Coast
Each year, the Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) coordinates several survey projects. Each project is led by REEF staff and features daily identification seminars and survey dives. REEF Field Surveys are a great introduction to fish identification for novice fishwatchers, and a fun way for experienced surveyors to build their life list while interacting with fellow fishwatchers. In 2002, there are several West Coast opportunities:
- Monterey Bay, April 10-14. Includes lodging, diving , and a tour of Monterey Bay Aquarium.
- Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, September 17-21, aboard the Conception. Includes food, lodging, and diving (up to 15 dives).
- God’s Pocket, British Columbia, September 8-14. Includes lodging, food, diving
To find out more, visit www.reef.org. Space is limited, contact Dive Reservations, Inc. at 888-363-3345.
Adoption of Ocean Fishing Regulations Delayed
Final approval and implementation of the California Fish and Game Commission’s recent changes to sport fishing regulations aimed at protecting certain species of ocean finfish have been delayed a few weeks, resulting in differences between state and federal regulations.
On Dec. 7, 2001, the Fish and Game Commission adopted new sportfishing regulations governing the recreational take of rockfish and lingcod for 2002, regulations which are undergoing required review by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) prior to becoming effective. It was the hope of both the DFG and the Commission that regulatory review and approval of the new regulations would be completed effective Jan. 1, 2002. However, the size and complexity of the combined ocean and freshwater regulatory package being reviewed has prevented completion of that review and approval. Consequently, information provided both by the DFG and other sources which outline the new regulations is not valid until these regulations are approved by OAL and filed with the Secretary of State, potentially within a couple of weeks.
Under California’s 2001 sportfishing regulations, which will remain in effect until they are superceded, the take and possession of nearshore rockfish (including California scorpionfish) is permissible in waters less than 20 fathoms deep (within three miles from shore) south of Point Conception, Santa Barbara County, in January and February. This conflicts with the federal regulations in waters three to 200 miles offshore which do not allow for the take of any species of rockfish or California scorpionfish in the area. North of Point Conception to the Oregon border, the possession limit for lingcod in state waters continues to be two fish, 26 inches or greater in length until OAL has completed its review (after which the size limit will drop to 24 inches). In this same area, anglers are urged to abide by the more restrictive federal regulations for yelloweye rockfish of one fish per day with no more than two in possession per boat.
For the most current California Department of Fish and Game Regulations visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fg_comm/fishregs.html on the web.
Aggressor Fleet to Begin Operations in Tahiti
In September 2002, Aggressor Fleet Limited, agent for the largest fleet of franchise dive yachts in the world, will offer scuba cruises exploring the rich waters surrounding the Tuamotu Islands of Tahiti. Seven-day, inclusive charters dive the swift passes of Rangiroa, Kaukura, Fakarava, Toau and Apataki. Tahiti Aggressor guests will experience some of the most exciting, high-speed drift and “corner” dives in passes and channels which are brimming with sharks, tuna, barracuda, mantas and a host of ocean giants. Tahiti Aggressor charters depart from Rangiroa and are available at a special, introductory rate through December 2002.
“This is one of the most exciting, unexplored diving destinations in the world. Tahiti diving is best described as fast-paced, ‘adventure diving.’ You start at the mouth of the pass, sharks are everywhere, eagle rays fly by, schools of thread-fin jacks cruise the blue, and then the current pulls you through the pass. It’s incredible!” says Tahiti Aggressor manager Dan Ruth.
The 16-passenger Tahiti Aggressor is a 106-foot long catamaran offering state-of-the-art diving facilities and luxurious personal accommodations such as eight private cabins, a spacious salon, hot tub and wet bar. Diving amenities included nitrox, one rental rebreather, huge dive deck with dive lockers, rinse showers and gear rinse tanks, E-6 slide film lab and custom-made dive skiffs.
For reservations, call your local dive shop, travel professional, Aggressor Fleet Limited at 1-800-348-2628 or visit http://www.aggressor.com on the web.
OMS BCS Safety Recall
An important product safety recall has been issued for specific OMS buoyancy control system overpressure valves (OPV). In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, OMS BC’s with the following serial numbers are being recalled: OM1200000 - OM1200085, OM0101000 - OM0101229, OM0201000 - OM0201269, OM0301000 - OM0301159, OM0401085 - OM0401319, OM0501110 - OM0501509, OM0601125 - OM0601351. The serial number is located on the WARNING LABEL.
Molding variations in one component of the overpressure valve (OPV) used in the OMS Buoyancy Control Systems (BCS) could, in rare instances, prevent the OPV from sealing properly creating a potential drowning hazard. While this variation is not present in every OPV, we feel it may be difficult to determine in the field which OPVs are suspect. Please return the BCS overpressure valve to an authorized dealer for a free replacement OPV.
Suspect overpressure valves may have a RED pull. New replacement OPV will have a BLACK pull.
If you require more information, call 845-457-1617.