Dive Connections Inc. Also Offering Real-Time Online Reservations

San Diego’s largest day charter company has upgraded their web site to include real-time online reservations. This full service feature allows customers to view monthly charters, reserve spaces, and rental equipment. Immediately after your reservation has been made you will receive a confirmation email, along with an email reminder 48 hours prior to your scheduled trip.

Customers can review, modify, reschedule, and cancel their appointments online. Instructors with classes can now keep track of all their up and coming dives with just one visit to the Dive Connection’s web site. Dive Connections is proud to be the first in Southern California to offer a system that allows making reservations easy no matter what time it is.

To view Dive Connections online, go to www.GottaDive.com.

For more information about diving San Diego contact Jay or Barry at Dive Connections Inc. toll free 1-888-420-3047 or visit their web site at www.GottaDive.com.

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SCUBA Show 2001 Breaks Records

The 14th Annual SCUBA Show took place June 2 and 3 at the Long Beach Convention Center. It was the largest expo ever in the history of this, the largest dive expo in the western United States. Saturday attendance records were broken with 5,881 attending. With Sunday’s attendance at 4,358, the total for the weekend was 10,239. Seminars and the continuous underwater film festival also saw record attendance.

In spite of the expansion last year moving to the Long Beach Convention Center, exhibit space once again sold out nearly a month prior to the event and a long waiting list formed.

“We are very pleased with the growth jump that this year’s show has taken,” stated show producer Dale Sheckler. “I have never seen more enthusiasm in the attendees. It was an exciting show.”

Hundreds participated in the exhibit hall pool/demo tank. Highlight of the weekend was the Saturday night Casino Party benefiting the Catalina Conservancy Divers. During the party, Lorraine Sadler was presented with the California Scuba Service Award.

Lorraine Sadler, a long-time fixture in the Southern California diving community and a driving force behind many dive community projects, was presented the California Scuba Service Award at the recent SCUBA Show 2001 in Long Beach, California.

Lorraine Sadler has been diving since 1960. She is a pioneer in diving education and women in diving issues. Lorraine became a junior frogman instructor in a special L.A. Co. Parks and Recreation program. She has been very active in the L.A. Co. Underwater Unit and the Underwater Instructors Association, participating and leading various educational programs. From 1980-86 she served on the board of directors, with duties including organizing safety seminars, educational programs such as the L.A. Co. Advanced Diver Program, the Underwater Instructor Certification Course and writing the L.A. Co. Instructor’s Manual. She is a SSI Platinum Pro Diver. Lorraine is currently an instructor evaluator with Scuba Schools International (SSI). In 1989 she was awarded the Outstanding Instructor of the Year. She is a free-lance writer for several publications including Sport Diver Magazine and Rodale’s Scuba Diving in which she is part of their testing team. She currently works at the University of Southern California, teaching marine sciences. She has put in countless volunteer hours with the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber and is now Certified Hyperbaric Technologist for the chamber. Research Biology is one of her specialties, and she has worked extensively with behavioral aspects of moray eels and taxonomy of sea cucumbers. Most Southern California divers know her from her seminars at the SCUBA Show and extensive volunteer work for many years at the annual Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup. She has been inducted into the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

The California Scuba Service Award was commissioned by Saint Brendan Corporation, parent company of the SCUBA Show and California Diving News, to recognize those who have made significant, long-term positive contributions to the California diving community.

The award was presented by Dale Sheckler, President of Saint Brendan Corporation at the Saturday evening Casino Party benefiting the Catalina Conservancy Divers.

Plans are already underway for SCUBA Show 2002, June 29-30 again at the Long Beach Convention Center. For the most up to date information, visit www.saintbrendan.com on the web.

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Divers Win Battle With Kelp Harvesters

The Fish and Game Commission would like to create a kelp no-harvest zone in the Ed Ricketts Marine Park. The closed area will be from the Breakwater to the Chart House. This proposed rule is out for a legally-mandated 15-day public comment period, after which time the commission will make a final decision on implementing the law.

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L.A.U.P.S. 39th Annual Underwater Photo Competition

The 39th Annual International Underwater Photographic Competition, sponsored by the Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society (LAUPS), is underway. Entries are being accepted in 14 print, slide and video categories.

The deadline for entry is October 20. One of the oldest and largest contests of its kind, last year’s competition received 1244 entries from contestants, representing 19 countries and 26 states.

Best of show and 1st place awards include live-aboard and land-based vacations from generous sponsors such as Naia Cruises, Bilikiki Cruises, Sipidan Water Village Resort, Peter Hughes Diving, MV Chertan, Exotic Caye Beach Resort, Malaysia Tourism Board, Clavella Adventures and the Aggressor Fleet. Additional prizes will be awarded to 4th place in each category and include a valuable array of scuba and photo equipment donated from key sponsors, including Cochran, Kodak, Dacor, Harvey’s, DAN, SubAquatic, Submersible Systems, Ultralite, NiteRider and Pelican.

Entry forms, rules, information and a sponsor list are available from the website at www.laups.org.

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Sport Chalet Opens in Palmdale

Sport Chalet, Inc. celebrated the grand opening of its new 40,000 square foot store in Palmdale, CA, on June 22. The Palmdale Marketplace location is the first store in the Antelope Valley area for Sport Chalet, and the 24th store location in Southern California. The new Palmdale location is at 39180 10 Street, W. Palmdale phone (661) 253-3883.

Sport Chalet is a leading operator of full service specialty sporting goods stores operating in California for more than 40 years. The company offers services for the serious sports enthusiast, including custom golf club fitting and repair, ski rental and repair, full dive training and certification, scuba charters, team sales, racquet stringing, and bicycle tune up and repair throughout its 24 locations. For more information, go to Sport Chalet’s web site at www.sportchalet.com.

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HammerHeads Celebrate 100 Chapters Worldwide

The HammerHeads, an international network of scuba divers sponsored in part by the Diving Equipment and Marketing Association (DEMA), has announced the milestone 100 chapters across the world, with the addition of the Southwest Louisiana HammerHeads located in Youngsville, Louisiana, according to Regina Franklin, International Head Hammer and executive director of DEMA.

The HammerHeads are a group of scuba diving enthusiasts who get together to explore their local waters. HammerHeads organize a variety of fun events and activities including monthly group dives, theme parties, contests and prizes. For more information on how to join the HammerHeads, or start your own chapter, visit www.h-heads.com on the web.