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Gold Star Dive — July 12
The 6th Annual Gold Star Dive on Catalina Island at the Casino Point Underwater Park will be held on July 12. The event is hosted by the Avalon Sheriff’s Station and sponsored by several dive shops, and companies associated with diving. This event will be a fund-raiser for the Avalon Sheriff’s Station’s S.T.A.R. (Success Through Awareness & Resistance) program and the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber.
Scuba divers and skin divers will search for the Gold Stars in depths between 10 feet and 50 feet. The Gold Stars will measure approximately five inches by five inches, vacuum-packed, numbered, and made of solid chocolate. The Gold Stars will be placed among the rock formations in the Casino Dive Park. Participants who find a Gold Star will return the number to the check-in table for a prize.
All scuba divers must be certified and attend a pre-dive briefing at Casino Point prior to the event. T-shirts, hot dogs, and sodas will be available for sale. Call (310) 510-0174, or e-mail klclevel@lasd.org.
LA Co. Advanced Diver Program — begins July 12
Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation, in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Underwater Instructors Association, has announced dates for the 2003 Advanced Diver Program (ADP). Beginning July 12, local divers can take part in this wholly unique diving program that is designed specifically with California divers in mind. Over 20 ocean dives are planned. In addition, participants will meet with and learn from some of the most influential and respected people in diving today, including Dale Sheckler, Dr. Glen Egstrom, and Jeff Bozanik. For details contact the LA County Underwater Unit at 310-965-828 or e-mail adpinfo@lascuba.com or visit http://www.lascuba.com on the web.
3Rs Beach Diving Workshops - July 12, 26 & 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 and Orange county sessions will take place: July 12 at Point Dume (Los Angeles County), August 9 at Deer Creek Road (Ventura County), September 13 at Reef Point (Orange County) and October 11 at Broad Beach (Los Angeles County).
In addition, a series of 3Rs courses will be staged in San Diego County. Dates and locations are: July 12 at Shell Beach (Seal Rock), July 26 at North Bird Rock, August 9 at Marine Street, August 23 at Goldfish Point (La Jolla Caves) and September 13 at Hospital Point. Visit www.groups.yahoo.com/group/rocks-rips-reefs on the web for further details for the San Diego 3Rs.
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 courses are staged in the morning beginning at 8 a.m. A donation is suggested. The San Diego 3Rs are staged by the San Diego Council of Divers, San Diego Lifeguards, and various area dive clubs. For information on the San Diego workshops, contact Steve Haynes at (619) 222-7866 or on the web at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/rocks-rips-reefs. For last minute changes in the San Diego schedule and/or locations, call (619) 221-8824.
The Los Angeles and Orange 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 or call (310) 379-5681 (evening).
Abalone: Past, Present & Future Seminar — July 26
Pete Haaker PhD, marine biologist for the California Department of Fish and Game will give a seminar on abalone at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, July 26 from 1 to 5 p.m. Discussed with be the biology of abalone, past populations, overfishing, disease, the current state of the population, and prospects for the future including programs underway and planned to repopulate the species. For more information visit the Catalina Conservancy Divers website at www.ccd.org.
World of Water Festival — July 19
The World of Water Festival will be held July 19, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Belvedere County Park, 4914 Avenida Cesar Chavez, Los Angeles. Theme of the festival is “Hobbies, Sports and Careers in our Pools, Lakes and Oceans.” Participants can learn about fishing, scuba diving, surfing, personal watercraft, swimming and boating safety, lifeguarding and commercial diving. For more information call (323) 260-2360.
Northern California Marine Biology Course — starts Aug. 19
City College of San Francisco will offer a semester course in marine biology for divers and non-divers. The class focuses on the marine life in Northern California with special emphasis on plant and animal identification and life histories.
The class meets Tuesday evenings, 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., August 19 through December 9, at City College of San Francisco, 50 Phelan Ave., Science Building, Room 322, San Francisco.
There will be four weekend dive trips (11 dives) to various sites including Monterey Bay, Pt. Lobos, Gerstle Cove, and Russian Gulch Cove.
Students can register online at www.ccsf.edu. Register for BIO 32, CRN # 75400, Section 501. For more information, call the instructor, James Grass, Ph.D. at (415) 239-3644. or email jgrass@ccsf.edu.