California Diving News - Scuba Calendar - Upcoming Events starting May 2002

14th Annual Catalina Chamber Day/Evening — May 1
Wednesday, May 1, has been selected as the date for Catalina Chamber Day/Evening 2002, the 14th annual fund raiser to benefit the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber.

Hyperbaric chambers are the only means of treating embolism and bends, life-threatening maladies that can affect divers. Although diving is very safe, it is important these facilities be available in the event of a diving emergency. Because of the high amount of diving done in Southern California, the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber is quite active. Even though Los Angeles County funds a large portion of this chamber’s costs, a substantial amount of the budget must come from other sources.

Catalina Chamber Day was conceived as a way for recreational divers to have fun diving (and partying) while at the same time making a financial contribution to this important facility. With the day-time portion of the event, now in its 14th year, Southern California dive-charter boats graciously donate their time and services for the day, and divers pay to dive Catalina Island aboard one of the participating boats. Boats visiting Catalina will also take their passengers on a walking tour of the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber facilities. There will be thousands of dollars in prizes. More raffle tickets can be purchased. For those that want to participate in the daytime event, but cannot get away from work to go diving, book a trip on the phantom “Flying Dutchman” boat.

Those divers (and their loved ones) unable to get away mid-week for the diving, along with those that dived Catalina that day, can also participate in the Chamber Evening, hosted by the magnificent Aquarium of the Pacific. Participants will have the opportunity to tour the aquarium, after hours, and have a sit-down dinner in the aquarium’s Great Hall. In addition to the aquatic entertainment, there will be door prizes, awards and musical entertainment.

And finally, there will be the Jon Hardy Chamber Challenge, a challenge from the dive industry to raise unprecedented funds in the memory of the late Jon Hardy, diving educator.

All proceeds from the event go to support the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber.

To sign up for the event, call 310-652-4990. Major credit cards are accepted. Requests to be on a specific boat can be made at sign-up.

Sylvia Earle Headlines Free Museum Lecture Series - May 4, 8
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles is having some interesting speakers and topics in the area of marine sciences. Admission to both of these lectures are free.

Nudibranchs: The Secret Lives of Naked Mollusks, a lecture by Dr. Angel Valdes, will take place Saturday, May 4 at 2 p.m. Sea slugs, or “naked” mollusks, are one of the most beautiful and diverse types of marine life. Having lost their shell during their evolution, have adapted in amazing ways, including developing spectacular colors and patterns and producing poisonous chemicals useful in medical research. Join Museum Curator Angel Valdes as he exposes their beauty and fascinating secret lives.

Renown marine biologist Sylvia Earle will present Diving Deeper on Wednesday, May 8 at 7 p.m. Explore the ocean depths with renowned marine biologist Sylvia Earle. Chosen one of Time Magazine’s 1998 “Heroes for the World,” the former chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has pioneered research on marine ecosystems and led more than 50 underwater expeditions. She also holds numerous diving records including woman’s deepest solo dive—3,281 feet.

To register, or for more information, please call (213) 763-3534.

3Rs Beach Diving Workshops - May 11, 18, June 1, and 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: May 11, Leo Carrillo (Los Angeles County); June 8, Cabrillo Beach (San Pedro, Los Angeles County); July 13, Reef Point (Orange County); August 10, Point Dume (Los Angeles County); September 14, Long Point (Los Angeles County); October 12, White Point (Los Angeles County).

In addition, a series of seven 3Rs courses will be staged in San Diego County. Tentative dates are May 18, June 1, June 22, July 6, July 27, August 10, and September 7. Locations are to be announced. 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). You can also visit the GLACD exhibit booth at SCUBA Show 2002, June 29-30 at the Long Beach Convention Center.

CMA Whale Fiesta — June 2
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, will celebrate the 31st anniversary of the annual Whale Fiesta on Sunday, June 2, 2002 from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.

This fun-filled family event, co-sponsored by Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and the American Cetacean Society, is held each year to celebrate the completion of another successful whalewatching season and to bring awareness about marine mammals.

During the day whale experts will be presenting slide shows and lectures on various subjects in the John M. Olguin Auditorium.

Special activities throughout the day will include face painting and various arts and crafts projects from children. Try your hand at our zany “Great Duct Tape Whale Contest.” Judging and prizes will be at 3:00 pm.

The celebration’s grand finale will be “Whale Dynamics,” conducted by John Olguin, Director Emeritus of the Aquarium who will lead a group activity designed to gain understanding of what it is like to be a whale.

The Aquarium will be open to visitors from 10 am to 5 pm. Families are invited to bring lunches or purchase food items from exhibitor booths. Spend the whole day enjoying the many activities; there is no admission charge, and free shuttle service will be available to transport attendees back and forth from the parking lot located at 22nd and Miner Streets to the aquarium.

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is located at 3720 Stephen White Drive in San Pedro, and is a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. For more information call (310) 548-7562.

“DPV Madness” Obstacle Race and Training — June 7-9
The Iron Eagle announces the first Annual “DPV Madness,” DPV training and obstacle race. Open boarding commences on Friday, June 7th at 8 p.m., with return at 6 p.m. on June 9th. The training and racing will take place at Santa Barbara Island or San Clemente Island on Saturday and front side of Catalina on Sunday, depending on diving conditions. Each morning the staff of the Iron Eagle will set-up a training course and begin “Intro to the K10 HydroSpeeder” training curriculum. All students will receive at least two dives on the HydroSpeeder, and divers may optionally elect to receive a PADI DPV certification for an additional fee. Additional training and DPV time will take place on Sunday at Catalina. Aside from six K10 HydroSpeeders the Iron Eagle has aboard four hand-held DPV’s available for free to all divers. All participants will receive a K10 HydroSpeeder training manual and a complementary Iron Eagle T-shirt. Trip cost is all-inclusive (except for NITROX and booze). Call 949-699-6145 for more information.

NCUPS Beach Dive Photo Competition - June 8-9
The Northern California Underwater Photographic Society will host its 21st annual beach dive photo competition in Monterey, California on June 8th and 9, 2002. The entry fee will be $50 for early registration or $65 after June 1. The fee includes: one roll of Kodak E100VS film, barbecue on Saturday evening with a no-host bar, slide/awards show Sunday and an event t-shirt.

Categories are novice, amateur and open; subjects are diver, macros, marine life, and wide angle. Over $15,000 in prizes will be awarded. Past winning images may be seen at http://www.ncups.org. For an entry form, more information or how to donate a prize, please contact Gil Zeimer at gil@zeimer.com or 415-491-1058, or Paula Butler at paulak_butler@yahoo.com.

SCUBA Show 2002 — June 29-30
The largest dive expo in the Western U.S. For more information see the click here to read the preview article or visit the Website http://www.saintbrendan.com.

Gold Star Dive — July 13
The 5th Annual Gold Star Dive on Catalina Island at the Casino Point Underwater Park will be held on July 13. 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 measure approximately five inches by five inches, vacuum-packed, numbered, and made of solid chocolate. The Stars will be placed among the rocks in the Casino Dive Park. Divers will have an hour and a half to search for the Stars. Participants who find a Gold Star will return the number to the check-in table for a prize.

Participants and donors will pay a fee of $25 until June 13, 2001, $35 thereafter. The first 150 persons will each receive a free commemorative T-shirt the day of the event at Wrigley Plaza in downtown Avalon. 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. For further information, call (310) 510-0174, or e-mail klclevel@lasd.org.

Emergency Dive Accident Management Training — July 7-12
The staff of the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber will be offering a course in Emergency Dive Accident Management (EDAM) in 2002. The courses are open to anyone who is interested in learning more about the medical aspects of diving and how dive accidents are treated. Diving instructors and guides, search and rescue personnel, and emergency medical personnel will find the course of particular interest.

The course includes information on the types of equipment, events and circumstances that lead to diving accidents. Detailed information on decompression, lung over-pressure injuries, dive computers, narcosis, and technical diving issues are covered during the exciting 38-hour course. Also included are the field evaluation of dive accidents, communication procedures, and hyperbaric chamber treatment. Demonstrations are provided (weather permitting) by the L.A. County Baywatch Lifeguards and the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rescue team.

Lecturers during the course include:
• Karl Huggins, Program manager for the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber
• Dr. Jeff Sipsey, M.D., Medical director USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber
• Mark Tulin, Ph.D., Supervisor USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber
• Captain Kevin Marble, Lifeguard/Paramedic - Los Angeles County Fire Dept.

The course is offered only at the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber located at the Wrigley Marine Science Center on beautiful Catalina Island. This facility is operated by the University of Southern California and located in Big Fisherman Cove, adjacent to the Isthmus on Catalina.

The 2002 EDAM courses are being offered during the week of July 7-12. Tuition for the course is $600 including tuition, books, room and board. Participation is limited to 30 students. Early sign-up is highly recommended.

For more information, or to enroll in the course, check out the chamber’s web site at http://wrigley.usc.edu/hyperbaric/chamber or write USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber, P.O. Box 5069, 1 Big Fisherman’s Cove, Two Harbors, CA 90704 or call (310) 510-4020.