Lobster Success at Cortes Bank

Dale,
I’ve only been certified for 18 months, but I’ve made over 170 dives. Diving is truly my new addiction.
Anyway, I just spent six days on the water for opening lobster season. The 29th & 30 (Sept.) were on the Truth, and then I immediately rolled my dive bag onto the Conception for the next four days. I took a lot of photos, and there were two I thought you might find interesting.
Both were from the second leg of the trip at the Cortes Bank. One is of a bug I got that all the old timers said had to be over 10 pounds, and the second is of my 3-day limit. From what I’ve been told, we were exceptionally fortunate that we had such great conditions. Most said the Cortes Bank can be pretty unforgiving.

Best Regards,
Daniel E. Thrasher
via e-mail

Giant Sea Bass Encounters and Great Photos to Prove It

Dale,
I had an encounter with about seven giant black sea bass (about 4-6ft) last Sunday at Catalina Island at an undisclosed location and I’ve got the pictures to prove it. It was a beautiful thing to see. I love your magazine.

Thanks...
George Tillack
via e-mail

Are Modern Masks Really Better?

Dear CDN,
I found myself nodding in agreement as I read Dale Sheckler’s article on the progress made in diving masks over the past twenty years. But then I cast my mind back to the mask I used to wear back in 1980 when I spent so many weekends diving at the Channel Islands. Without a doubt the materials used in mask design today are vastly superior to those in that old VOIT of mine. And yet, has real progress been made in mask design itself? I really don’t think so. Mask styles today have become so standardized that there is far less choice in the types of mask a diver can purchase. For instance, that old VOIT of mine had a purge valve built into the molded area that covers the divers nose … you just don’t find purge valves around any more. Fashion in modern masks demands minimal mask volume to prevent mask squeeze, and the soft materials used in today’s masks does not allow the mounting of a purge valve mechanism. Yet I would have that old design over any mask I have used in the past 15 years. With that purge valve I never had the nuisance of any accumulated water leakage inside that mask, and as for mask squeeze—it never occurred because you could equalize mask pressure so easily by breathing out through your nose. And come to think of it, those Jetfins I had in 1980 beat anything I’ve had in the last 15 years, and the strap mechanism NEVER came undone as many modern fin straps do. It’s a pity modern designs don’t apply modern materials to trusted designs developed over the years, but I suppose that would be unfashionable!
Regards
Howard Kornstein
via e-mail

Howard:
While not as popular as they were in the ’70s and early ’80s, there are purge valve masks available in modern masks. As a matter of fact, they have seen a resurgence in the last few years with some excellent redesigning. The problem with the old big neoprene purge valves is they would often get clogged or stick and leak. More compact silicone valves were designed later and are now much more reliable. An excellent example of this type of mask is the Ocean Master Equalizer mask. It has a small, well protected silicone valve tucked under the nose pocket in a perfect position to push out excess water. TUSA also has a mask known as Hyperdry that is similarly built.
You can have the mask you want and still be fashionable! Although I’ve since moved on to better fins as well, I will agree with you, the Jet Fins were tough to beat!

Dale Sheckler
Editor

Appreciation for CDN

CDN:
Hey, Cal Diving News—thanks for the great paper, great articles, and great dive boat listings. We divers do appreciate your work.

Mark
Santa Barbara, CA

Editor:
As for Laguna Lifeguards, I dealt with plenty of them when I lived and dived solo in Laguna for many years. The trick is to dive in the early morning before they come to work or avoid the summer altogether when they hire extra people. That’s why I live on the Monterey Peninsula today. No lifeguards, no rules. You do what you want here. We usually have several deaths here a year but that’s looked upon as just the chance you take. If you make a mistake the ocean claims a forfeit. I think that may be the reason Laguna Beach is so draconian; I think they are afraid of their image. Divers getting killed would tarnish that image. Make no mistake, Laguna lifeguards are not divers and if you piss them off or disobey an order they can give you a ticket or have you arrested. But these are all City of Laguna Beach rules. You’ll have to change the rules rather than change the lifeguards.

Pete Hemming
via e-mail

Pete:
While I’ve not have had the opportunity to dive Monterey enough to know what the lifeguards are like, I know that Monterey has the most diving laws on the books outside of Laguna Beach. Monterey’s rules have nothing to do with buddies but rather where you can park (yes, discriminatory against divers), where you can put your wetsuit on and take it off, where you can enter the water, and various anti-hunting restrictions.
In my assessment, laws that restrict diving generally stem from who controls the property immediately adjacent to the dive sites. In Laguna, it is mostly private property. In Monterey, it is tourist businesses. Private residents value their peace, quiet, and privacy. Emergency vehicles can be very disruptive. Other laws in Laguna have the same slant: restrictions on classes during certain hours, limits on night diving in certain areas, etc. Monterey, on the other hand, is more concerned about the tourist dollar. Somewhere along the way, in my opinion, divers were perceived as smaller spenders then the average tourist and consequently pushed to the back of the parking lot. It was also perceived that pulling off your wetsuit was “disrobing” and might offend, you guessed it, tourists. In certain spots in Monterey you can only put on and take off your wetsuit in parking lot areas (usually in the back) designated for divers.
The way to win this war is with dollars, plain and simple. As you spend your dollars in the town in which you’re diving, make it very clear you’re a diver by the way you’re dressed or by displaying your dive logo conspicuously. Local businesses will quickly get the message and they will make sure you, their customers, are not pushed away.

Dale Sheckler
Editor

Heal the Bay Drops the Ball

Dale & Kim,
For three years I have participated in the annual cleanup adjacent to the Santa Monica pier. I was looking forward to again participating in this year’s event until it was brought to my attention that the dive was no longer listed on their website. Heal the Bay informed me that due to “a number of logistical reasons” the dive was cancelled—just four days prior to the event and without notification. However, it was suggested that I may participate in the Redondo Beach cleanup—for $20. Now why should anyone have to pay to dive a public beach for the purposes of cleaning up someone else’s trash?

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