Sea Lion Dive Inspires Poetry
Dear Dale,
My girlfriend and I are avid Southern California divers who just recently visited the Santa Barbara Island for an amazing day of diving. We had so much fun diving with the local seals that I was inspired to write a poem.

Would you consider publishing my poem for other readers to enjoy? I have attached a copy of it entitled, “A Memory Out At Sea.” Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,
Matteo Foschetti

A Memory Out At Sea
Oh, how we danced and danced
in the pale blue-emerald light.
Song of the sea, continuous and rehearsed,
with no beginning nor end in sight.

I was the merman, a merman bold;
as Alfred, Lord Tennyson would say.
I sat on a throne with a crown of gold,
among seals of caramel brown and milky gray.

Laughingly, laughingly;
they would go
One
Two
Three
A dive
A flip
A twirling twist
Did my innocence show?

As I longed for a most unusual kiss,
my heart melted from their tranquility.
I admired their dark chocolate eyes of bliss,
and marveled their sense of curiosity.

What a day of remembrance;
what a memory out at sea!
An underwater song and dance
of diving fun and mermaid fantasy.

Matteo Foschetti
Laguna Beach, CA

Giant Sea Bass Shooting Not Spearfishing but Poaching
Dear California Diving News, fellow freedivers and SCUBA divers,
I am writing in response to the attempted poaching of possibly two giant black sea bass off of the Southern California coast. As a freediver and spearfisherman, I am saddened to see that a poacher has attempted to take these protected fish. It is my hope, that the person responsible for this will be found and dealt with appropriately by the California Dept. of Fish and Game.

I would also like to remind the diving public that this was an incident of poaching, not spearfishing. I have been freediving and spearfishing for over 22 years in California. I have had the pleasure of spearfishing with men and women in all parts of the state. I have found the spearfishing community to be a very small but surprisingly tight knit group of divers who share a great deal camaraderie and sportsmanship in our unique way of fishing.

In the spearfishing community, there is a strong sense of stewardship for our ocean environment. It was spearfishermen who established the Freedivers White Sea Bass Conservation Project. This program collects scientific data and raises money to support the rearing and release of hatchery grown white sea bass to replace what we take and enhance scientific knowledge. It comes as no surprise to me that a spearfisherman, Bobby Meistrell, put up the $5,000 reward and got this black sea bass poaching incident publicized. The spearfishermen and women of California are just as shocked at this blatant act of poaching as the non-fishing public.

I am convinced the poacher who attempted to take these black sea bass is not from our small community as he/she would have been identified by now. I encourage the diving public to talk about this incident and help us find the culprit but would remind everyone to exercise maturity in their discussion and caution against reacting irrationally against the spearfishing public. Remember, this was not an act of spearfishing but an act of poaching and should be dealt with as such.

Sincerely,
Joe Tobin
Santa Cruz CA

Praises for Peace Boat, TUSA
CDN:
Two years ago my son and I attended a diving expo at the Santa Clara Convention Center. My son Cal saw a contest being sponsored by the owners of the dive boat Peace, Eric and Cyndie Bowman, for a trip to the Channel Islands. He wanted to know how you win. I explained that you first must enter. He wasn’t too keen on the idea and said, “I probably wouldn’t win anyway.” After a pep talk he did enter and so did I (after all, “you can’t win Dad if you don’t enter.”) Later that day we stopped by the booth and saw his name on the easel. I asked why his name was up there (It didn’t dawn on me that he may have won). Cyndie Bowman explained that he won the drawing and would receive his ticket in a week to ten days. We waited two weeks and no tickets, so I called to see why. Cyndie said, “You’re not going to believe this, you both won!”

After some delay we did go on the trip and it was fantastic! Captains Bob Mclurg and Fidel Luna put us right on some great spots, and deckhands Jeff Jukkola and Brian Blackstock were always there to attend our needs. The food was some of the best I have ever had anywhere. We especially enjoyed the homemade brownies and all you can eat ice cream at the end of the day. Sue Swindall was the chef and somewhat a celebrity. Sue is the pretty lady in “Jaws” that went for a swim at night and was the shark’s first meal in the opening scene of the movie. Her likeness appears on the jacket of the video. The dive boat Peace features a midweek trip for those new to diving from a boat. This was the trip that we won and it was perfect. Both my wife and son had never had the pleasure of falling off a boat into the cool green waters of the Channel Islands. For my son the experience was a little intimidating. However, the deck hands were very patient and did finally coax him into jumping. After that he was all grins.

This story would not be complete without mentioning Richard Skelly from TUSA. My dive mask developed a leak that was due to a manufacturers defect in my prescription lens. The defect was not discovered until the day before we left for Southern California. Even though TUSA was not at fault, Richard repaired the defect and gave me a new mask.

I am sorry that this took so long to write, but I wanted to thank you all at California Diving News for having the integrity to only run ads for sponsors that are reputable and have a good business ethic.

Dave Walker,
Campbell, CA

California Sea Turtles?
Hi Dale,
Last month I went to San Clemente Island. I shot my gun one time in three dives, last dive of the day I got a nice 26 pound yellowtail. This time, about one mile away from the same spot third dive of the day, I still did not shoot the gun one time, but was hoping for a repeat of last month. No luck, but on the way back to the boat, in 30 feet of water [wow] a sea turtle. It was laying in the grassy part of a reef, but it took off just as soon as it saw me. Green turtle, I guess. And of course, I was alone so no one else saw it. Please reply if you know of any one else spotting sea turtles in California waters.

Ted Villa-Lovos
via email

Ted:
Sea turtles are very rare in California waters but not unheard of. I have personally witnessed a turtle on the backside of Catalina Island. Bonnie Cardone, former Executive Editor of Skin Diver Magazine and a frequent freelance contributor to this publication has also seen one at Catalina. I’m sure others have had chance encounters. Turtles have been known to feed in San Diego Bay. You were indeed privileged to have such an encounter.

Dale Sheckler
Editor

CDN Helps Get Sea Bass Photos
CDN:
Here’s a couple of photos at Catalina, giant sea bass. I’ve been reading your paper for about 10 years now and look forward every month for the next issue.
Your May 2001 issue story, “How to photograph Giant Sea Bass” by George Tillack helped me get these shots.

Thank you!
Tim Johnson
Fullerton, CA

Questions on San Diego Spearfishing Regulations
CDN:
Hello! I am relocating to San Diego soon. Do you know what the regulations are for spearfish in the area? I will appreciate any info in this regard.

Thank you,
Claudio Cabrejos
New Haven, CT

Claudio:
California Department of Fish and Game regulations can be found on the web at www.dfg.ca.gov/enforcement/regs.html. Keep in mind that a large chunk of San Diego waters are protected to one degree or another in the La Jolla Underwater Park. Check out http://scilib.ucsd.edu/sio/ocean/uwpk/ on the web for specifics on this park.

Editor

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