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Island Diver Expanding Trip Schedule for Lobster Hunters
Rocky Point Ocean Outfitters, operator of the six-pack dive charter boat Island Diver in Redondo Beach, is expanding its dive trip schedule specifically to accommodate the needs and interests of the avid lobster diver.
On Saturday nights, trips will be run to nearby Palos Verdes Peninsula to dive the extensive rocky reefs and kelp forests located there. These trips will depart at 6 p.m. and return at 10 p.m. The speed of the boat, combined with the short distance to the diving area result in only a 15-minute boat ride and maximum time on the dive site.
In addition, every other Saturday during the day the Island Diver will make a quick run (approximately 90 minutes) to west end of Catalina Island diving both the remote backside and frontside (weather permitting). On those Saturdays opposite the Catalina trips are daytime trips to the artificial reefs and wrecks of the Santa Monica Bay including the Star of Scotland, Avalon, and Palawan wrecks. Not only are these wrecks a spectacular dive, many are filled with lobster, as are also the artificial reefs. The Saturday day dives depart at 7 a.m. and return a 4 p.m.
The Island Diver is a 36-foot long ultra-heavy duty fiberglass boat that cruises smoothly at 20 knots. There is room on deck for up to 22 tanks and lots of room below to get out of the wind and get dry. Onboard are complete electronics, live-game storage, and fresh-water rinse tank for camera gear.
For complete information, visit http://www.rockypointfun.com on the web or call (800) 642-0785.
Spearfishing Clinics
Al Schneppershoff and Skip Hellen will be holding Spearfishing clinics at various locations around the southern California area over the next few months. Al and Skip have several decades of spearfishing and underwater hunting experience, along with several world records. Skip holds the current white sea bass world record at 80 pounds. Al and Skip will be covering topics like safety, hunting equipment, techniques, where to find the big ones, great local and island hunting areas, how to read the tides and currents, record catch rules, and how to photograph and care for your new record catch. This is an opportunity to learn big game underwater hunting from the experts. For information on event dates and locations, call 310-641-4162.
Aggressor Offers Access to Digital Video and Still Gear
Have you ever wanted to capture underwater video or shoot photos in the perfect tropical setting? Have you dreamed of making your own video memories of sharks, whales, and shipwrecks? Can you imagine filming in locations like Palau, Hawaii, Belize or around the sunken hulls of Truk Lagoon? The opportunity is here.
Two companies known for their high quality products and services have recently teamed together to provide you with the best in underwater video/photo equipment, aboard the premier dive boats in the world. Light & Motion and Aggressor Fleet have joined forces to bring you the ultimate in digital underwater video and still photographic systems aboard their vessels.
When you travel aboard selected Aggressor vessels, you can have access to Light & Motion digital video or still camera housings to capture the adventure of your trip. Of course, complete instruction in photo or video techniques is available from Aggressor’s on-board photo pros.
For more information on trip schedules and instruction, contact the Aggressor Fleet at 800-348-2628 or write P.O. Box 1470, Morgan City, LA 70381. They’re also on the web at http://www.aggressor.com. For information on Light & Motion’s complete line of video/photo equipment, contact them at 831-645-1525 or write Light & Motion at 300 Cannery Row, Monterey, CA 93940. You can find them on the Internet at http://www.uwimaging.com.
Guidelines Ensure Continued Access to Oil Platforms for Diving
In order to ensure that commercial dive charter boat operators will continue to have access to offshore oil platforms for recreational diving activities, an ad hoc committee was formed to establish Guidelines for Oil Rig Dives. Protocols have been designed after much consultation with the rig operators, the U S. Coast Guard, the Dept. of the Interior, dive boat captains, clubs, and stores. There are general common sense guidelines to follow, as well as a step-by step-procedure beginning with pre-trip planning all the way to the end of the day with departing procedures. The rigs are still off-limits to private boats, commercial charter boats only adhering to the guidelines.
This well thought procedure will help ensure that the California diving public will be able to continue to enjoy the various oil rigs post 9/11. For further information, contact Ken Kurtis, committee coordinator at KenKurtis@aol.com or at Reef Seekers 310-652-4990.
Los Angeles Underwater Hockey Adds Second Night of Weekly Play
Los Angeles Underwater Hockey has added a second night of play. In addition to Tuesday nights participants can now play Thursday nights from 7:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Lynwood Natatorium. Lynwood has a recently refurbished indoor pool with a court painted on the bottom. The Lynwood Natatorium is located within two miles of the 710 and 105 freeway interchange in Southern LA County. Admission is $3 paid directly to the pool. The additional night was added in preparation to the Pacific Coast Championships to be held in San Diego at the Mission Beach Plunge October 11- 13th. The LA effort is planning on sending a team down to compete in the October series and will be using the additional night to prepare.
Underwater Hockey is a unique three dimensional sport which combines the basic game of Hockey with the underwater skills of skin diving. It is played on the bottom of a swimming pool using fins, mask, snorkel, a short handheld hockey stick, glove and protective ear guards. Underwater hockey is very much like other court-type sports like basketball, soccer, and ice-hockey in terms of strategy except you can’t breathe. Well, you can breathe some, as you spend moments on the surface prior to diving into the play.
Information on the LA (Lynwood) pool can be found on the web at http://www.geocities.com/glacd/uwhockey/lauh.htm or call Steve Herbert at 310-314-4652. Also on the web site are links to other underwater hockey teams outside the Los Angeles area.
Lake Mead’s B-29 Bomber Found
A B-29 “Superfortress” bomber, missing for over 50 years in Lake Mead, has been located by Henderson resident Gregg Mikolasek. The aircraft was found with sidescan sonar, a device which uses sound to image objects resting on the bottom of a body of water.
On July 21, 1948, the B-29 was on a scientific mission over Nevada. The crew was forced to ditch when a low altitude run over Lake Mead went seriously wrong and they struck the surface of the water at 250 miles per hour. All five crew members got out of the plane before it sank and were rescued .
Since that day there have been a number of documented attempts to find and even salvage the bomber, all unsuccessful. Not surprising, as the aircraft is located in a remote area of the lake and is resting in very deep water. Sidescan images show the bomber to be remarkably intact. A technical dive team has completed a series of dives confirming the plane’s identity and condition, the result being visual documentation utilizing professional underwater video systems. Recreational diving on the B-29 is not possible due to extreme depths; the plane was located in excess of 250 feet of water.
The B-29 was developed during World War II and is most well known for dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Currently, only one B-29 “Superfortress” is in flying condition. Another is being restored to flying status and only a few others are on display in museums around the country. Due to its rarity and location, this newly discovered B-29 is eligible for inclusion in the National Register. To learn more about the history of this B-29 and to see sample sonar and visual images, visit http://www.indepthconsulting.com on the web.
Underwater Photo Exhibit
A series of photographs that depict the underwater world from a scuba diver’s perspective is on display at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro. “Underwater Visions” is teeming with schools of colorful fish, coral, and other marine life, as captured by professional photographer Bill Brush.
The 26 shots in this exhibit include underwater seascapes from Southern California, as well as exotic diving locations around the world, including Australia, Indonesia, and the Caribbean. Through the lens of Brush’s camera, viewers are transported to a land of pygmy seahorses, sea turtles, and other marine life.
A longtime Long Beach resident, Brush has been diving for 34 years and taking photographs for 25 years. His images have won awards at the Beneath the Sea Show, the SEA International Underwater Photographic Competition, and the Los Angeles International Underwater Photo Competition.
Brush, whose photographs have appeared in Rodale’s Scuba Diving Activity Calendar, Sport Diver Magazine, and on annual report covers and presentation folders for Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, holds a bachelor’s degree in oceanography from Humboldt State University, and has taught scuba diving at Golden West College in Huntington Beach.
The exhibit continues until January 6, 2003 during Aquarium hours. Admission is free, but there is a suggested donation of $5 per adult and $1 per child or senior. The Aquarium is open from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; closed Mondays.
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is located at 3720 Stephen White Drive, and is operated by the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. For further information call 310-548-7562 or visit the web site http://www.cabrilloaq.org.
