Lobster Mobster Contest - Oct. 2
Lobster season opens October 2nd, which means it's time for the Dive N' Surf Lobster Mobster Contest. The 23rd Annual contest will take place at both the Redondo Beach and Dana Point Dive N' Surf stores. Each location is a separate contest.
Festivities begin Friday evening, October 1. At one minute after midnight, when the calendar changes over to Saturday, October 2, and until 9:00 a.m., hordes of lobster hunters will gather lobsters alive and bring them in to be photographed, measured, and weighed. T-shirts and entry in free raffle will be given to all pre-registered contestants who bring in a live lobster. Prizes will be awarded for the largest lobsters.
Sign up in person at Dive N' Surf in Redondo Beach and/or Dana Point before the contest begins - there's no charge! For more information, call either (310) 372-8423 (Redondo location) or (949) 443-2303 (Dana Point location).
The Catalina Conservancy Divers (CCD) is offering a marine species identification class. Dr. Bob Given noted marine biologist and former director of the Catalina Marine Science Center will be giving a slide show lecture. This will be the first phase of three phases of a certification class offered to members of the CCD. Divers completing the three phases will be eligible to participate in the biodiversity project where data is being collected and monitored at seven dive sites around Catalina Island by the Conservancy Divers. Phase I (Dr. Bob Givens lecture) is open to the general public for those interested in improving their identification skills and vocabulary. A question and answer period follows the lecture, and a tour of the aquarium, where the marine organisms that have been discussed can be viewed. Phase I attendance is free, but a $5 donation to the aquarium at the door is suggested. The October 3rd lecture will be at 9 a.m. to 12 noon. For those interested in more information, or membership in the CCD, call Erica at (310) 510-2595 Ext. 114 or Ted at (714) 960-2304.
The Pacific Chapter of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society UHMS will be holding its annual meeting at UCLA on October 8 and 9. A traditional part of the meeting is the Saturday "Diver Day" session. This year it's a symposium called "Stay Informed - Dive Safely." It runs from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday October 9. Speakers and topics will include: Dr. Karen Van Hoesen from UC San Diego on "Controversies in Diving Medicine"; Dr. Matthew Berry on "Hazardous Marine Life"; Karl Huggins from the Catalina Chamber on "Issues in Technical Diving Accident Management"; Dr. Richard Vann from DAN on "Flying After Diving"; Dr. Edmond Kay on "Prevention and Management of Middle Ear Barotrauma." There will also be a scientific session on both diving and clinical hyperbaric medicine on Friday, which is more of interest to professionals in the field. Continuing education credits for physicians, nurses and many other professionals is available for both days of the meeting. The cost is $55 for advanced registration, $65 at the door.
For more information, contact Dr. Tabby Stone stone@hsc.usc.edu or check out the UCLA Hyperbaric Chamber website at www.bol.ucla.edu/~mlieber.
Rocks, Reefs and Rips program (3Rs) is a half-day course designed to familiarize divers with popular beach dive sites and improve their beach diving skills. The next session will take place Oct. 9 at Malaga Cove in Los Angeles County.
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.)
Registration and briefing is at 8 a.m. A donation is suggested. The workshop is 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 visit the GLACD web site at www.glacd.org or call (805) 577-9416 or (310) 379-5681.
The 33rd Annual San Diego Underwater Film Festival will be held at Mandeville Auditorium, UCSD Campus, on October 9 at 8 p.m. and October 10 at 2:00 p.m. Marty Snyderman, award-winning film producer, underwater photographer, and cinematographer will be this year's Master of Ceremonies. The Film Festival is sponsored each year by the San Diego Underwater Photographic Society; a not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the underwater photographic arts. Tickets are available through Ticketron, the UCSD Box Office, or at the event.
On Sunday evening, October 10, 1999 the volunteer crew of USC's Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber will be gathering to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Chamber as a diving treatment facility. Current and former crew members, associated medical and para-medical practicioners, advisors, and others who have been part of this program for so many years are all invited.
The chamber first opened as a unique diving treatment facility on October 2, 1974 and treated their first patient 10 days later. The program has been manned by volunteers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since its inception as a emergency response facility. It has touched the lives of thousands of divers through the years in its roles as a treatment facility, education and training resource, and through various outreach programs.
Please join Andy Pilmanis, Ron Ryan, and Karl Huggins in welcoming back those who have served the chamber so well over the past 25 years. The gates of the Cabrillo Museum Aquarium in San Pedro, California will open shortly after 5 p.m. for registration, socializing, and such. A chicken and tri-tip BBQ dinner will be ready a little before 6 p.m. And at around 7 p.m. we'll move into the auditorium to hear from some of our folks, recognize a few more, and generally have a good time.
A prize drawing is planned. Proceeds from the drawing ticket sales will go directly to supporting the care and comfort of the current chamber crew. Prizes include an Atomic Aquatics B1 regulator, a week long dive vacation on Christmas Island (Pacific) from Dive Kiribati, decompression software from Abysmal Diving, and a "Buy 1, get 1 free" to Tahiti from World of Diving & Adventure Vacations.
Those wanting to tour the Cabrillo Museum Aquarium should come before 4 p.m.
For more details and to register for the event, see www.venturaweb.com/cicd/chc or call 805/486-2669.
The UHMS Pacific Coast Chapter will be meeting at UCLA Gonda Center for Hyperbaric Medicine the two days prior to this event, October 8 and 9.
The Historical Diving Society will host its 4th annual "Dive into History" on October 16th at Point Lobos Park. Divers will have an opportunity to see a diver in old "hard-hat" gear suit up and walk into the cove (qualified and registered divers being able to photograph the "hard-hat" diver in the water), view a display of old dive gear, and attend a luncheon and a wreck dive talk by Bill Wilson. Dick Anderson will also narrate his hilarious film on gold diving in California's rivers. For reservations, call 831-624-8413, identify yourself as part of the "Dive into History," and specify if you are diving, doing lunch, or both.
Hoover Dam Divers is sponsoring the 5th annual Divers for D.A.N. (Divers Alert Network) fundraiser and lake cleanup at Lake Mead's Boulder Beach on Sat. Oct. 16. Call Matt at (702) 269-0284 for more information.
Catalina Safari Dive and Hike Photo Contest will benefit the nonprofit Catalina Mooring Project which plans to install and maintain mooring buoys over sensitive marine habitats. Mooring buoys placed strategically around Catalina will protect its fragile underwater marine environment by keeping destructive boat anchors off the bottom.
There are over $10,000 in prizes, an evening social in the Casino and more. Contestant's are separated into four divisions based on experience (including a "point & shoot" division with land camera provided) and several categories. This is both a land and underwater photo contest.
For more information call (310) 510-2350 or visit the contest's website at www.safaridive.com.
