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Tales Between the Tides Workshop — Sept. 4-6
Preschool children are invited to discover the wonders along the shore at Cabrillo Beach and Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Wednesday through Friday September 4th—September 6th from 9:30 a.m.—11:00 a.m. in the Tales Between the Tides workshop. Activities include looking at the variety of sealife found in the ocean and hands-on exploration of many living organisms. The workshop includes a snack and a project to make and take home. A favorite adult is welcome to join in, too. The cost of the workshop is $30 ($27 Aquarium FRIENDS) and reservations are recommended.
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 reservations, further information or to receive a calendar of events, call 310-548-7562 or visit http://www.cabrilloaq.org.
3Rs Beach Diving Workshops - Sept. 7, Sept. 14, October 12
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: September 14, Long Point (Los Angeles County); October 12, White Point (Los Angeles County).
In addition a 3Rs course will be staged in San Diego County. The next San Diego 3Rs will be September 7 at Hospital Point. Visit http://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 http://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 http://www.glacd.org or call (310) 379-5681 (evening).
KelpFest — Sept. 8
KelpFest will be held September 8 at the park where Ocean Park Blvd. meets the beach, adjacent to the bike path. The event is an educational celebration of local kelp habitat in the Santa Monica Bay and educates the community about environmental and marine issues. This community oriented event will feature booths of environmental groups, various interactive kids games, activities, and arts and crafts, an extensive Kelp Education presentation, Kelp Food Products, Live Pirates and Mermaids, and non-stop stage entertainment. An environmental car exhibit from Honda, helicopter display, kayak race, and surfing demonstration will also be featured. The event also highlights the 3rd annual Clean Cities, Clean Oceans contest, co-sponsored by the City of Santa Monica and Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.
KelpFest is an event by the Santa Monica Bay Keepers. For more information, or to inquire about sponsorship or volunteer opportunities before and at the event, please contact Heather George at 310-305-9645 x2. For more information on Santa Monica Bay Keepers visit http://www.smbaykeeper.org on the web.
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Docent Training Class — Starts September 9
The beach beckons applicants for the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium’s 2002 docent training class. Cabrillo Marine Aquarium docents guide school children through the aquarium’s exhibit hall on one-hour tours providing information on the marine life of Southern California and the tidepools, beaches, kelp forests, wetlands, islands and open ocean habitats where they live. Docents volunteer one morning a week, on the day of their choice, through mid-June.
Applicants should have an interest in the ocean, the desire to learn and share their new knowledge with others. There is a fee of $50, which will include a docent manual, textbook, name badge, and a one-year Friends of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium membership. Training will be held on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from September 9 through December 16. Field trips and related activities may also be scheduled during the training period.
For more information on this special volunteer opportunity, please contact Randi Abrams-Gonzalez, Volunteer Coordinator, at (310) 548-8398 or e-mail rabrams@rap.lacity.org. 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.
Northern Channel Islands Chamber Days — Sept. 9 & 18
The Channel Islands Council of Divers (CICD) has announced that its annual Channel Islands Chamber Day dives will be held on September 9 and 18. Participating boats will be Peace and Truth.
Channel Islands Chamber Days are supplemental to Catalina Chamber Day held in May. CICD represents the diving community in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Proceeds from the Chamber Day dives support the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber, the hyperbaric chamber at St. John’s Hospital in Pleasant Valley, and CICD’s Uninsured Divers’ Fund.
The Catalina Chamber is devoted solely to the treatment of diving accidents, and depends on donations and volunteers to remain in operation. The CICD Uninsured Divers’ Fund is maintained to provide money for medical treatment of an unfortunate sport diver who may be unable to pay for treatment for a hyperbaric injury.
Participating charter dive boats generously donate their boats and crews, so that all income from the dives may be used for this charitable purpose. Dive trips will cost $75.
Current plans (dependent on weather and sea conditions) are for Peace to dive on oil rig Grace. Truth plans to try for at least two dives on local coastal wrecks. Please consider that rig dives are usually considered “Advanced Dives,” due to open sea currents, “no bottom” conditions, and the need to dive from and return to a boat that is “under power,” rather than at anchor.
For more information or reservations call Dick Shrewsbury, Chamber Day Coordinator at 805-485-8483.
Free-Dive Photo Shoot — Sept. 14
One form of free-diving competition is the Photo Shoot. In this competition, divers may only use breath-hold diving. No scuba allowed! Participants enter the water at their favorite location and try to “catch” as many different species of fish as possible but with a camera instead of a spear. There will be two categories of competition. The first category is open to people with underwater cameras (Nikonos, housed cameras, etc.) and the second open to people some kind of disposable waterpoof camera. All the participants must show up by 8 a.m., September 14 at the Malaga Cove parking lot to sign up and to seal the roll of film in the camera (this will be done by taking a picture of a given object or person with the first frame in the roll). After that, every body leaves to dive in the location of their choice and to “catch” fish on film.
All participants must return to the staging area by 2 p.m. to return the film so organizers can have it developed and judged by the following morning. Plaques will be awarded to the first three places in each category, decided by the number of points scored (one point per identified fish of different species). In the case of a tie, the winner will decided on the most difficult fish to “catch.” Additional awards will be given to the person that gets the most artistic picture and to the person that photographs the most unusual fish, as decided by a panel of three judges.
Film used must be compatible with overnight developing. Winners will be announced September 15. For entry fees and other questions contact Eric Frasco (310-379-5681) or Rene Rojas (714-533-7773).
Cabrillo Chocolate Lobster Dive - Sept. 21
Snorkelers and scuba divers, ages 12 and above, are invited to dive into the waters of Cabrillo Beach at 8 a.m. on Saturday, September 21, 2002 to take part in Cabrillo Marine Aquarium’s 5th Annual Chocolate Lobster Dive, an activity-filled fundraising event devoted to those ocean enthusiasts with a “sweet tooth.” This playful and unusual underwater event is limited to 500 participants who will be searching for hundreds of solid milk chocolate lobsters. Last year participants received prizes worth over $35,000, as they searched for the specially-tagged crustacean confections. Among the prizes offered this year is an 8-day, 7-night, live-aboard dive trip on the Big Blue Explorer in Palau valued up to $1899, donated by Island Cruise and Adventures. Another major prize is a Cobra “Play” kayak courtesy of Cobra. Many, many additional prizes are offered. Proceeds from the event benefit the Aquarium’s School Tours program, which educates thousands of children about the marine environment. Save money by pre-registering before September 6, 2002 for $30, which includes beach parking and lunch; registering after September 6th until the day of the event: $35+ $6.50 parking. For further information and/or registration form, call 310/548-7562, x9039, check with local dive shops and dive clubs or link to the Chocolate Lobster website http://members.cox.net/chocolatelobster/.
California Coastal Cleanup Day — Sept. 21
The 18th Annual California Coastal Cleanup Day is being held on Saturday, September 21, from 9:00 a.m.—noon at over 50 beach, river and dive locations throughout L.A. County. Over 10,000 volunteers are expected to come together and tackle the problem of marine debris hands-on.
Everyone is invited to join, including adults, children, community groups and corporations.
Please note that minors must have a liability waiver signed by a parent or guardian in order to participate. You may obtain a copy of this waiver in advance by visiting http://www.healthebay.org. Waivers will be available at the cleanup sites on Sept. 21 for children who attend the cleanup with their parents.
For more information and a complete list of cleanup sites visit http://www.healthebay.org, or call 1-800-HEAL BAY.
Historical Diving Society Conference — October 18, 19
The Historical Diving Society will hold its 10th Anniversary Conference in Santa Barbara, CA on Oct. 18-20 at Santa Barbara City College. The conference features presentations on international diving history by Skin Diver Magazine co-founder Chuck Blakeslee, HDS Russia Director Dr. Alexander Sledkov, HDS Italy Director Giancarlo Bartoli and HDS Pacific Director Bob Ramsay.
The conference at Santa Barbara City College and banquet at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum will take place on the 19th. Historical equipment displays and diving exhibitions will be held on the 20th. For tickets and information call 805-692-0072, or email HDS@HDS.ORG or go to http://www.hds.org.