Ocean Explorers Society
July 2004
Sponsored by Ocean Enterprises
Contents
Monthly Meeting
Thursday, July 1st at 7PM - Upstairs classroom at
Ocean Enterprises. This month, Dr. Ed Parnell from Scripps Institute of Oceanography
will visit us; we'll have the usual raffle. Meet for dinner at 5:30 in Appleby's
across the street from Ocean Enterprises. All are welcome to join us. either
at Appleby's or at the meeting itself.
From the President
You know you've had a bad dive when you make the evening news. That's
exactly what happened when a dive boat forgot one of its passengers off
the Orange County coast. Fortunately the diver was spotted by a group of boy
scouts on the Argus, and brought safely home.The email lists quickly errupted
in discussions; some useful, some not, but mostly about how to save your hide
once you're in that situation. With a little thought and distance, a somewhat
different picture emerges. This diver had a pair of pick-up buddies, but had
to abort his dive. The buddies continued their dive, which is a violation of
best practices, but even worse, they didn't follow up to make sure he got back
on board.
I've never been thrilled with pick-up dive buddies. They're just not as committed to my well-being as my friends and family are.
In the unlikely event I do get separated from the boat, I carry a small kit of emergency supplies. I've never needed these, but they don't take up very much room, and they never have to leave my BC pocket.
My in-the-water Oh Sh*t Kit:
Safety Sausage
Scubapro signalling mirror
ACR Strobe Light/flashlight
12 feet of 1/4 Nylon Rope
Storm Whistle (secured to D-ring on BC)
All of these items may be found at either West Marine,
or your favorite dive store. They don't cost that much, and will give you a
fighting
chance for getting spotted away from a boat. But most importantly, take a good
buddy or two with you.We've got some good diving planned for July. I hope you'll
join us on
the 10th for the Lois Ann trip. I'm also keeping an eye on conditions. Our peoximity
to The summer solstice means the days are really long, and we can hit the water
as late as 7PM for a nice dusk dive.
I went to the 3R's Marine Street (not Marine Room) and
discovered a really good beach. I can't believe I've been here all this time
and not found this place. You can only dive this place when the waves are almost
non-existent. But at other times it's a good place for boogie boarding
or surfing.
Assuming I haven't lost any files along the way, I started doing the newsletters in 1996. That's a really long time for anyone, and it's way past time to get some new blood into this part of our club. I'm very happy to announce that Dawn Tosta is replacing me as newsletter editor. Send her news, gossip, information, complaints, and complements about how much better she is than that old editor.
Last report from divebums was that conditions are great. This is shaping up to be a good summer. Get out, get wet, and have fun.
--Dave Ambrose
It's a great time of year to let the yard chores slide (again) and go diving.
Club Diving
Club Dives - Boat trip on the Lois Ann, July 10, 6:30AM-1:30PM, Yukon,
7 Fathom Bank, and Kelp. $75, includes food, tanks, and weights. Nitrox is available
for extra charge.
Flotsam
Our summer party will be at Paul Lee's house on
July 17th. More details to follow.
========
Dive Animals La Bufadora Trip (June 19-20). Let Frances San Clemente know right
away if you're planning to go.Trips dates are June 19-20 Next trip is Aug 7-
8. You can sign up now for Aug trip. Send $30 deposit to Frances San Clemente
9780 Caminito Doha SD CA 92131
========
SPEAKER: Andrew Georgitsis, GUE Technical Training Director Diving the HMS Repulse
in the South China Sea -- Multimedia presentation.
TIME AND LOCATION: Wednesday, June 30, 7:00 PM.
Marina Village, conference room C-1 Marina Village is located on Mission Bay
at 1936 Quivira Way, San Diego,CA 92109. For directions see: http://www.marinavillage.net/d1.html
SDUE welcomes Andrew Georgitsis who will present video, stills, and stories from this April's DIR expedition to the South China Sea. This trip was part of the series of DIR-only trips designed to give GUE Tech graduates a taste of expedition style diving. In this case that included documenting and cataloging the HMS Repulse while respecting the sanctity of a war grave. The Repulse was the victim of a Japanese attack, just days after the Pearl Harbor attack. On December 10th, Japanese submarines and aircraft (27 bombers and 61 torpedo planes) attacked a British fleet near Singapore resulting in the sinking of both the HMS Repulse and HMS Prince of Wales.
This presentation is open everyone.
=========
The San Diego Oceans Foundation is looking for volunteer divers to assist in
cleaning both the Mission Bay and San Diego Bay white seabass grow-out pens.
Divers must be comfortable working in low-visibility environments, sign a liability
waiver and provide own gear (including tank and weights). This is a great opportunity
for you to use your diving skills to help local fisheries conservation efforts.
The tasks involved include scrubbing algae and pulling off tunicates and mussels. Once you RSVP by email, Noelle Barger will email you directions and the waiver for you to complete.
Thursday, July 1, 2004 // San Diego Bay // 5:00 - 7:00 pm
The San Diego Oceans Foundation is announcing its upcoming PADI Specialty Course, Yukon Research Diver which is slated for July 17th & 18th. Please follow this link for more information. http://www.sdoceans.org/programs/armp/armp.php Please note that the prerequisites have changed. You must meet them to enroll for the course, no exceptions.
Please respond to Noelle Barger at www.sdocean.org if
you are interested, there are only 5 spots remaining.
==========
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MARINE TECHNOLOGY NEWS & EVENTS.
MTS APPRECIATION DINNER
June 30th, 6:00 pm
Tom Hams Lighthouse, Harbor Island Underwater filmmaker and explorer Scott Cassell
has just agreed to make a presentation at the dinner. His talk will be on advanced
technology rebreathers and filming Humboldt squid. He will also offer a snippet
on his upcoming 25 mile swim underwater from LA to Avalon on one continuous
solo SCUBA dive (15 hours). In addition you will have the opportunity to meet
the MTS Science Fair winners and the newly elected Board members. Dinner choices
are Filet Mignon, Sword Fish or a Vegetarian Meal. The price for this event
is now $40 per person. Tables of eight are available. RSVP with your choice
of meal to mtsrsvp@aol.com
=========
La Jolla Childrens Pool Article Provided by Chris Rink Copy and paste the link
below in an open browser. http://clerkdoc.sannet.gov/RightSite/getcontent/local.pdf?DMW_OBJECTID=09001451800afd0d
=========
The Human Powered Submarine contest in Escondido ... and every two years they're
looking for local divers to act as safety divers for this event. The basics:
twelve or fifteen teams of mostly undergraduate college* student engineers have
spent some time creating one- or two-person human-powered submarines. They then
get together for about four days to race them (one at a time) down an straight
course in a HUGE pool. Some time trials will go really well and they'll make
it all the way down the course, others will veer off suddenly into the bottom
or sides of the pool, or surface rapidly, or all of the above in rapid succession
... you just never know.... but they're all having a great time and so will
you! There are several jobs for safety divers, all of which are fun ... you
could beassigned to follow a team around, you could be assigned a spot somewhere
on the underwater course ... you may get switched around to all positions.
==========
From: WJMPB@aol.com
Subject: Earthquake Dive!
I went for a dive on the Ruby E yesterday. As I went down it was the usual poor
viz till you got down to the colder water. When I got to the wreck viz was not
bad. As I was moving about I became aware of a weird surge. I was passing through
the wreck and the surge caused me to hit the wreck. My tank making a clank as
I came in contact. It was a weird
back and forth surge like 6-8 foot this way and back. Viz just went to hell.
I figured since I did not check the tide maybe that was it. It felt plain weird.
Weird surge. Coming up the mooring line it was like being in a tub of water
sloshing back and forth.When we got back to the dock we learned we had been
diving during the earthquake. Maybe the tremors had an effect on conditions.
Anyway, ever dive during an earthquake? I have! Walt
=========
Items for sale.
Some used, some new. If interested, please contact Brian at: wongb@pacbell.net
for details.
- Pelican 1550 case; 20 X 17 X 9 inches -- NEW $99
- Hardigg 2950 StormCase, -- NEW $199
- Catalina AL80 tank; needs hydro -- USED $50
==========
Noyo Harbor Confidential (long article)
by Jim Martin
WORLD'S LARGEST ABALONE BUST. Local Fish & Game Wardens
Dennis McKiver, Gary Combes, and Ed Ramos were responsible for two arrests in
what is the largest
single haul of illegally taken abalone in California history. Kurt Allen Ward,
43, and Joshua Holt, 34, both from San Ysidro in Southern California, were found
to be in possession of 468 abalone at Albion River on Friday, May 21. They used
their commercial sea urchin diving boat and gear to collect the abalone off
Elk, in the area around the Elk Guest House.
Judging from the pictures I saw, they were all large abalone, apparently 8 or 9 inches. McKiver confirmed this, telling me that he didn't notice many under the 7 inch size limit. The whole load of abalone, in the shell, may have weighed as much as a ton. The abalone were dead or dying, according to Warden McKiver, and were quickly donated to local charities, including the Ukiah Senior Center.
The wardens, acting on a local fisherman's tip (who was not identified), were on the lookout for these guys.
Warden Dennis McKiver reported on the Coastside Fishing Club Web Site, "Warden Ramos and I had received information that Kurt Ward and another licensed urchin diver, Joshua Holt were towing their dive boat 'Blind Strike' all the way up from San Diego to the Mendocino Coast and spending a day They were then seen towing the boat back to San Diego the next day. Even the price being paid for Mendocino County sea urchins is currently very low. It did not make any sense that Ward and Holt would come all the way up to Mendocino County to take sea urchins when the divers in Southern California repeatedly tow a boat all the way up and back form San Diego for one day of diving did not make sense, since Ward could leave his boat in Fort Bragg, or Albion for much less time, effort, and expense. Their activities lead us to believe they may be engaging in other than lawful commercial sea urchin diving activities. So, we waited for their next arrival next trip to Mendocino."On 5-18-04 Warden Ramos found out that Kurt Ward was in the Albion area.Warden Ramos notified Warden Combes. On 5-20-04 Warden Combes patrolled south along the Mendocino Coast looking for the commercial fishing vessel 'Blind Strike.' At about 1200 hours, Warden Combes saw the 'Blind Strike' anchor offshore of Elk. Warden Combes saw two divers enter the water using commercial hookah diving gear. Warden Combes watched their activities for about 40 minutes. Their diving activities were consistent with commercial sea urchin fishing. Warden Combes was unable to remain in position until the divers finished diving and did not see them put any abalone in the boat. Warden Combes called me about 1400 hours and told me of the 'Blind Strike's' position and activities.
"On 5-20-04 at about 1700 hours I contacted Ward and Holt at the Albion River Harbor. I asked if they had taken any urchins. Ward said, 'No they were all poor quality, so we didn't take any.' I asked to see their commercial fishing licenses and sea urchin permits. They each showed me their valid licenses and permits. I asked Ward if I could look in his boat. He said, 'Go ahead.' I asked Ward to lift up the rear fish hold cover. As he did he said, 'There's just gear in here.' I looked in and could see what appeared to be an abalone under the gear. I told Ward and Holt that I knew they had abalone in the boat and they were therefore under arrest.
"I notified dispatch of the arrest and had the dispatcher contact Warden Combes for assistance. When Warden Combes arrived we moved the gear off of the abalone and photographed the abalone in the boat's fish holds for evidence. We had Ward and Holt secure the boat for towing. We had Ward tow his boat to a Fish and Game secure storage area in Fort Bragg.
"Lt. Ponting and Warden Ceccon met us there. They interviewed Ward and Holt while Warden Combes and I secured the boat and evidence. We seized the boat and all diving gear and equipment aboard it. At 1815 CHP officer Gerry Gmeiner #9315 met us at my request. He assisted by completing a CHP 180 form for the seizure and impound of the boat and helped us count the abalone. We counted 468 abalone in the 'Blind Strike' fish holds. Lt. Cathy Ponting, Warden Ceccon and Officer Gmeiner completed an inventory of the seized vessel contents. Warden Ramos arrived and assisted with securing the abalone evidence. Warden Combes and I transported Ward and Holt to the Mendocino County Jail in Ukiah and booked them in at 2230 hours on the following charges:
PC 182(a)(1) - Felony conspiracy to commit a crime.
F&G 2000 - Unlawful take of abalone.
F&G 2002 - Unlawful possession of abalone.
F&G 5521.5 - Unlawful take of abalone for commercial purpose.
F&G 12006.6 - Taking abalone for commercial purpose from a closed area -
penalty.
F&G 7145 - Taking abalone from an area open to sport take of abalone without
first obtaining a sport fishing license.
CCR Title 14 Section 29.15(c) - taking abalone in excess of the daily bag
limit (3) and in excess of the yearly trip limit (24).
CCR Title 14 Section 29.15(e) - unlawful method of taking abalone, unlawful
use of hookah dive gear.
CCR Title 14 Section 29.15(f) - taking abalone without a required abalone
measuring device.
CCR Title 14 Section 29.15(h) - unlawfully taking abalone without first
obtaining an Abalone Report Card."
They threw the book at them. Now it's up to our local
Mendocino County DA to make the charges stick, and our judges to send a message
that this type of activity is a career-limiting move.George Lawry, long time
President of the Sonoma County Abalone Network (SCAN), called me Monday morning
to find out about the case. SCAN has been a force in Sonoma County's strict
enforcement of poaching cases, with members putting together a reward fund,
up to $1000, for information leading to the arrest and conviction of abalone
poachers. George is interested in offering the reward to the unidentified Albion
tipster. I passed that on to Warden
McKiver; the reward can be given anonymously.
The local Confidential Grapevine tells me: Ward and Holt
are alleged to be crank addicts. They were said to be bringing the abalone down
to Mexico, where they were selling it for $45 per kilo, or about $25 per pound.
This was their sixth trip, according to statements they made independently to
investigators. My personal surmise is that when you put poaching lowlife tweakers
together with the Mexican Mob, you just may have more than a poaching case.
Were the poachers being paid in methamphetamine, I wonder?
Pure speculation on my part.
SOME OBSERVATIONS ON ABALONE: Kurt Ward and Josh Holt were reportedly only diving for three hours, and they collected a ton of abalone using compressed air diving gear, called a hookah, and a hydraulic hoist to load the abalone into the boat. Urchin boats are identifiable by their forward cabin, low profile, and minimal freeboard. The hulls look like very large jon boats for duck hunting with an out house perched in the front of the boat.
Sea urchins cohabit with abalone in the sub-tidal zone,
with abalone petering out after 80 feet of depth. The recreational fishery for
abalone north of the Golden Gate is limited to breath-hold diving - scuba tanks
are prohibited. That effectively limits the lawful take of abalone to the depths
most people can dive - out to thirty feet deep and less. So if everyone plays
by the rules, there will always be abalone because of the constant repopulating
from big, deep water abalone. Up until 1999, the commercial fishery, legally
using the same gear as did Holt and Ward in this poaching case, hammered the
Central and Southern California abalone fisheries, until
the whole area was closed to both sport and commercial take.
After several high profile cases back in the 80s and 90s, we thought this problem with commercial urchin divers poaching abalone was a thing of the past. I confess that I habitually refer to urchin boats as "abalone boats", an artifact of Albion-speak.
The last time I dove down in the Elk area, I could see
dozens of abalones, in some cases, stacked one atop the other as I floated on
the surface. There is now an historical abundance of abalones in NorCal for
several reasons: lack of sea otters, perfect habitat, the rules for non-commercial
use by the public on a breath-hold fishery established in the late nineteen
forties,
and more recently, the introduction of the commercial sea urchin fishery, which
sells the gonads of sea urchins to the Japanese. The commercial sea urchin fishery
has reduced the populations of the abalone's main competitor for its food and
its habitat. Sea urchins can crowd out whole communities of abalone, and they
tend to fill each other's niches.
So what we have here is undeniably special - the last healthy, producing abalone population in the world. It has been managed inexpensively, with common-sense rules that are supported by 99% of the abalone divers, including myself. Many recreational divers point to commercial poaching cases as the sole cause of any alleged declines of abalone - yet, if every recreational diver took just one abalone over his or her limit, that would add up to over 30,000 abalone.
I asked Warden Dennis McKiver if he could estimate the number of commercial abalone poaching cases that were brought to court, compared to the number that went undetected. "I'd guess we catch about 10%, based on the information we receive about various people, and what we are able to bring charges on."
HATS OFF TO DENNIS MCKIVER, GARY COMBES, AND ED RAMOS
for this bust. I shook Gary and Dennis' hands on behalf of RFA and Coastside
and thanked them for
their hard work. Unlike the habitat people the DFG still employs, these guys
were working until midnight Friday to get the job done, and on Saturday they
bucked a ton of abalone
Call the dive and surf hotline the morning of the session at 619-221-8824 to make sure the session hasn't been cancelled due to rough weather.
| June 5, 2004 Marine Street 300 Marine Street |
June 26, 2004 North Bird Rock 6000 Camino de la Costa |
July 10, 2004 Goldfish Point (La Jolla Caves) 1325 Coast Blvd. (old Shell Shop) Session host - Dive Animals |
| July 31, 2004 Shell Beach (Seal Rock) 1000 Coast Blvd. (Ocean St.) Session host - Bottom Bunch |
August 14, 2004 South Casa Cove Coast Blvd. at Jenner St. Session host - Ocean Explorers Society |
September 11, 2004 Hospital Point 400 Coast Blvd (south of Cuvier) Session host - San Diego Sea Dogs |
Dive Travel
We're looking for 2004 destinations. We're discussing Papua New Guinea,
Truk, Yap, Florida and Hawai'i. What piques your interest? Please let us know.
OE Trips:
Belize: Turneffe Island Lodge, on a private island 30 mi off Belize coast. Packages
all include deluxe room w/ AC, transfers to/from island, 3 dives daily, all
meals, a Thursday dive trip to Blue Hole/Half Moon Caye/Lighthouse Reef, Thursday
night dive, tanks/weights. 3 nights $850, 4 nights $1050, 7 nights $1,475. Half-off
private cabana upgrade, offering private lanai and indoor/outdoor shower. Other
activities include kayaking, sailing, volleyball. Must book by 8/21/04. www.turneffelodge.com,
800-874-0118, or email info@turneffelodge.com.
Cozumel: *** Club trip Aug 9-14! ***
Oktoberfest in Cozumel, Oct 2-9, offers diving, annual Seashots U/W photo contest and free seminars on U/W pix. Parties aplenty including beach party with live music, toga party and the popular homemade bikini night. Prizes to be given out by sponsors such as TUSA, Mares, Henderson, Dacor, Body Glove. Bookings through Caradonna Caribbean Tours, starting $719 ppdo (air extra).
Outside of Oktoberfest, Caradonna offers 4th-night-free
pkg at Reef Club Cozumel from $421 ppdo, with 3 days 2-tank boat dives, RT airport
transfers, from Aug 14-Dec 22 2004 excluding week of Oktoberfest. 7th-night-free
pkgs available Jun 26-Aug 13 2004. Contact Caradonna at 800-301-1467, hotel
info at www.reefclubcozumel.com, dive operator info at www.sanddollarsports.com.
Bahamas: Small Hope Bay Lodge on Andros, Bahamas, offers free PADI Adventure
Diver course. Guests completing 3 adventure dives and classwork get free instruction
after paying for registration and materials. Must book through Sep 7 2004. Min
4-night stay. Contact 800-223-6961, check www.smallhope.com.
Hammer/tiger shark liveaboard expedition, limited to 8 people, Feb 3-11 2005, led by Shark Diver mag, $2600 pp, info www.divediscovery.com/grouptrips/grouptrips12.shtml.
Bonaire: Habitat offers 8-day, 7-night special to Dec 18 2004, $583 pp quad occ. Daily buffet breakfast, unlim shore diving, tanks/weights, airport transfers. Contact 011-599-717-8290, visit www.habitatdiveresorts.com.
Curacao: Habitat offers special pkgs through Dec 17. 25% savings on boat dive pkgs, ocean or garden-vu suite. Nitrox and rebreathers avail. Unlim shore diving. Non-dive activities include yoga, hiking, nearby flamingo sanctuary. 7-nights $483/567 ppdo for garden/ocean vu (air extra). For $225 more, get 3 2-tank boat dives and 6 days unlim shore diving with tanks/weights. New art gallery opening Jul 3 with works by Ron Steven. Single divers get dbl occ rate Sep 20-Oct 2 and Nov 27-Dec 18. Also spa/dive pkgs avail. Visit www.habitatcuracao.com, call 800-327-6709, email info@maduro.com.
OE dives: Visit OE website www.oceanenterprises.com for more info on upcoming trips to Palau in Nov, Bahamas liveaboard Apr 2005, Wakatobi Island Jul 2005.
Roatan/Utila: Cocoview Resort, Roatan: 7-nite pkg, all meals, unlim diving, instant purchase/no refunds/12% tax not included, only Jul 3 or 17 or 24, $699 ppdo. 7-nite pkg with RT TACA air from Houston, all meals, unlim diving, 12% not included, only July 10 or 31, $1190 ppdo. Utila Lodge: 7-night pkg, meals/diving, instant purchase/no refunds/12% tax not included, only Jul 24, Aug 14, $699 ppdo. Combo: 2 weeks (1 in Cocoview, 1 in Utila), incl air/transfers, 14 nights, all meals/diving, 12% tax not included, only Jul 17-31 or Aug 21-Sep 4, $1990 ppdo. Call 800-282-8932, email res@roatan.com.
California Shark Diving: No-cage diving with blue sharks and makos from liveaboard, led by Shark Diver mag; escorts for advanced divers only avail for cage-free diving, Nov 12-14, $750 pp, info www.divediscovery.com/grouptrips/grouptrips13.shtml. Isla de Guadalupe trip with Great Whites, Nov 13-17, $2450 pp, info www.divediscovery.com/grouptrips/grouptrips10.shtml.
Socorros: Nautilus Explorer liveaboard, with schooling hammers, dolphins, silkies and Galapagos sharks, jacks, barracudas, tuna, whale sharks, giant mantas, Feb 12-21 2005, $2495 pp twin share stateroom cabin, info www.divediscovery.com/grouptrips/grouptrips16.shtml.
Komodos: Adventure Komodo liveaboard, 14 nights, Sorong to Kupang, Mar 11-25 2005, $4200 pp boat only, info www.divediscovery.com/grouptrips/grouptrips11.shtml.
Membership
Renewal rates are $20 single; $30 for a family. If you can't make it
to a meeting, send your renewal to Mark Clausen; 1862 Willow Way; Vista, CA
92083.