Ocean Explorers Society
February 2008

Please note the change of venue. Our next meeting will be held Thursday February 7th @ 6:30 at Gordon Biersch Restaurant, located in the Mission Valley West Mall,  5010 Mission Center Rd, SD.

Gordon Biersch is right next to Chevy's in Mission Valley. 

Please RSVP to Dave Ambrose so we can have enough seats. If you can't RSVP, come anyway, I always reserve a couple extra..  

From the President

People forget that we have world class diving here. We just got finished with the best squid run in years. Unfortunately, I couldn't go due to some lingering bronchitis. Those who did were stoked. Plankton beware. In a week or two, the local water column will be packed with hungry little squid larvae. 

We've still got openings for our Florida trip. It runs from May 2nd through May 17th. The first week will be diving in the Keys, second week will be in the Orlando area. Please contact me if you're interested. 

The Human Powered Submarine Races will be held in Escondido this summer and they're looking for volunteer safety divers. This is a really cool event, and well worth supporting. Follow this link for more information.

This is also a good time to get your regulator serviced. The shops are pretty slow, parts are at hand, and the techs can take their time to do the best job. 

For those of you intimidated by the local water temperatures, I recommend that you try out a drysuit. I have one, and it's great. You stay warmer during the dive, and most importantly, you're mush warmer arfter the dive. DUI is having a try-out on March 15th at the National Polytechnic College in Kearny Mesa. Cost is $8, includes lunch, and benefits the San Diego Oceans Foundation. You can try out all of DUI's products, including their BC's and weight harnesses. Diving is in the college's training tank; not quite as fun as La Jolla Shores, but it's a nice easy place to try out new gear. Non-diving family members can watch through portholes in the side of the tank. Funny faces provided at no extra charge. 

I'm looking forward to another year of local diving. We'll be organizing more dives when the water starts to warm up a bit. I'd like to go explore Shaw's Cove in Laguna Beach, and some of the northern San Diego county dive sites. If you have any places you'd like to try out, please let me know, and we'll work them in. 

I just finished with the first session of Bert Kobayashi's marine biology class. This is going to be fun. It's a rerun of his UCSD class over a period of months instead of 10 weeks. They also skipped the final and midterm exams. There are still spaces available, and the classes are a budget-friendly $10. I'm using this opportunity to overcome my reluctance to master the latin species names. So far, it seems to be working. 

Surf conditions can be extremely variable this time of year. I've had a couple of reports of surfers down by Vallecitos. The surf report hotline, and wetsand.com are your friends. Click through to the water quality reports if it's been raining.

In the meantime, stay safe.

 — Dave Ambrose

Local Dives

Nothing scheduled this month. If we get some unusually good conditions, I'll put out a notice. 

As usual, please RSVP to my cell phone at 858-248-6203.  — Dave Ambrose

Flotsam

27th Annual Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup 

When: Saturday February 23, 2008

Where: Avalon Harbor, Catalina

The 27th Annual Avalon Harbor Underwater Cleanup is a milestone event that you will not want to miss. This event has grown into one of the major dive events in Southern California. Approximately 550 divers from across California and neighboring states are expected to join in this annual endeavor to clean Avalon's spectaular harbor of accumulated junk and lost overboard "treasures". Diver submit items/artifacts for the prestigious Trash Award Competition.

The proceeds from the event benefit the Catalina Island Conservancy's Bob Given Ocean Conservation Fund and the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber, a life support recompression chamber on Catalina that serves the thousands of divers who frequent the nearby waters.

A website has been created so volunteers can register online by going to  www.catalinaconservancy.org  and clicking on the Underwater Cleanup icon. A group leader can also take the responsibility of registering a group. If you want to register as a group (minimum of 6 divers), please contact Tom Turney at turney@newcap.com. All registered clubs will receive a confirmation package of information regarding the dive prior to the event.

For more information, please contact the Cleanup Hotline at 310.510.2595 x 123 or email avalonharborcleanup@gmail.com .

 


San Diego Oceans Foundation (SDOF) - Reef Monitoring Project (http://sdoceans.org/reef_program.html)

So many divers see something underwater and ask each other "Did you see that? What do you think it was?" To help educate divers about local marine life, the San Diego Oceans Foundation has partnered with Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) and the Birch Aquarium to offer free fish and invertebrate identification training classes for SCUBA divers and snorkelers.

This program trains divers and snorkelers how to identify over 30 species of fish and invertebrates commonly found in Southern Californian waters. Data is collected using a standardized method called the Roving Diver technique, where divers swim freely throughout a dive site and record every observed fish that can be positively identified.

The search begins as soon as the diver or snorkeler enters the water with the goal to find as many species as possible. At the conclusion of each dive, each recorded species is assigned an abundance level based on how many were seen throughout the dive [Single (1); Few (2-10); Many (11-100); Abundant (>100)] and this information is recorded on a scantron form.

The data is entered into a publicly accessible database on REEF's website and is used by scientists, government agencies and interested public! Information gathered through this program not only contributes to an international database used by scientists and government agencies, but helps divers become knowledgeable about the ocean environment and sparks interest in continued learning.
To join the SDOF's free fish identification class and volunteer for the reef monitoring project, RSVP at volunteer@sdoceans.org.  Not only will you be learning lots of informative information that can be useful while diving our coastal waters, but you will also be helping the SDOF conduct fish and invertebrate surveys.  
Class Schedule:

New Travel Restrictions Affect Divers, Photographers, Business Travelers and Many More.  

Beginning January 1, 2008, the U.S. Department of Transportation is changing how and how many extra lithium batteries we pack for our flights (such as those cameras and computers). In sum, you may not pack extra lithium batteries in your checked luggage, but you can put them in your carry-on bags. The regulations state:

The following quantity limits apply to both your spare and installed batteries. The limits are expressed in grams of "equivalent lithium content." 8 grams of equivalent lithium content is approximately 100 watt-hours. 25 grams is approximately 300 watt-hours:

Get more information on the TSA website:   http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/batteries.shtm


San Diego Underwater Film Festival - April 5, 2008

The 39th San Diego Underwater Film Festival will be held Saturday April 5, 2008 at Sumner Hall (Scripps Institute of  Oceanography).

As in previous years it will be a great evening, allowing the San Diego diving community to gather socially while also viewing outstanding underwater digital media that has been captured both locally and from around the world by members of the San Diego Underwater Photographic Society (SDUPS).

For those of you unfamiliar with SDUPS, SDUPS has over 45 years of history, all focused on promoting underwater photography.  In 2007, the club formally expanded its focus to encompass all digital media. Today that means still pictures and animated still pictures, as well as standard definition and high definition video.  The club has monthly meetings with speakers, competitions,
and "tech talks".  Additonal information on SDUPS is at www.sdups.com and the next meeting is January 24th at 7PM (Sumner Hall).

The purpose of this email is to invite members of the "divebums" to participate and present their digital media at this year's film festival.  The only requirement is that you are a member of SDUPS ($25 annual membership).

During the month of February, SDUPS will be holding a number of seminars and training sessions on digital media production.  The end goal of these sessions is for members to have a finished presentation for the April Film Festival. Obviously, by joining SDUPS now you would be able to attend those February training sessions and get a head start on your Film Festival presentation.

If you have any questions, concerning the Film Festival or SDUPS, please email pfowler@cox.net      (Peter Fowler @ divebums.com)

UCSD Hyperbarbic Department looking for volunteers for a "Bubble" study -

Some folks at the UCSD Hyperbaric Dept are looking for volunteer divers to do a no-deco dive at 7:00 AM on Feb 24th at the Shores and then do a blood draw and CAT scan at Thornton Hospital afterwards. (There may well be other opportunities, not just Feb 24, so also contact them if you're interested but can't make it on the 24th.)

Flyer with details:  http://divebums.com/General/UCSD_bubble_study.pdf

Contact: Anthony Medak, MD ajmedak@yahoo.com  (John Moore @ divebums.com)


Travel  

Florida Trip

We have a two week trip to southern Florida under construction. It will be from May 2nd to May 17th.  One week will be primarily diving with sightseeing, and the second trip will be sightseeing with some diving thrown in. We should be able to accomodate people who only want to do one of the weeks. 

Our week of diving will be centered around Tavenier in the Keys. We've settled on Conch Republic divers as our primary dive charter. Florida has been actively sinking surplus ships. The wreck diving is excellent wth the Dwayne, Bibb, and Spiegel Grove within striking distance. Reef diving is also good, with the Pennekamp underwater reserve close by. 

During the second week, we plan to explore the Everglades, visit Cape Canaveral, dive some springs, and go to Disney World. We'll probably fit in a dinner at Catch of the Day too.  So far, we have a pretty good list of possibilities

We're leaning toward Conch Republic Divers in Tavenier. This would give us a good mix of wrecks and reefs. 

Airfares look very good. American is offering a sub $300 round trip from Orange County airport to Ft. Lauderdale via DFW. Jet Blue also flies to Ft Lauderdale from Orange County. Their fares are typically very good, and they have the best in-flight entertainment.  

We're looking into condos in the Keys for the diving part of the trip. The sightseeing part will probably be hotel based as it will be hard to visit everything on our list from a single location. 

We need to gauge the level of interest soon so we can lock in favorable pricing. Airfares are currently under $300, so this could be an inexpensive trip. If you're interested in this trip, please send me an email now. I need to know which week, and which activities pique your interest. 


Minutes of Jan 8, 2008 General Meeting 

Meeting held at La Jolla Brew House - called to order at 7:00 pm by Scott Anderson, President. 

  1. Guest Speaker

Our guest speaker was member Kevin Cooper who has been tracking the progress of the Marine Life Protection Act and the possible large reserves that would be called for in Southern California.   The “MLPA” is legislation enacted years ago to set aside large enough areas of reserve to serve as recovery colonies for the depleted fishes in the area.   That much is accomplished legislation - the question to be resolved is How Big? and in whose favorite spot? 

      The Council needs to give him the 'voice of the community' to take to the meetings in the next stage, when DFG decides the new placements and what level of protection will be put on them.   There are 3 major voices; the business community, the science community and the recreational beachgoers, as in surfers, divers, swimmers.  This is not going to be reversed or anything.   We can only hope to influence where areas become restricted, and to what level.  

 The Council meeting ended with the resolution to gather certain types of information from divers to present to DFG.   We want to know what areas divers are willing to abandon and which they will fight to keep open.  This requires differentiating from divers that hunt, and those that do not.  

       It was suggested of possibly  making all of Wreck Alley a reserve, which will include future Ships to Reefs projects that will be ideal breeding grounds and study areas, like the Yukon has been The level of protection to be sought in different places is not known.  (No Take, No Enter, Limited Take of Some Species, Recreational Only)   We felt some areas in La Jolla must not be made into reserves of any kind, because once that is in place, the Constitutionally guaranteed right to fish is gone there, and further restriction and prohibition can be added at any time. 

  1. Next General Meeting

     Next meeting will be Feb, 12th 2008 at the usual watering hole, the La Jolla Brew House.

Our guest speaker will be Steve Benavides, who will be speaking on MLPA as well as updating us on the Abalone harvest at San Miguel Island.  Primarily, we will be compiling the views of divers from the San Diego dive clubs to forward to Kevin Cooper to present at the hearings prior to DFG decisions. There will be the usual update on the fast moving situation at Children's Pool.  

Update on Children's Pool

     On Jan 4th a Superior Court judge ruled that the City could not put a rope across Children's Pool beach for the winter, and that it was contrary to the court's ruling to restore the beach.  He also noted the City had only 2 weeks left to present its plan for carrying out the restoration and 4 months to finish the job. 

   The evening before, per request of the City Hearing Officer, the La Jolla Community Planning Association voted on the proposed permit for such a rope.   Two members left early, the other nine voted 7-2 AGAINST the rope.    On Jan 25, a suit by APRL will try to force the City to abandon the Children's Pool restoration in federal court, claiming the MMPA supersedes the State Supreme Court, and requires the seals remain undisturbed.  That will be about the last gasp.    

  1. Future dives activities

San Diego Dive Club will be sponsoring their annual Underwater Easter Egg Hunt at the Shores, with the usual free breakfast and prizes for the most eggs found.   First Saturday before Easter = 3/15/08.

Free Divers meeting Sunday Jan 13th, Awards Banquet for 2007 Trophy Catches. 

Submitted 1/10/08         



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