Ocean Explorers Society
May 2008

From the President

On April 12th, seven divers arrived at La Jolla Shores to find beautiful weather, good diving conditions, and unseasonably bad parking. It seems there was a running event starting at La Jolla Shores. Good dives were enjoyed by all. Visibility was adequate, and there was a lot of life out. The sea hares were out in force, and we saw a few Sheepsheads, and octopi. Gayle and I were treated to 5 different species of nudibranchs. That's a record for me on any dive. 

Muchas gracias to Tom Perrine, Greg Nist, Gayle van Leer, Devin Kowatch, Scott Nyce, and Patrick Martin for joining us for the first club dive of 2008 and getting the diving year started in style. 

We dove La Jolla Shores quite a bit last year, and while it's a local staple, I'd like to go explore more local dive sites. La Jolla Cove is a habitually good site. Children's Pool is also good, but can be a bit dicey topside. Boat trips are another possibility; either local, or further afield. Catalina's a fun weekend destination and the Channel Islands make for an outstanding fall trip.

A few peole suggested after work dives. The sun is up late enough that we can head for the beach from work, gear up, and still have time to dive before it gets dark. Dusk dives are especially nice as you get to see both night and day critters.

As you can see, we're up to our cute little dimples in possibilities. So, what should we do? I need your input. I hope those who've been diving and those who want to dive will come to this next meeting so we can make some plans. I'll bring a calendar, boat schedules, tide charts, and maybe even a map or two. 

If you can't make it, please drop me an email and let me know where you'd like to dive.

I took the liberty of staking out a dive at La Jolla Cove. We might as well enjoy it before the tourists get bad. 

The summer season is rapidly approaching. Topside temperatures are rising, and the water has finally started to warm up a bit. Surface temps are nudging 60 degrees. Alas, it's still a chilly 52 at depth. Bring your warm dive suit. We're seeing the northwest swell receding and a southwest swell filling in. At this very moment, we're getting some of both. 

The mixed swell can make for more challenging surf entries. . First trick is to know when it's happening. Swell period is a good indicator. When it's down below 8 seconds, the swell is probably mixed. The better way is to wander over to wetsand.com and look at the swell graph. It breaks out the northwest and southwest swell components. 

Vallecitos Street at La Jolla Shores enjoys some especially fortunate geography. Point La Jolla mostly blocks the southern swell, and the northern swell gets bent by canyon and bottom topography so it breaks to the north. This is why you can almost always dive at La Jolla Shores.

But a mixed swell will sometimes offer up an especially large wave. That's why we sit and watch the surf for 20 minutes or so. The wave trains will periodically reinforce or negate one another. You want to make your surf entry when surf is calmer rather than when the biggest waves of the hour are putting in their appearance.

The most easily discernable clue: If people are surfing in front of Vallecitos, keep the dive gear in your car.

The Rocks, Rips, and Reefs program officially begins May 17th. These are in-the-water tours of the local underwater features, and lessons in handling surf. I highly recommend them to everyone, especially the La Jolla Caves tour. The Ocean Explorers will be hosting the session at Marine Street on June 28th. We could use another volunteer topside, so if you have the morning free or can tape your cartoons, we'd love to have you. Marine Street has a nice beach, so feel free to bring the kids.

The SCUBA show is coming up on June 21st and 22nd. We'll do our usual carpool. Last year, we combined the SCUBA show with a trip to the Peterson Auto Museum. It worked out well. If there's enough interest to fill a car, we'll try that again this year.

We have a dollar-off discount coupon, and will have that for you on the web site by June.

With another dive year comes the time to inspect your gear. Regulators need periodic overhauls. Check with the manufacturer for service recommendations. Right now, turn around time at OE is about a week. It's much better to do it now, rather than wait until summer, when the wait is more like 4 or 6 weeks. The guys at the OE service shop have been doing good work for me. But, no matter who rebuilds your reg, test dive it before going on that big trip. All repair shops make mistakes, and you want to discover them while you're still close to home.

Not too long ago, the California Coastal Comission voted to stop a toll road from all but destroying the state park at San Onofre. Credit for the defeat primarily went to the surfing community who clearly had the most to lose. I was reading some of the news accounts, and was appalled at the way government officials were characterizing their opponents. We all know the stereotype, but if you've been to a local beach lately, you know there are some awfully nice cars carrying surfboards. Saying that surfers are mostly unemployed is offensive. Gee, the biggest SCUBA oriented mailing list in San Diego is called dive bums. I wonder what they think of us divers? Seriously, it's time to give a little respect for the people who spend time in the ocean, as opposed to just looking at it.

A  few of us will be off to Florida for 2 weeks. I, for one, am looking forward to some more warm-water diving. I promise you that I won't get spoiled. The diving around here is way too good for that.

Local Dives

May 24th, 8AM La Jolla Cove — This is the last weekend before tourist season. La Jolla Cove offers lots of rocky reef with its attendant marine life. Bring a light for seeing under rocks and into crannies. Gloves are highly advisable. This is not a deep dive. If the tide is in, and your console falls into a crack, you can get all the way to 30 feet. Free parking at The Cove can be challenging, but $5 parking is pretty close by. There are two "drop spots" near the top of the stairway where you can leave your gear and go hunt. Call me before you drop your gear. If conditions are unfavorable at The Cove, we'll fall back to La Jolla Shores.

Since conditions are still variable, we'll have two abort points. I'll check conditions and predictions the day before. If they look bad, I'll call off the dive. If I get there in the early morning and conditions look bad, I'll fall back to La Jolla Shores or call off the dive

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

Flotsam

Technical Specifications:
Image Resolution - 5.0MP CMOS Sensor
Internal Memory - 16MB NAND Flash Memory
External Memory Card - Micro SD Card
Video Mode - 18-25FPS @ VGA
Status Display - LCD Display
Interface - USB
Power - 2 AAA Alkaline 1.5V Batteries
Photographic Distance - 1.2m (5ft)
Auto Off System time - 120 seconds

Modes
High Res - 5.0MP (2560x1920) - 29 Pics
Low Res - 3.1MP (2048x1536) - 45 Pics
Video - 53S VGA
(Image Qty is based on 16MB internal Memory -
Add a Micro SD Card to add memory)

Depth = 5 M - 30 M Depending on model rating

General Admission is $10.00 for single day admission.  The usual vendors and booths will be present, and this offers an excellent chance to scope out future destinations. There are many seminars being held both days, however these require the $30 admission price.

For additional details, go to www.ScubaShow.com

Rocks, Rips & Reefs Program (3Rs)

What are the 3Rs?
3Rs is an in-water education and site orientation program for divers and snorkelers. Participants are briefed on the interaction of surf, swell, and tides on underwater rocks and reefs, and then enter the water and tour popular diver sites with local lifeguards. 

Please note that OES is sponsoring the June 28th 3R's at Marine Street.

• Identify underwater rocks and reefs by observing watermovement and surf
• Take advantage of the ocean’s natural wave motion
• Spot safe places to enter and exit
• Avoid places hazardous to divers and snorkelers
• Encounter rip and long shore currents
• Use tides to plan dives

What to bring
Bring a mask, fins, and snorkel. A full wetsuit and gloves are strongly recommended for warmth and protection from scrapes. Spring suits are OK. Weights are discouraged unless you are a strong swimmer or your wetsuit is extremely buoyant. Scuba gear (regulator, BC, tank, etc.) is not used during the 3Rs.

When are the 3Rs?
For all dates below, registration will be at 8:00am. Mandatory briefing starts at 8:15am, enter the water 8:30 am.

We're looking toward our next trip in 2009. The suggestion box is open. So far, we have somewhere in the western Pacific region. 

OES Info

• OES web site: http://www.oceanexplorers.org
• Club events: Dave Ambrose at 858/679-7817 or e-mail stargazer1@cox.net
• Newsletter Editor - Eileen Parkhurst
• Surf and diving conditions: 619/221-8824
• Ocean Enterprises 858/565-6054