 August 2007 Printer-Friendly | Back Bill Ernst Spears and Lands World Record White Seabass  Bill Ernst has earned a place in the record books with his spearfishing take of a white seabass weighing in at an incredible 93.4 pounds. The monster fish was speared on June 22 at a spot known as “Deep Hole” near the Los Angeles/Ventura County line. He was free-diving in 50 feet of water. He was using a 3-banded Ernst speargun. The previous spearfishing record for white seabass was 81 pounds by Skip Helen in 1994.Bill Ernst is 58 years old and has been spearfishing for 45 years. White seabass are perhaps the most prized game fish of California spearfishing enthusiasts. They are very difficult to locate, approach and shoot. Highly sensitive to any disturbance in the water, most flee immediately at the slightest indication of danger. For this reason nearly all white seabass seen or taken by divers are by free-divers (i.e., without the use of scuba gear; breath-hold only). Many enthusiasts dive for years before seeing one let alone getting close enough to shoot. In addition, the meat of the white seabass is highly prized. White sea bass move into shallow water to spawn in the spring. It is then that a diver has the best chance of seeing one, usually on the outside edges of kelp forests or in the sand channels between the kelp stalks. Prime hunting areas for white seabass include Palos Verdes, Malibu, Point Loma, La Jolla, Laguna Beach, Catalina Island, and more recently, Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands. Baby Lobsters at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium Cabrillo Marine Aquarium’s Aquatic Nursery has new California spiny lobster babies (Panulirus interruptus). Two pregnant lobsters were retrieved on one of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium’s observation and collecting expeditions to Catalina Island in June. The lobsters appeared to be approximately four years of age and almost near the end of their five-week pregnancy. On June 30, one of the two lobsters released approximately 300,000 eggs. These baby California spiny lobsters are a great addition to the Aquarium’s Aquatic Nursery Crustacean Breeding Program. Crustaceans that have been successfully bred and raised in the past by the Nursery’s research staff include red rock shrimp, bay shrimp, box crabs, and red king crabs. This is the second time the Aquarium has had pregnant lobsters and lobster babies. Only two other facilities in the country have been successful in raising baby California spiny lobsters and Cabrillo Marine Aquarium hopes to be the third. The Aquarium is open to the public Tuesday through Friday 12 noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Come and see the Aquatic Nursery’s new baby lobsters at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium and get a chance to speak with one of the Aquatic Nursery’s experienced researchers to learn about California Spiny Lobsters. Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is located at 3720 Stephen M. White Drive in San Pedro and is a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks. For further information or to receive a calendar of events, please call (310) 548-7562 or visit www.cabrilloaq.org online. Scuba Fusion Opens in San Mateo A new dive store has opened in San Mateo and is now serving San Francisco Bay area divers with vigor. Scuba Fusion is a PADI retail and instruction center with a state of the art classroom that promises to keep the dive community informed with its monthly lecture series of first-class guest speakers. Scuba Fusion is a full service dive store offering everything from gear sales, rentals, air and nitrox fills, a full range of courses and more. Both local and international dive travel are also offered. The new store is located at 1210 S. El Camino Real and can be contacted by calling 650-212-DIVE. The store’s extensive and informative web site can be viewed at www.scubafusion.com. Volunteer Docents Needed at Aquarium Cabrillo Marine Aquarium is now accepting applications for two docent programs. Docents, “volunteer teachers,” guide children on one-hour tours through the Exhibit Hall or Aquatic Nursery. Following training sessions docents volunteer one morning a week, on the day of their choice, through mid-June. Training sessions begin September 2007. Volunteer qualifications include an interest in the ocean and sharing with children, the desire for continued learning, and a willingness to work with the Aquarium consistently for a minimum of one school year (October-June). Applicants will be interviewed prior to acceptance. Once accepted, volunteers are registered with the City of Los Angeles and are subject to a background check including fingerprinting. 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 more information regarding this volunteer opportunity, please contact Randi Abrams-Gonzalez, Volunteer Coordinator, at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, (310) 548-8398 or e-mail: randi.abrams-gonzalez@lacity.org. East San Gabriel Valley/Foothill Community gets New Full Line Scuba Shop Sharky’s Eco Diving in the City of La Verne opened its doors early May 2007 with a full Grand Opening June 4th. The store is full line carrying such brands as AquaLung, Mares and Sherwood. It is an SDI/TDI facility and they have signed with the City of La Verne to use the local pool (four blocks from the store). Training and rental gear is all new with computers and weight integrated BC’s. The shop currently plans local and international trips on live-aboards and teaches from openwater through divemaster with numerous specialty courses being offered. Sharky’s is an Ecological minded shop promoting marine awareness and conservation with a tag line of “DIVE TO PRESERVE.” The staff and its affiliates will be working to support such projects as “Adopt a Shark” and involving its customers and patrons with information. The store is located in the Emerald Center at 3836 E. Emerald Ave. and Foothill Blvd. in the City of La Verne, CA. Sharky’s is open Monday through Friday from 10-7, Saturday 10-5 and Sunday 10-3. They can be reached at 909-596-2505 or 888-9ECODIVIVE. Their web site www.shakysecodiving.com is currently under construction. You may send e-mail to: sharkysecodiving@yahoo.com. Free Underwater 3D Map Offered to CA Instructors Courtesy of DiveNav, Inc. all California resident scuba instructors are being offered a full color 3D map of the Underwater Park at Avalon. This unique map is complete with plaque markings, shipwrecks, reef features, and more. DiveNav first demonstrated the industry’s most advanced diving simulator at SCUBA Show 2007. vDive integrates a custom designed next generation 3D Engine, optimized for rendering underwater scenery, with extremely high resolution bathymetry models, satellite and terrain maps, existing habitat, and interactive 3D models. vDive has been specifically tailored toward the new diver population by adding a customized and easy to use interface together with an accurate behavioral model of the diver that makes vDive the perfect tool to do a “check out” dive without getting wet. With these features vDive will enhance the instructor’s job by allowing students to preview and “feel” some of the aspects of diving (terrain profile and visibility similar to the real check-out site, buoyancy, inertial movements, underwater sounds, variable air consumption proportional to depth and activity) before getting into the ocean. DiveNav is anticipating the release of a production version of vDive in the fourth quarter of 2007. For more information regarding vDive, e-mail vDive@divenav.com or visit www.divenav.com/vDive.html online. Peace Trip Winners At SCUBA Show 2007, held June 2 and 3, dive trips aboard the popular Peace were awarded to 14 lucky individuals, courtesy of Eric and Angie Bowman, the boat’s owners. This 65-foot long, 22-feet wide dive boat based out of Ventura, sleeps 32 and has a large galley, sun deck, two air compressors, inflatable chase boat and a live game tank. In addition, other features of the Peace include hot showers, clothes dryer, color TV, VCR and a hot tub. The 14 winners of dive trips aboard the Peace are: Kim Froide, Andre Muro, Hillary Drennan, David Crawford, Joey Gallagher, Marcc Kwoka, Chris Freiwald, Mark Clifford, Aaron Scholl, Mark Eubanks, Steve Mairet, Brian Mount, Dan Quarles, and Jerome Rafoth. Each winner is entitled to one free dive trip on any of the Peace’s mid-week, open-boat excursions. For further information about the Peace, call (805) 984-2025, or visit their web site at www.peaceboat.com. Laguna Beach Lifeguards Change How They Will Enforce Local Regulations As with all things related to time, change will happen. In this instance, change is related to the “Diving Ordinance” of the City of Laguna Beach. Created many years ago with the guidance, input and consensus of many professional members of the diving community, it has stood unchanged. However, at the same time, the dive industry has continued to grow not only in technology and techniques but in the quality and abilities of its participants as well. In the last year, discussions between the local dive communities and the Marine Safety section of Laguna Beach has resulted in a very positive review of the efficacy of the ordinance and the role of the Laguna Beach lifeguards. You should note that there has been a change to the existing city ordinance. Although it has not been removed, and is still very enforceable, you can now expect that the on-duty lifeguard interaction with divers will only be to ensure the overall safety of the beach. Expect that the lifeguards will now only take the time to determine where you are going (i.e. in at Shaw’s and out at Crescent) and how long you may be. This process still continues to make sense because there is often times when we may enter in one cove and come out in another. As well, there are some divers who can extend a dive off our local beaches beyond what might be considered normal bottom times. The guards are there to assist you if/when you have a problem of any kind. Interacting with them about where you are going and how long you may be is extremely beneficial to your overall safety; consider it as filing a dive plan. This change in the official lifeguard application of the Diving Ordinance was made based on input from the local dive community, which offered up a high level of expectation about how divers will conduct themselves. Divers conduct was the primary catalyst in making the change in the ordinance. EXPECTATION OF DIVERS: - All divers will use safe diving practices that are currently accepted by the dive community. - All divers are expected to dive within the standards and conditions in which they were trained and certified. - All divers are expected to use dive equipment appropriate for the conditions presented and as accepted by the dive community. - All divers are expected to conduct themselves prudently for the conditions presented. - All divers are expected to take full responsibility for their actions. The guards will still establish levels of safety related to surf conditions. Yellow flag conditions are considered hazardous and the diver is expected to measure that fact against their skill level. Red flag conditions are just plain dangerous and the beaches will be closed. Entering the water during Red flag conditions only puts that diver, and the lifeguard who will end up in the water on a rescue, at risk. That being said, you will no longer be expected to have a buddy or snorkel when diving. Remember: You are ultimately responsible for your diving safety. Underwater Photographic Society Turns 50 Fifty years ago a collection of recreational and commercial divers with a mutual interest in underwater photography got together and formed a dive club. Rather than call it a “club,” they named it a “society.” And thus, on September 1, 1957, the Underwater Photographic Society was born in Los Angeles. With only a handful of charter members the UPS put together its first underwater film festival by December of that year. The tradition was to continue for many years and was augmented by an international underwater photographic competition. Most of the early underwater photographers used homemade housings for land still and movie cameras. Other than the Rolleimarin housing, there just wasn’t much commercially available, so it was out to the garage to fashion a housing from wood, plastic or metal. One member made his camera housing out of his mother’s pressure cooker. Another started a small business supplying assemble-yourself housing kits. The club logo, designed by early member Bob Figueroa, reflects the nuts and bolts approach. A lot of cameras got flooded in those days. Remember, this was before the Nikonos or even its predecessor the Calypso was available. Among the founders and first directors of the UPS was Zale Parry. Some may remember her from the Sea Hunt television series. She was the perennial “damsel in distress” who was saved from innumerable underwater perils by Lloyd Bridges as Mike Nelson. Zale is still an active diver and looking forward to trying out her new dry suit while diving in Alaska. Many affiliated and independent underwater photographic societies have been formed across the land and around the world during the last 50 years. The original organizing chapter is now known as the Los Angeles Underwater Photographic Society, or LAUPS for short. Close to 1500 individuals have become LAUPS members since 1957. Among them were such notables as Mel Fisher, Ron Church, Stan Waterman and Al Giddings. Jacques Cousteau was an honorary member and Underwater Photographer of the Year in 1957. Membership in the LAUPS is open to anyone with an interest in underwater photography. Monthly meetings provide a great learning environment with speakers, workshops, and competitions. Beginners can ask questions of the more experienced about equipment, techniques and locales for best results. Local boat charter dive trips are scheduled several times a year, and ad hoc trips to exotic sites are always being put together. Annually, the master event is the distinguished International Underwater Photographic Competition. This is the oldest and one of the largest competitions of its kind with worldwide participation and fabulous prizes. In recent years, entries from as many as 19 countries and 26 states have been received. Details of this year’s (45th annual) competition can be found on the website www.LAUPS.org. A grand 50th birthday party is in the works for Saturday, August 25, at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, and the club would like to see as many former members and interested guests attend as can make it. A sharing of experiences from long ago would provide great entertainment. Only a few early members have been located, most of who say they’ll come to the party. So if you know of any we haven’t found, ask them to contact us! And if you’re interested in attending yourself, please RSVP to Judy Carlson at (310) 376-6421 or Cory Gray at (562) 427-8435. U.S. Coast Guard Accepts NAUI Training Course NAUI is pleased to announce the acceptance of our new First Aid Training Course by the United States Coast Guard. This is in addition to meeting International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) recommendations. Shortly after the publication of NAUI’s First Aid Textbook and Instructor Guide, they submitted their instructional materials to the United States Coast Guard for their review and possible recognition and approval. NAUI has since received a letter from the USCG Training and Assessment Division accepting the course. The letter states that the course “meets or exceeds the standards of the American Red Cross Standard First Aid and Emergency Care or Multimedia Standard First Aid and will satisfy the first aid training requirements of 46 CFR 10.205(h)(1)(iii) for a merchant mariner license.” The approval is effective June 1, 2007. Once again, NAUI is recognized as a leader in education, training and safety in the industry. This new First Aid Training Course trains community members, divers, and leaders in the knowledge and skills needed to render emergency care at the scene of an accident or respond to an emergency. NAUI Worldwide formed in 1959, is the second-largest and one of the most respected diver certifying organization in the world, whose members offer a full range of training programs. For further information on NAUI affiliated stores, resorts, and certified diving instruction, contact NAUI at 813-628-6284 or marketing@naui.org, or visit www.naui.org. © Copyright 2007, all rights reserve, by Saint Brendan Corporation, P.O. Box 11231, Torrance CA 90510, mail@cadivingnews.com. No part of this may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system/website, or transmitted in any form by any means without prior written permission of the publisher. IMPORTANT NOTICE: The contents of this publication/website are opinions of the individual writers. The publishers of California Diving News and its contributors assume no responsibility for any mishap claimed to be a result of use of this material. Diving is an adventure sport and with it comes inherent risks. Improper use of diving equipment or improper diving techniques may result in serious injury or, in extreme circumstances, death. Readers are admonished to use their own best judgement in each individual situation. |
