July 2007

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SCUBA Show a Huge Success

This years’ SCUBA Show, taking place at the Long Beach Convention Center, drew an enthusiastic crowd of 11,021 for the two-day event. This year featured a wide array of exhibitors including manufacturers, exotic dive locations, local retailers and dive experts. Crowds filled the convention center early Saturday and Sunday morning to get the most out of the day.

Attendees got a first look at numerous new products being unveiled at the show, including products from HydroOptix, IST, Atomic Aquatics, APS Mantaray and Zeagle, amongst others. Many attendees were able to get information about some of the unknown, as well as known travel locations from such exhibitors as Kona Honu Divers, Escape Barefoot Travel, Atlantis Dive Resorts, Shark Diving International, Club Cantamar and Solmar V. Local dive stores and retailers like Sport Chalet, Pacific Wilderness, Xtreme Scuba, Beach Cities Scuba and Scuba Schools of America gave attendees a glimpse into their product lines and classes offered. Local boats like the Peace, the Horizon, the Raptor and the newest dive boat in San Diego, Humboldt, were also there to show attendees all that their boats have to offer divers.

Seminars were filled all weekend as dive experts such as, Jack and Sue Drahfal, Jim and Pat Stayer, Ken Knezick Jeffrey Bozanick, Dale Sheckler, Ken Kurtis and Bruce Watkins gave their expertise advice on their respective fields.

Attendees also got to see new underwater films at the continuous underwater film festival, as well as results from the Under the Blue Photo Competition, and artist Carlos Hiller doing a live painting through out the show.

SCUBA Show 2008 will take place on June 21 & 22, 2008 at the Long Beach Convention Center. For more information visit ScubaShow.com.


Benavides Presented with the California Scuba Service Award

Marine conservationist Stephen Benavides was presented the California Scuba Service Award on June 2, 2007 at the Casino Party Benefit held in conjunction with SCUBA Show 2007 at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Benavides was recognized for great strides in ocean conservation around Catalina Island and protection of abalone resources south of San Francisco, California.

Steve is a native Californian. He has 40 years of scuba diving and coastal piloting experience in southern California and Northern Baja. His initial diving certification was in 1967, and he now has somewhere near 3,500 hours under water.

Benavides is past president and board member of the Catalina Conservancy Divers, as well as a past board member of the Greater Los Angeles Council of Divers (GLACD).

In 1997 he coordinated a statewide effort by recreational divers to initiate a conservation and protection plan for Southern California abalone resource. Steve was a sponsor of Senate Bill 463 that provided a moratorium on the commercial and recreational harvest of abalone in California waters south of the San Francisco. In recognition of his efforts securing the passage of SB 463, he was appointed the Southern California Recreational Diving Representative to the State’s Recreational Abalone Advisory Committee. The fight to protect abalone continues to this day, with efforts largely led by Steve Benavides.

His passion is underwater photography, which he merges with his recreational diving and research activities. An avid photographer and photojournalist, Steve has won acclaim in many national and international photographic contests and is a serious competitor in the California shootouts. He has written dozens of feature articles on a number of dive-related topics and been published in a host of local and national publications.

The prestigious California Scuba Service Award was instituted by Saint Brendan Corporation (parent company of California Diving News and the SCUBA Show) to recognize those who have made positive long-term contribution to the California diving community.

Scholarship Offered
On January 7, 2007, Jordan Viders died suddenly of a heart arrhythmia. He was 22. Jordan was a brilliant young man who was admired throughout the diving industry. He had his own Internet-based company, was a BETA Tester for Microsoft and AOL, and he created cutting edge software programs, web sites, firewalls and encryption for a variety of organizations and businesses, including the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences. Jordan generously donated his time and expertise to the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

The $5000 award will be given to an outstanding undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in an accredited course of study and conducting research or development of data management systems related to the study of the oceans or coastal environments. One of the highest priorities in ocean science is the development of systems to manage, integrate and transform oceanographic data into information to enable wise stewardship and responsible use of the ocean.

The deadline for applications is August 15, 2007. The recipient will be notified by September 15, 2007, and will be recognized at the Academy of Underwater Arts and Sciences NOGI awards banquet in Orlando in October. Detailed application instructions are on the Women Divers Hall of Fame web site at www.wdhof.org.

Innovative Scuba Concepts Recalls Swivel
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation Innovative Scuba Concepts, has announced a voluntary recall of their “Swivel for a Scuba Regulator.” The swivel, which is attached to a diving regulator, could separate while diving. This will result in a complete and sudden loss of the diver’s air supply.

The recall involves the HO110 swivels sold as an aftermarket regulator component. There are no markings such as a date or production code embossed on the unit. Contact Innovative Scuba Concepts for information on where the recalled units were sold.

Affected units were sold at retail dive stores nationwide from January 2006 through March 2007 for about $40. They also could have been installed by a dive shop regulator technician.

Consumers should stop using regulators with the swivel attached and contact the dive store where purchased for a refund.

For additional information, contact Innovative Scuba Concepts Inc. at (800) 472-2740 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.innovativescuba.com

San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition Call for Entries
The 8th Annual San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition has issued a call for entries. The exhibition is scheduled for Friday and Saturday evenings, October 12th & 13th, 2007 at the Qualcomm Hall in San Diego, CA. There is no entry fee. Each evening will feature a different program consisting of 14 to 16 short underwater films from locations all over the world. Submission deadline is August 15, 2007. For complete information including submission guidelines, contact either Bob Gladden at (858) 695-0264, ovisions@san.rr.com; or Steve Douglas at: (619) 464-4505, steve-sharksdelight@cox.net.

Apeks Regulator Recall
Apeks Marine Equipment Ltd has announced that yoke clamp screws on any yoke clamp type regulator with the serial number starting from 7010001 – 7053528 must be inspected for potential problems. All Apeks dealers have been made aware of this issue.

Customers are asked to return Apeks regulator or just the yoke clamp screw to the nearest Apeks dealer for inspection. If customers need assistance finding their nearest Apeks authorized dealer, please use the dealer locator found at www.aqualung.com.

Do not dive with the regulator until it has been inspected.

For further assistance, contact the Technical Department at Aqua Lung America, Apeks U.S distributor, at 877-253-DIVE (3483).



© 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.