Dive Schedule

Dive Schedule

NOTE: Dives are planned well in advance, but are dependent on weather and ocean conditions. If in doubt, contact the Dive Coordinator. If you are not a club member yet, you will need to sign a waiver in order to dive with the group. This can be done at the dive site.

By popular demand and approval from the board of directors the club beach dives are being move to Sunday mornings instead of Saturday mornings, on a trial basis.

January

The Peace to Anacapa Boat Dive
The January boat dive will be on Sunday, January 24. We will be taking the Peace (http://www.peaceboat.com/) out of Ventura to Anacapa. The $135 trip includes four dives, air fills, and meals. The boat departs at 7 a.m. and returns between 5 and 6 p.m.
Anacapa has dive sites suitable for all levels of divers. The water is cooler in January, but some of the best visibility in Southern California waters occurs in the winter. The Peace has a hot tub, so it's easy to warm up after a dive. Plus, the Peace has the best cook in the Southern California fleet of dive boats.
It's easy to sign up for the trip. Go to the Peace website and follow the link to the "online reservation system." From the left-hand pane, choose the "scuba diving trips" and in that menu choose "weekend open boats." On the subsequent page, scroll down to the January 24 trip and add it to your cart. Then just purchase it!
I almost always enjoy my dives at Anacapa (I have to admit that "Goldfish Bowl" is not a favorite of mine). However, the crew on the Peace is top-notch and they usually visit sites not frequented by other dive boats. The food on the boat is excellent, too.
Redondo Beach Dive
Redondo Beach
Date- Saturday January 30, 2010
Time- 3:00 pm & 6:00 pm
Skill level- Intermediate to Advanced
Parking- Metered 25 cents for 15 minutes ($5.00 for one tank)
Does anyone remember their first shot of tequila? If memory serves me, I cannot recall a single person who tasted it and exclaimed, "That was great!" What about the next few minutes? Not so bad, maybe even unique. There are many acquired tastes in this world. Tequila is one. Another is canyon diving. At first there is only sand and the burning cold as water slips into the wetsuit. For those without patience it may end there. Aficionados know better. A short swim leads to the edge of the canyon in 35 feet of water. A steep slope leads down to around 70 feet and a moderate slope from there to deeper than recreational depths. The life here is small; most only a couple inches. Sarcastic fringeheads bare their teeth from empty turban snail shells. Nudibranchs found nowhere else crawl under the detritus of the slope. Sand crabs the size of limes inhabit the shallows. On winter evenings squid come here to mate and die. Become a dive aficionado! Add these memories to your logbook. Afterwards you may indulge in another acquired taste during our traditional dinner at El Torito. Divers have the option of doing two dives; an afternoon dive to survey the site and a night dive. The full moon and resulting high tides may bring a squid run so this dive is scheduled to coincide with the full moon. Squid may be present at night along with other critters that bury themselves in the sand during the day. Access to the beach is by a moderate staircase and the surf entry is easy. Depths range from 15 feet to 130 feet. Squid eggs may be found between 60 feet and 90 feet. Advanced certification is recommended for diving in the canyon.
Directions are as follows. Take the 405 south. Exit on Artesia. Go about three miles and turn left on PCH. Go another several miles and turn right on Torrance. Torrance ends at Veteran’s Park. Parking is on the left and metered. Bring five to ten dollars in quarters.

February

Catalina Express to Avalon Harbor Boat Dive
Date: February 20, 2010 Boat: Catalina Express (http://www.catalinaexpress.com/) (310-519-1212) or limited service on Catalina-Marina Del Rey Flyer (http://www.catalinaferries.com/home.html) (310-305-7250)
Contact: http://www.catalinaconservancy.org/index.php?s=join&p=catalina_conservancy_divers
Destination: Avalon Harbor, Santa Catalina Island
Board Time: 7:30 a.m. – 9 a.m. (check-in)
Departure Time: 9 a.m. safety briefing; 9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m. clean-up dive
Return Time: 1 p.m. awards and door prize drawing Cost: $35/50 (register before/after Feb 6, 2010) + transportation costs
Notes: fee includes event T-shirt, one door-prize ticket, and discount coupons
Details: The Avalon Harbor Clean-Up is the only opportunity to dive the Harbor at Avalon. Bring a bag (mesh hunting bags work very well) to gather junk from the floor of the Harbor; awards are given for the most unique found items! After the Clean-up, you can dive the park at Casino Point. Register on-line early to get a discount coupon for transportation to Catalina and a break on the registration fee. The Avalon Harbor Clean-Up is a fun event. Nowhere else do you see so many divers actually diving! There are 3 entries to the harbor for diving. I’ve dived from the steps and found that it’s a typical sandy-bottom dive. I’ve heard that there are nudibranchs galore underneath the Green Pier. The dive park at Casino Point is the easiest “beach dive” in Southern California and it has all types of environments: wrecks, kelp, rocky reefs, and sandy bottoms. There is something for everyone.
Old Marineland Beach Dive
Date- Sunday February 28, 2010
Time- 9:00 am
Skill Level- Advanced
Parking- Free
Perfection may seem elusive in today’s diverse world. There are so many different passions. The colorful threads of marine life fascinate at one moment; the tapestries of history at another. A third moment is perfect when these fascinations are shared. Old Marineland offers a crossroads for the different passions that call us to diving.
Marineland has witnessed a century of human drama. Smugglers used caves in the sea cliffs to store furs before the area was developed. One large cave is reported to be on the southern edge of the property. On October 13, 1895 a wooden hulled steamship called the Newbern ran aground and broke up on the rocks. A $250,000 cargo of 25 pound silver bars was lost. Though most have been recovered two are reported to still be missing. The site got its name in 1954 from an amusement park that was the largest ocenarium of its time. A new resort called Terranea has been built in the past five years. It opened half a year ago and is very diver friendly.
Marineland offers access to several dive areas. The point is a rocky reef descending to 70 feet a hundred yards offshore. Purple gorgonians are common on the deeper parts of the slope. Nudibranch enthusiasts will find a huge variety on this site. At twenty feet tall, Ted’s pinnacle sits at the foot of the slope. Phil aka Max Bottomtime aka OML’s Mayor has placed a statue of a water goddess at the foot of this pinnacle. Photos of her may be periodically found on the website diver.net. The entry off the point is difficult, exits are called evolutions. Many divers prefer to enter at the point and exit a hundred yards to the east at the cobblestone beach. 120 reef is also accessible from the cobblestone beach. Structure lies in 20 to 45 feet with relief up to ten feet high. Golden gorgonians and schooling fish are common here. Entry and exit are over loose rocks.
The shoreline at Marineland faces south. Swell in the winter is strongest from the northwest so this is one of the most protected sites in Palos Verdes for winter diving. Shore access is by a ten to fifteen minute walk over a paved moderate slope. There are golf cart transports that might accept donations to transport a diver or two, but this is unreliable. Benches line the paths for a quick rest on the way to and from the water.
Directions are as follows. Take the 405 South to the 110 south and exit at Gaffey. Turn left on Gaffey and then right on 25th. 25th becomes Palos Verdes Drive. Go around six miles and look for a sign saying Terramar. Make a left. Public parking is on the left in a specified lot. Alternatively this site may be accessed from PCH and Palos Verdes Drive.

March

Conception to SM1/Gosford Wreck Boat Dive
boat: Conception
contact: Truth Aquatics http://www.truthaquatics.com/) (805-962-1127)
board time: 6 p.m. – 12 a.m. Friday night
departure time: 4 a.m.; return time: 5 p.m. (or so)
cost: $131; notes: fee includes meals and air fills
details: The SM1 was originally a 204-ft long Navy landing craft. After being made into an oil drilling barge, she sank upside down in 75 ft of water near Gaviota. The SM1 can be penetrated and is considered an advanced dive due to its depth and risk of currents. The Gosford was a 281-ft fourmasted cargo sailing ship. In 1893, just 2 years after being built, she caught fire and sank in 35-40’ of water. Wolf eels have been known to inhabit the starboard bow. The Gosford is just 10 minutes from the SM1.
Truth Aquatics has a fine fleet of 3 boats. All three boats are especially comfortable with a large dive deck and very nice bunks. I like to have dinner at the Santa Barbara Harbor and then board the boat for a snooze before hitting the water in the morning. The Pacific Explorers attempted this trip several years ago. Rough seas kept us from the SM1 and the Gosford wrecks however Truth Aquatics still put us in the water, letting us make two dives on a recent wreck in the mouth of the Santa Barbara Harbor
Escondido Beach Dive
Date:March 14 Okay, I’m not going to lie to you. The water is going to be cold. The visibility is not going to be stellar.
I’m not going to promise that the storms won’t want to join us on our monthly beach dive. We are very popular you know. Why, a couple tsunamis came all the way from Chile to try and meet us the last time we scheduled a beach dive. What I can promise you is that if you decide to be a part of this event, you will have earned the title, Pacific Explorer.
Escondido lies to the east of Point Dume. Much of the northwest swell, common in winter, deflects off the point. This makes Escondido a calm dive when other sites are pounded by surf. The protected nature of Escondido is good for giant kelp as well as divers. Deeper stands on the east end of the reef resemble a mature forest. The canopy is thick enough to block out light. This leads to fewer healthier clusters of stipes. The effect is of swimming among large tree trunks. The kelp rises from low rocky structure that is home to red and golden gorgonians; a type of soft coral. Extensive reefs hold large populations of both sheepshead and bass. Watch for large tube anemonies on the outer edges of the reef.
Directions are as follows. Take Malibu canyon to PCH. Turn right and go three to four miles. Pass Geoffrey’s Restaurant and make an immediate U turn. Parking is on the shoulder toward the bottom of the hill. There is a fifty to hundred yard wall to the beach and an easy sandy surf entry. I hope to see you there.