Sole Searchers Newsletters

It’s winter, it’s cold, it’s dark… and you want to what?

Yup, it’s time to go night diving to see if the squids are arriving in masses.

Dec. 27th 4:30 p.m. We’ll meet in the Veteran’s parking lot right near Redondo Peir (bring quarters for meters).  First assess the condition from top of the stairs. If it’s bad we’ll go have drinks at El Torito on the pier.  If it’s a go, we gear up at the car, walk down the stairs to the beach, and enter the water straight out from the stairs, heading straight out/slightly right.  Plan on hitting the water around 5 - 5:15 p.m.

Next we surface swim until we’re almost paralleling the end of the pier (not as far though).  If you go too far out, you’ll be above the canyon, and the drop to the bottom can be 70-80 feet.  But don’t worry, we usually drop down to about 30 ft. first, and then follow the sandy bottom down into the canyon.  The canyon is not a sheer drop off, but a rather sandy slope.  It’s hard to notice it going down, but on the way back up you’ll definitely see the incline.  I caution divers of this, since some people may feel panicked when noticing the steep incline on the way back.  Relax, don’t kick hard, instead, just adjust your buoyancy.

In the past, when the squids are there, they seem to appear in numbers around 70-80 ft range.  I’ve seen masses of squid egg casings carpeting the sea floor near 90 ft.

Some points I like divers to be aware of (these are not instructions, but suggestions.  Please check with a dive instructor for further pointers):

•Make sure you’ve dived this site during day time.
•You must have night diving experience, along with deep dive experience.
•Make sure you know how to frog kick, so as not to stir up the silt.
•Although it’s a beach dive, it can get deep (100+), so divers will have to be aware of the fact they will consume air much faster, and run out of No Deco Time much faster than your average beach dive.

Personally I really don’t recommend making a blue water ascent here at night, but if you must, keep in mind that you need to coordinate controlling the inflator hose, dive computer, lights, at the same time keeping visual contact of your dive buddy.  Arrange your instruments so you can do all these tasks while controlling buoyancy.  If you add air sharing to the mix, it makes the task much more difficult, so keep your eyes on your spg and turn back before you get low on air.  Yea, I know it sounds simple.

If you lose your dive buddy in less than 40 fsw, look around for about a minute, and then surface to meet up (give the OK sign with your dive lights).  If you lose your dive buddy in the canyon, follow the sandy bottom up towards the shore, and then make a safe ascent from about 30 ft.  Find your buddy on the surface (give the OK sign with your dive lights).  Then either continue the dive, or call it.

After a nice dive in the canyon, a leisure safety stop at about 20-15 ft can be very interesting looking at sand-dollars, and other critters in the sand.  The shore is always well lit here from the street lights, so finding the shore is no problem.

Finally, the easy looking sandy beach exit here can be a little tricky at times.  During the winter months, the sand may have troughs in the shallows due to the winter wave action.  So be cautious walking out.

After the dive we usually walk over to El Torito on the pier and have a drink to warm ourselves

Here is a great California Diving News article on this dive site.
http://www.saintbrendan.com/Aug4/RedondoCyn.html

Low tide 3:45 (-0.69 feet)
Sunset 4:52 p.m.
High tide 10:25 p.m. (3.64 feet)

Let me know if you plan to join us.

Thanks

Kaz

Great thanks goes out again to Sport Chalet for the donations of these raffle prizes. The winners of the November meeting raffles are.

Multi tool_____Gary Tollack
Mini light_____ A.G. Krinki
Pocket Guide____Gary Faland
Tank Knocker______Dean Greenman
Tank Caddy ________Kari Aizawa
Travel Snorkel_____Jack Leeflang
Yukon Dive card_____Gary Tollack
$25 gift card______Maria de Armas
$25 gift card_______Jack Leeflang

At the November meeting we had a wonderful speaker. You may have seen his books on dive boats, or seen his photos on the various Channel Island websites, so I’m very excited to have this professional photographer visit the club. Tim Hauf is a nature/travel photographer who has traveled to many remote corners of the planet with a desire to create a better understanding and appreciation of the world around us through photography. His list of published books include unique destinations such as the Himalaya of Nepal; South America’s remote Patagonia region at the southern tip of the continent; the rugged wilderness of northern Manitoba, Canada; and South Africa’s remarkable World Heritage Sites. His photographs have appeared in numerous publications throughout the world, including Islands, Sunset, Asia Pacific Travel, Explore, Terre Sauvage, South Africa Times, and others. Tim’s most recent book “ Channel Islands National Park and National Marine Sanctuary ” is his second on the Channel Islands. The islands have a special appeal to Tim, so close to the California mainland, yet a world apart with each island as well as the surrounding ocean environment having its own uniqueness. He presented a side of the Channel islands few have seen, the topside. Tim Hauf Photography

Sport Chalet is offering Free Discover Scuba’s on the third Saturday of every month. If any of the Club members have friends that want to try Scuba, they can do it for Free! All they need is a bathing suit and towel, they’ll supply all the rest of the equipment.

Big congrats goes out to Melani, Jovy, Gary Faland, Heather, and Sheree, for getting their rescue diver certification.  I hear Nelson will also finish up soon.  Good job everyone!

Sheree said “It was definitely the hardest diving thing we’ve ever done but oh so gratifying and confidence building.”

We thank Sport Chalet for their generous donations of raffle prizes to our club!!!

And the winners for the October club meeting raffles are….

Dry box ——-  Dean Greenman
Mask Strap——-Dean Greenman
Dive saver kit—–Gary Falung
First aid kit——Gary Tollack
Wrist slate——–Bromley Beadle
Lobster dive book——Ricardo Kalfyan
Tube signal float—–Jimmy Quan
Multi Tool—-Jovy Belmonte
$100 Sport Chalet Gift certificate—–Liliana Ortiz

Sheepishly I’m categorizing this article under Dive Reports though the water was zero visibility on the short night dive but Refugio is about so much more than diving. We’ve been going for years and reserving extra spots for whomever wants to join. This year we ended up with seven sites and I found out that you are allowed to have three vehicles on a site.
We got up there on Friday, set up camp and relaxed in the sun until others trickled in. Gary had brought a couple of kayaks and Lucy brought a double, two of which was thoughtfully donated for use by Sport Chalet. Kudos and thanks to Sport Chalet and Gary and Lucy. Gary and I paddled out to the kelp bed on the south side to check the conditions and they didn’t look ideal so we headed off to the north side and played in the swells with the surfers until it started to get dark. I figured at least my wetsuit got wet even if it didn’t get compressed. That night people filed in to camp and we all told stories around the fire. A couple of serious divers went for a dip but it didn’t pan out. No worries, the showers are hot.

Early the next morning we heard the sound of rain drops but by early morning the clouds had burned off and the sun shone brightly on our camp. We spent the day chasing the kids, bike riding, walking down the beach and trying to give kayak lessons. Kayak lessons are no substitute for getting dumped a few times in the surf and the students learned quickly after that. They had fun though and four at a time would try their hand at the water. Others drove in to Solvang for a lunch and explore. The bikers reported that the trail to El Capitan had been fenced off due to imminet collapse which required lifting bikes. We hooked up the bicycle trailer, loaded in the kids and Gary to go explore. We ended up on a quiet beach instead of braving the cliff. On the way back we found Kaz strolling in the afternoon sun. We put him on a bike and insisted he get some practice. By Saturday night we had the full contingent of people show up in camp: Fin, Mary, Gary, Kathleen, Lucy, Steve, Kaz, Jimmy, Soco, Jesus, Juni, Jessica, Enrique, Daniel, Esperanza, Erika, Glenn, Cecille, Cecilia, Cecilia (yep three), Max, Sven and me (Lars). Hopefully I forgot no one.

The fire was stoked properly. Cecilia, my wife, made her Ceviche salad with chips. One of the other Cecilias brought quiche. Mary cooked sausage with honey mustard. Someone else had a delicious spread of cheese. Fin made some toxicly sterilizing Margaritas which preempted all the bottles of wine that people assisted with. Those were only the appetizers. People would sneak off to cook their main courses. We ignited the BBQ and piled on a few pounds of Carne Asada and sauteed mushrooms feeding anyone who looked lonely and hungry. Kaz and Jimmy brought a sinful cheesecake for desert and I helped myself to S’mores after we settled back to the fire. Juni broke out the guitar and with a neighboring camper from Oregon, we pelted out songs if we could manage to remember the verses. They went on long after I retired to bed.

Another spectacular day emerged on Sunday with just some wind in the morning. Many didn’t crawl out of bed until late. Apparently they had a fun night. After a relaxing breakfast, we started clearing and packing our gear. The kids helped pack the truck. We moved to the day use area and went for a walk up the beach to watch the surfers ride in on the wind swept tide. Others lay on the beach tanning themselves in the October sun that is California.

Congrats to the raffle winners, and thank you Sport Chalet for donating these prizes.

Dry sack– Jack Leeflang
Wind storm whistle– Jovy
Save a dive kit– Bromley
Multi tool–Melani
Dry case–Jovy
Ankle weights– Liliana Ortiz
$25 gift card–Andrea Horwatt
$25 gift card–Bromley
A week liveaboard in Palau (just kidding, checking to see if you’re paying attention)

      On Saturday night, when I told my youngest son that we were going to ‘look for a wreck’ tomorrow, I meant it as an adventurous sounding image, rather than the reality of our day.  So I found it quite humourous the next morning when we really were looking for the wreck. 

      So began our diving day on the Magician this past Sunday.  When we got to (what seemed like) the middle of nowhere, Ken & JT did a quick dive to look for the wreck of the Olympic.  We were actually at the intersection of the L.A. harbour entrance and the channel, so it’s no wonder the Olympic was hit in fog and sank there, in the first place.  When they didn’t find it, my heart started sinking, too.  There’s nothing worse than a deck full of suited-up divers with nowhere to go.  But another try yielded better results, and we were treated to a great sight.  Seems that since it’s rarely visited, the wreck has maintained plenty of good detail to see.  And, if I had a better camera, you could see what I’m speaking of!  At 100′, we had vis of about 20-25′  Not bad for the area, I imagine.  The ship appears to be lying on her starboard side, and supports an abundant amout of life.     

     Next, we headed out to Catalina… dive site TBD.  Saw whales, sea lions,  and dolphins along the way.  We ended up at Isthmus Reef, just off Bird (poop) Rock.  The Peace was spending the afternoon at Ship Rock, so we actually had a visit from some of the crew.  Vis here was 40′+, and, since we arrived late, the sun was already breaking through.  Some great terrain, lobster, kelp, all the usual stuff made for a great dive.  Bromley had to skip the third dive, as he was off to Tokyo on Monday, so I called it a day, as well.  (my other excuses… we didn’t change location, two deep dives already, plus the beer & sun were looking good)  We had Glen, Cécile, and Cecilia also from the club.  I think they did the third dive.  We had a nice relaxing time here… Jerry cranked up the tunes, we had NFL on the TV, and great food & crew.    On the way home we saw more whales (blue whales even), Risso’s dolphins, sea lions, you name it!  What a great day! 

 Video from the wreck is better than some of the pics-

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9175704@N02/sets/72157607424765441/detail/?page=4

Shawn 

Hey everyone, 

Our next years resort trip will be Curacao. You know… the island between Aruba and Bonaire.  So why Curacao?  Like Bonaire, there’s plenty of great shore dives, but we will have two tank boat dives daily on some of the most pristine reefs in the Caribbean.  And if that doesn’t fulfill your diving appetite, you have unlimited shore dives in this package deal.  It’ll be dive, eat, party, sleep, rinse and repeat.  Of course if you’re John Marin you forgo the sleep and keep partying.

Curacao is also great for non-divers.  There’s the main town of Willemstad (20 minutes from the resort) for visiting 17th century architecture sites, shopping, museums, galleries, sea aquarium, and even an Amstel Brewery.

http://www.curacao.com

Saturday May 16 to Saturday May 23

The week of diving fun starts on Saturday May 16 leaving LAX, and returning Saturday May 23 LAX.  We’ll be staying at the Sunset Waters Beach Resort located on the Western shores of Curacao where the diving is superior.   http://www.sunsetwaters.com/index.php  

See the package prices quoted by Scuba Venture Travel’s below.  Please let me know if you would like to join this trip, so I can get an idea how many seats we need to hold on American Airline.

(Even if you can’t make a solid commitment right now, if you’re planning to go, please let me know and I’ll put you on the list and lock in the rates.  Besides, it’s only a $10 charge if you cancel the flight.)

Superior rooms at Sunset Waters with 6 days of unlimited shore diving, 6, two tank boat dives, roundtrip airport transfers, three meals a day and all beverages, including alcohol (top shelf extra).

The rate is $1,540 per person/double occupancy. Terrace rooms for $1,595. Non-diver, deduct $400.00.

Note: we can try to find you a roommate if you don’t have someone in mind.  That’s what a club is for anyway, right

As an organized dive club, they can offer a 5% discount on the above retail rates.

RT air on American Airlines is currently $886.80 pp from LAX on the following schedule:

1 AA 231V 16MAY SA LAXMIA SS1 635A 225P/O $ J03 E

2 AA 939V 16MAY SA MIACUR SS1 420P 710P/X $ J03 E

3 AA 934N 23MAY SA CURMIA SS1 705A 1005A/O $ E

4 AA 203S 23MAY SA MIALAX SS1 1235P 305P/X $ E

This fare includes all taxes, fuel surcharges and the ticketing fee. The airline will guarantee the base fare, but will not guarantee the taxes and fuel surcharges. Currently the taxes and fuel surcharges represent $125.80 of this fare.

American requires a $100 per person deposit. If you cancel at anytime, you will be charged $10 for each seat that you held. If you drop space between 90 and 30 days before travel, you will have a $100 per seat penalty. If you drop seats less than 30 days before travel, you have a $200 per seat penalty. We must have a group of 10 or more to take advantage of a group contract.

So, let me know as soon as you can, so I can ask the travel agent the number of seats to hold.  I’m going, so I hope you can join in

See this page http://kazillustration.com/solesearchers/curacao_info/curacao_frameset-1.html

Kaz Aizawa

President, Sole Searchers Dive Club

http://solesearchersdiveclub.com

kaizawa@earthlink.net

(323) 256-2863

Mobile: (626) 375-1146