Sorry about the delay, but a trojan downloader problem on my laptop sort of put
a kibosh on this report.

So, Tueday report: 2 dives: Trevor's Pinncale and Hopkins Deep, both with myself
on Aurora and Furby (Ron Kaiser) on his boat.

After a somewhat sleepless night, headed to Breakwater to do a couple of dives
with Furby. He was already there, so we geared up and prepped boats and stuff
pretty quickly (well, sort of.) Since we planned on doing 2 dives, I dropped a
tank off at Glenn's, then splashed the boats and headed out on the water.

It was a bit smaller than the day before, though still a fair amount of chop,
and Ron in his 14' Achilles (identical to my old boat) was taking a beating. I
slowed to pace him, and at that speed hardly noticed the chop. We took a look at
Trevor's, and the large rollers from the day before were gone, so i dropped my
hook. Ron had a shorter anchor rode, so I had him tie off to my boat rather than
anchor. Just a touch of surface current running westward. Surface looked OK: 15
feet and reasonably clear. Dropping sown, the vis opened up a bit, then closed
near the sand. On the sand proper, we had perhaps 10 feet; 5 feet up it was more
like 20, and near the top of the rocks we had what I'd call 25, and Ron called
at least 30. Nothing all that unusual spotted. One sea lion buzzed around us on
the descent, but split shortly after we hit the bottom. I was at about 1700 psi
and 12 minutes NDL remaining when Ron signalled he was heading up. I did too. 75
feet, 36 minutes, 50 degrees. Apparently, the possible leak in my right arm was
actually a leak.

Ran back in, and went to retieve my cylinder, only to find it missing. Glenn and
his employees figured that a guy who had filled 8 tanks a few minutes ago had
taken it. Didn't help all that much, so I retrieved my tank from the boat and
jammed that one. Glenn managed to get a name, so I figured I could hit the guy
up back in the Bay Area if it didn't show up earlier. Spent a long SI sitting in
the sun and waiting for my sleeve to at least somewhat dry out. On a whim, I
called Pt. Lobos and asked if the guy was there; he was, so I left a message for
him.

Decided on Hopkins as a second dive, but the area I chose was deeper than Ron
wanted, so we compromised on a site he had marked as the Square Hole (between my
numbers for Hopkins and Chuck's Mola Mountain.) This time we both anchored up,
as it turned out about 10 feet apart. Played a bit of dodge the jellies on the
way down, and found about 30 foot vis at the bottom. Again, nothing all that
unusual, except for a fairly noticeable lack of fish. Perhaps a dozen rockfish,
a couple of perch, a couple of greenlings, and a Treefish. Not a lot in the way
of slugs, either, and nothing out of the ordinary. 76 feet, 38 minutes, 52
degrees.

On the return to the dock, I checked in at Glenn's, and found my cylinder had
magically appeared. Glenn said the guy swore he had brought in 9 tanks for fills
despite having been charged for 8 (though why he would have 8 yoke aluminums and
one DIN steel is beyond me.)

On the way home, just north of Gilroy, something in the brakess on the left
trailer wheel let go and dragged enough on the drum to get it red hot. It also
heated up the hub enough to shear the cotter pin that locks the nut on; luckily,
I got it to the side of the road and (a few hours later) onto a tow truck before
the wheel actually parted with the axle. The trailer was towed to the house of a
guy who does on-the-road repair stuff for commercial truckers (among other
things); I got a motel room on Leavesley and waited until mid-morning. The guy
was great; he ended up getting the trailer repaired that day (except for a
possible bearing surface problem which would entail axle replacement.) Pretty
impressive considering he had to run to San Jose for a new drum, and to Oakland
for new brake clusters.

So anyway, it was home a day late, but still in time for Thanksgiving dinner
(which probably wasn't worth the effort), but with the boat (which was.)

jky

Another really interesting seal video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxa6P73Awcg&feature=player_embedded

On Sun, Nov 22, 2009 at 4:19 PM, gra_94545 <guy_alcala@...> wrote:

> Check out the video:
>
>
>
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/312962-pinniped-porn-patrick-smith-molest\
ed-harbor-seal.html
>
>
> I can see the tagline for the TV ads now: "Women won't be able to keep
> their flippers off you."
>
> Guy Alcala
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>


--
"Computers are useless. They can only give you answers."
-Pablo Picasso

Bob Halem
bob@...
San Jose, CA


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I haven't looked at official reports yet, but when I went to the shop this
morning to pick up suits, I could hear the
pounding of the waves from Asilomar! They were not happy!!  Driving to the
office, Asilomar was a washing machine,
and the further around the bay I drove, the bigger the waves were.  Point Pinos
& Coral Street (what surfers call
Freight Trains) were the biggest!  Lovers Point was at least surfable, and
Cannery Row was another washing machine.
When I got to Breakwater, very few people were there and smart enough to park on
the upper lot, as the spots along
the pier were all getting wet from wave sprays coming up over the wall!

Reminded me of sitting on the North Shore of Maui with my father on weekends,
making bets on which wave would be
the largest.

Cricket



________________________________
From: gra_94545 <guy_alcala@...>
To: ba_diving@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sat, November 28, 2009 7:18:24 AM
Subject: [ba_diving] Re: BW surface conditions Saturday 11/28 7:15 a.m.


High tide was at 6:44 a.m.  The spray is regularly breaking over the wall, but
the waves still don't look that big, although they're full of sand.  The water
is coming most of the way up the boat ramp on the bigger waves.  Over at the
northwest end of the beach and by Hidden Beach, the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa
and El Torito the waves are putting on quite a show, where they can hit the sea
wall directly and kick up I've seen spray kick up as high as the second story
windows on the Monterey Bay Inn.

The wind is still fairly  strong, but except for some cloud to the east it's
clear.  It's probably not worth coming down today unless you plan to go deep, as
the swell period is quite long so the surge will be deep too.   There's 4 or 5
RVs in the lot, but almost no cars and AFAICT no classes.

Guy

-- In ba_diving@yahoogrou ps.com, "gra_94545" <guy_alcala@ ...> wrote:
>
> Had to pick up my dry suit from Any Water, so came on down to Monterey,
stopping for dinner on the way.  Got here about 8:50.  Waverider buoy was
reporting 14' at 12 seconds, Bay buoy 22' @ 14 sec. IIRR (winds 29 gusting to 39
kts).  I think high tide was around 7 or so.  About every two minutes a wave
would break against the wall and send spray high enough that it would land in
the parking lot, out maybe 25 or 30 feet from the wall.  It was only doing this
in a couple of spots.  As the tide has gone down over the past hour or so I
haven't seen any spray come over the wall.
>
> Waves at BW are maybe 2 feet; doable (albeit rough for newbies, but probably
not worth it right now as I imagine there's a lot of sand being churned up. 
Looking over towards Hidden beach and McAbee they appear to be somewhat bigger,
perhaps 3-4 feet, although it may just be the angle I'm seeing them from.  Wind
is supposed to die down somewhat later tonight.  Scattered cloud now, no showers
like there were on the way down.  The 83 foot cutter appears to be out; can't
see the 47 and 41 footers from here.
>
> Guy
>




[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Linda managed to find some at the surplus store on Stevens Creek, but
they were 60% cotton, 40% polyester and were likely to get soggy when
they got wet.

I also posted the question over on the Boston Whaler board at:
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/018819.html
and one of the members over there (who is also a bay area diver, though
I don't think a ba_diver) came up with:
http://www.rei.com/product/790908
which is perfect.  All polyester, nice fleece, lots of velcro to keep it on.

Linda managed to scare some up at the San Jose REI store.



Chuck Tribolet
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet/

Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.


Chuck Tribolet wrote:
> Thanks, Alan.  It does look like West still has some in the warehouse.
>
> And that Port Supply listing lead to information that they are
> likely made by
>
> Orca Outdoor
> 3060 Kerner Blvd Ste Y
> San Rafael, CA,
> 94901-5418
> 415-459-4437
>
> There's website, http://www.orcaoutdoor.com/, but that appears to
> be a hijack of the domain name.
>
>
> Chuck Tribolet
> http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet/
>
> Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.
>
>
> Alan Penzotti wrote:
>> I did a little online digging and it appears that Port Supply has them
>> available (or this is an old listing.)
>>
>> Into the search field on http://www.portsupply.com/   I typed in
>> "Polartec Orca Hat" and up came a listing for the Orca hats in an
>> assortment of sizes and colors.... with shipping to the West Marine of
>> your choice.
>>
>> Alan Penzotti
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 20, 2009 at 7:31 PM, Chuck Tribolet <triblet@...> wrote:
>>> A "Dork Hat" is a cap with earmuffs and a chin strap.  Think
>>> Elmer Fudd or Floyd R. Turbo plus a chin strap.  These are really
>>> great on the boat.  They keep your head warm and don't blow off.
>>> Mine is getting, to be polite, experienced.
>>>
>>> These used to be fairly available.  Mine came from West Marine
>>> (they called them Orca Hats), Linda's came from REI.  Neither
>>> source has them anymore,n and we've been hunting high and low and
>>> haven't found any.
>>>
>>> Anybody seen one for sale lately?
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Chuck Tribolet
>>> http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet/
>>>
>>> Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.
>>>
>>> [...]
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>

High tide was at 6:44 a.m.  The spray is regularly breaking over the wall, but
the waves still don't look that big, although they're full of sand.  The water
is coming most of the way up the boat ramp on the bigger waves.  Over at the
northwest end of the beach and by Hidden Beach, the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa
and El Torito the waves are putting on quite a show, where they can hit the sea
wall directly and kick up I've seen spray kick up as high as the second story
windows on the Monterey Bay Inn.

The wind is still fairly  strong, but except for some cloud to the east it's
clear.  It's probably not worth coming down today unless you plan to go deep, as
the swell period is quite long so the surge will be deep too.   There's 4 or 5
RVs in the lot, but almost no cars and AFAICT no classes.

Guy


-- In ba_diving@yahoogroups.com, "gra_94545" <guy_alcala@...> wrote:
>
> Had to pick up my dry suit from Any Water, so came on down to Monterey,
stopping for dinner on the way.  Got here about 8:50.  Waverider buoy was
reporting 14' at 12 seconds, Bay buoy 22' @ 14 sec. IIRR (winds 29 gusting to 39
kts).  I think high tide was around 7 or so.  About every two minutes a wave
would break against the wall and send spray high enough that it would land in
the parking lot, out maybe 25 or 30 feet from the wall.  It was only doing this
in a couple of spots.  As the tide has gone down over the past hour or so I
haven't seen any spray come over the wall.
>
> Waves at BW are maybe 2 feet; doable (albeit rough for newbies, but probably
not worth it right now as I imagine there's a lot of sand being churned up. 
Looking over towards Hidden beach and McAbee they appear to be somewhat bigger,
perhaps 3-4 feet, although it may just be the angle I'm seeing them from.  Wind
is supposed to die down somewhat later tonight.  Scattered cloud now, no showers
like there were on the way down.  The 83 foot cutter appears to be out; can't
see the 47 and 41 footers from here.
>
> Guy
>

stan's cant close!!! i learned how to walk there & teethed on the rubber sheets
for wet suits there. what happened to jerry?? this is the shop my dad started
his business in. jerry & his wife own the block of buildings?
all i can say is OMG and no comments on my age please.
for those who do not know me..... dick long is my dad and his first shop is
STAN'S.. he and stan & jerry started that shop. where the indoor pool is, use to
be a barbor shop & they had a popcorn machine. i use to get free popcorn.

jeanie rekow





-----Original Message-----
From: Perry West <perry@...>
To: BA Diving <ba_diving@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Mon, Nov 23, 2009 10:50 am
Subject: [ba_diving] Stan's Skin and Scuba Diving is closing





After 52 years Stan's Skin & SCUBA Diving in San Jose is closing. The owners
are unable to find another suitable location and as a result have decided to
retire for now.  All inventory and fixtures are for sale.  The last full
business day will be Friday 12-11-09.

Please do not contact the sender, he is only the messenger.  Go to the store
directly or contact the store through their web site www.stansdiving.com.

Regards,
Perry West









[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Had to pick up my dry suit from Any Water, so came on down to Monterey, stopping
for dinner on the way.  Got here about 8:50.  Waverider buoy was reporting 14'
at 12 seconds, Bay buoy 22' @ 14 sec. IIRR (winds 29 gusting to 39 kts).  I
think high tide was around 7 or so.  About every two minutes a wave would break
against the wall and send spray high enough that it would land in the parking
lot, out maybe 25 or 30 feet from the wall.  It was only doing this in a couple
of spots.  As the tide has gone down over the past hour or so I haven't seen any
spray come over the wall.

Waves at BW are maybe 2 feet; doable (albeit rough for newbies, but probably not
worth it right now as I imagine there's a lot of sand being churned up.  Looking
over towards Hidden beach and McAbee they appear to be somewhat bigger, perhaps
3-4 feet, although it may just be the angle I'm seeing them from.  Wind is
supposed to die down somewhat later tonight.  Scattered cloud now, no showers
like there were on the way down.  The 83 foot cutter appears to be out; can't
see the 47 and 41 footers from here.

Guy

Ah, the Navy is trying to make it hard for us!

I fixed that, until they change the format again.  I now extract the
latest "DTG" from their web page, and use that in the URL.

If you want to, you're welcome to pull the 400x400 gifs down from the
my site, which have fixed names, e.g.,

http://plunk.org/eben/scuba/WAM/000.gif
http://plunk.org/eben/scuba/WAM/012.gif
...
http://plunk.org/eben/scuba/WAM/000_epac.gif
http://plunk.org/eben/scuba/WAM/006_epac.gif
...

-Eben


On Nov 27, 2009, at 5:01 AM, ba_diving@yahoogroups.com wrote:

> Unfortunately, you are going to find out that the image URLs now have
> a time stamp and change every time they run the models.  You may be
> able
> compensate for that MOST of the time since you are running code to
> fetch the images.
>
>
> Chuck Tribolet
> http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet/
>
> Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.
>
>
> Eben Haber wrote:
>> Thanks for the notice Chuck.
>>
>> I updated my own conditions page, which does include some loops, but
>> does processing on the maps to focus on the part of the Pacific
>> closest to Monterey.  It also loads a bit faster than Chuck's page
>> since there's less data involved.
>>
>> http://www.plunk.org/eben/scuba/WAM/
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> -Eben Haber
>

Hi,

This evening while going thru my gear removing the used wet-note pages
and replacing them with fresh new ones gave me some amusement and
pause at some of the comments that I and my buddies had made so I
thought I's share them:

"We have a bit more deco to do"
"More Deco"
"Monastery Beach this way"
"You've got to know where #2 and 3 are esp(ecially) when going thru
low viz, you'll easily lose someone"
"What's up with your fin?"  "2 Tite"
"Caves?"
"You OK with this?"
"I'm fine but at 20' I had trouble because it seemed like I had gas
trapped and I was too buoyant"
"That was not gas - Rope" (I got caught on a down line descending)
"Oh, rope tangled?"
"You should know if I'm behind you most of the time, either see my
light or see me"
"Hole-In-The-Wall, yes we passed it"
"Sea Pens-Landmark"
"Your gas?" "His gas pressure gauge is not working"
"We spent a lot of time above 80'"
"You're most likely going to be light on the ascent, use kelp to hold
you down when we go up, OK?"
"Go horizontal, when vertical, the tanks drop out of reach"
Map of Hole-in-the-Wall, Middle Reef and Caves diagram with:  "Do you
know where we are?"
"Go to sea mount?"
"SAND"
"I think, Do you want - yes to find kelp"
"Too pink, redo MWB?" (Manual White Balance)
"Easier to remove red in edit"
"We have been heading back. OK with returning at this depth?
Tick-Tack-Toe markings during deco
Hangman game notes. RATFISH:  (I won)
Some deco calculations? 140/25, 150/20, 160/15  4,2,2,2,2,5,5
"Short Cut?"
"I think we're in Coal Chute Cove"
"Just let me know when you want to ascend"
"We can ascend anywhere"
"We're close to the boat so no need to get back to the anchor line"
"We can ask"
"Anything we can do to help?"
"Let's do that again, only point the light away from the ..."
"Boy, they've got a lot of line out. I wonder if they'll get it all out"
"this is not good"
"Next week dive same profile again? This was awesome"
more Tick-Tack-Toe markings
"Calculus"

Dive well, Dive Safe

Harry (Doc) Wong
www.docwong.com
Ships to Reefs:  www.oceansfoundation.org
Join the Point Lobos Association: http://tinyurl.com/llc3rn

Unfortunately, you are going to find out that the image URLs now have
a time stamp and change every time they run the models.  You may be able
compensate for that MOST of the time since you are running code to
fetch the images.


Chuck Tribolet
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet/

Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.


Eben Haber wrote:
> Thanks for the notice Chuck.
>
> I updated my own conditions page, which does include some loops, but
> does processing on the maps to focus on the part of the Pacific
> closest to Monterey.  It also loads a bit faster than Chuck's page
> since there's less data involved.
>
> http://www.plunk.org/eben/scuba/WAM/
>
> Regards,
>
> -Eben Haber
>
>
> On Nov 26, 2009, at 5:05 AM, ba_diving@yahoogroups.com wrote:
>
>> 5. Weekend forecasts
>>    Posted by: "Chuck Tribolet" triblet@... ctriblet
>>    Date: Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:29 pm ((PST))
>>
>> 1. The NOAA offshore forecast is way lower than any of the others.
>> Use your judgment.
>>
>> 2. The Navy has changed their WAM forecasts again.
>>
>> They are in a different
>> location, and I have some hacking to do to figure out how to get the
>> latest
>> one to get it on my web page.  I'll take a look at it later tonight.
>> Note that what's currently on my web page is a couple of days old.
>>
>> The good news is that the nice big Eastern Pacific forecast is now
>> in six hour increments rather than 12 hours.  It goes out 48 hours.
>> The
>> extra granularity will be nice.
>>
>> The good news for those who like loops (I hate them) is that the Navy
>> now supplies loops.
>>
>> The bad news is that the Northern Pacific
>> forecast (the one I use beyond 48 hours and is everything north of
>> the equator
>> from Japan to California) is now an ugly conic projection of some
>> sort.
>> I can barely tell where Monterey is.  UGH.  It also comes in six hour
>> increments, and is SUPPOSED to go out six days (but something's busted
>> and it only goes out to 18 hours).
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>

Thanks for the notice Chuck.

I updated my own conditions page, which does include some loops, but
does processing on the maps to focus on the part of the Pacific
closest to Monterey.  It also loads a bit faster than Chuck's page
since there's less data involved.

http://www.plunk.org/eben/scuba/WAM/

Regards,

-Eben Haber


On Nov 26, 2009, at 5:05 AM, ba_diving@yahoogroups.com wrote:

> 5. Weekend forecasts
>    Posted by: "Chuck Tribolet" triblet@... ctriblet
>    Date: Wed Nov 25, 2009 6:29 pm ((PST))
>
> 1. The NOAA offshore forecast is way lower than any of the others.
> Use your judgment.
>
> 2. The Navy has changed their WAM forecasts again.
>
> They are in a different
> location, and I have some hacking to do to figure out how to get the
> latest
> one to get it on my web page.  I'll take a look at it later tonight.
> Note that what's currently on my web page is a couple of days old.
>
> The good news is that the nice big Eastern Pacific forecast is now
> in six hour increments rather than 12 hours.  It goes out 48 hours.
> The
> extra granularity will be nice.
>
> The good news for those who like loops (I hate them) is that the Navy
> now supplies loops.
>
> The bad news is that the Northern Pacific
> forecast (the one I use beyond 48 hours and is everything north of
> the equator
> from Japan to California) is now an ugly conic projection of some
> sort.
> I can barely tell where Monterey is.  UGH.  It also comes in six hour
> increments, and is SUPPOSED to go out six days (but something's busted
> and it only goes out to 18 hours).

This guy still dives that way:

http://www.vulcaniasubmarine.com/


Chuck Tribolet
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet/

Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.


Joe Malin wrote:
> LIFE magazine's coverage of the filming of *20,000 Leagues Under the Sea*
>
>
http://www.life.com/image/53371349/in-gallery/23472/20000-leagues-under-the-sea
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>

http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/mythbusters-a-helmet-full-of-body.html

Sharper folks than myself can surely find the full segment somewhere on the
internets, but, hopefully, the provided link can give the idea.

The full scale test was done with these guys:

http://www.northcoastdivers.com/

300 feet down off Santa Cruz.  The results were, well, juicy.  :-)

Can't quite believe no one is talking about this yet.

-Corey Penrose

1. The NOAA offshore forecast is way lower than any of the others.
Use your judgment.

2. The Navy has changed their WAM forecasts again.

They are in a different
location, and I have some hacking to do to figure out how to get the latest
one to get it on my web page.  I'll take a look at it later tonight.
Note that what's currently on my web page is a couple of days old.

The good news is that the nice big Eastern Pacific forecast is now
in six hour increments rather than 12 hours.  It goes out 48 hours.  The
extra granularity will be nice.

The good news for those who like loops (I hate them) is that the Navy
now supplies loops.

The bad news is that the Northern Pacific
forecast (the one I use beyond 48 hours and is everything north of the equator
from Japan to California) is now an ugly conic projection of some sort.
I can barely tell where Monterey is.  UGH.  It also comes in six hour
increments, and is SUPPOSED to go out six days (but something's busted
and it only goes out to 18 hours).


--
Chuck Tribolet
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet/

Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.

Thank you for posting that. I bought that magazine from Ebay but cannot open it
as it is older then I am. It now sits next to one of my 6 nautilus submarine in
the house.

From Royston

--- In ba_diving@yahoogroups.com, Joe Malin <633squadron@...> wrote:
>
> LIFE magazine's coverage of the filming of *20,000 Leagues Under the Sea*
>
>
http://www.life.com/image/53371349/in-gallery/23472/20000-leagues-under-the-sea
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>

I kind of like the 21st century.  where men can become women, women can
become technical divers, and a mermaids purse can become a shark.



It's not only more honest, but it's more interesting as well.  :-)



I'll dive with anyone, even Mr. Wheezy.  (Though I've not yet met him in
person)



- Ralph



>> They were loose in those old days of diving when men were real men,
>> women were real women, and tiny encrusting bifurcated tunicates were
>> real tiny encrusting bifurcated tunicates.





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It's also referred to as Sacramento syndrome or Fresno syndrome.
"I've driven all the way from Sacrament/Fresno/whereever,
and by gum, I'm going to DIVE."


Chuck Tribolet
triblet@...
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet

Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.


Wayne Cannon wrote:
> I think "Goal-orientedness" is hazardous in any venture.
>
> As an Air Force pilot, our training emphasized to be aware of and avoid
> "get-home-itis", as they called it.  During my first assignment flying
> out of Sacramento, some politicians returning from Southern California
> ignored the weather and traffic control warnings and attempted to land
> under a thunderstorm.  A strong up-draft ripped the fuselage away from
> the wings of their small plane.  These diving accident reports serve as
> an exclamation point to the training and advice we have received.
>
> --Wayne Cannon
>
>   artfxsf@... wrote:
>> "Goal" oriented diving of any kind has always had its dangers, as the
>> "goal"
>> sometimes outruns ones inner wisdom on self-preservation.
>> Wreck diving is often more dangerous because of "souvenirs."
>>
>> Ken Gwin
>>
>> __,._,
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

I think "Goal-orientedness" is hazardous in any venture.

As an Air Force pilot, our training emphasized to be aware of and avoid
"get-home-itis", as they called it.  During my first assignment flying
out of Sacramento, some politicians returning from Southern California
ignored the weather and traffic control warnings and attempted to land
under a thunderstorm.  A strong up-draft ripped the fuselage away from
the wings of their small plane.  These diving accident reports serve as
an exclamation point to the training and advice we have received.

--Wayne Cannon

   artfxsf@... wrote:
>
> "Goal" oriented diving of any kind has always had its dangers, as the
> "goal"
> sometimes outruns ones inner wisdom on self-preservation.
> Wreck diving is often more dangerous because of "souvenirs."
>
> Ken Gwin
>
> __,._,

It has been brought to my attention that the email link in the newsletter was
incorrect.  Please use admin@... to submit your photos.

Eleanore Rewerts


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Brother Curtis' note pretty much covered the "diving" point of view. I have
always
considered ab diving to be pretty high in the "odds" department for something
bad
happening. Many of those reasons Curtis has clearly listed below."

"Goal" oriented diving of any kind has always had its dangers, as the "goal"
sometimes outruns ones inner wisdom on self-preservation.
Wreck diving is often more dangerous because of "souvenirs."

  For ab, the kelp monster is the biggest threat.
Surf and conditions can be a big problem, which this incident seems
to imply.

The age of fatalities listed by Chuck is interesting also. This seems to imply
age, medical issues, conditioning as factors. Not too many younger divers
dying while ab diving. Anecdotally, I would wonder about the average age
for ab divers. Is this a "dying sport" attracting "old timers" rather than the
younger
diver who has other interests and gets adventure in other ways and dinner form
Safeway? Curious, I know a lot of younger spearfishermen.

Like Curtis, ab diving for me is an excuse to go freediving (and share a rare
food item with friends).

Ken Gwin



-----Original Message-----
From: Curtis <curt.degler@...>
To: ba_diving@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, Nov 25, 2009 8:56 am
Subject: [ba_diving] Re: Ab diver dies




--- In ba_diving@yahoogroups.com, Chuck Tribolet <triblet@...> wrote:
>
> Details: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20091123/ARTICLES/911239923

Having dived the North Coast innumerable times both on SCUBA and freediving for
abs and fish, I've carefully scoped the coastline and beach access points (not
much boat diving here).

The Sonoma Coast north of the Russian River is organized into coves every few
miles. Some point South and others point North, especially those coves after
Gerstle Cove (Fisk Mill Cove is an exception). Just take a look at the terrain
option on Google Maps after searching for Jenner CA. The dominant swell has its
origin generally in the North, so those North facing coves take the brunt of the
swell. Generally Fort Ross, Stillwater Cove,Timber Cove and Gerstle Cove are
protected while Ocean Cove not so much, and Stump Cove and Horseshoe Cove pretty
much look down the gun barrel of the North Pacific. Horseshoe Cove would have
been a poor choice of an access point with this past weekend's ocean conditions.


There are divers, and then there are Ab Divers, the latter often falling in the
category of pickers and harvesters, who are unable to get much deeper than 10
feet and often not trained as divers at all, that is uncertified. They are more
interested in catching than diving - i.e goal oriented, which is often a prelude
to a bad experience. (Analogous is hiking or backpacking VS Prospecting or
Hunting).  Divers as I define them often see abalone as an excuse to go
freediving, not infrequently giving away most of their catch.

Add goal oriented ocean activities, a poor knowledge of access points, an angry
sea, poor physical conditioning and inadequate ocean skills and the result is
often most sad.

Curt Degler



------------------------------------

Yahoo! Groups Links







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

--- In ba_diving@yahoogroups.com, Chuck Tribolet <triblet@...> wrote:
>
> Details: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20091123/ARTICLES/911239923

Having dived the North Coast innumerable times both on SCUBA and freediving for
abs and fish, I've carefully scoped the coastline and beach access points (not
much boat diving here).

The Sonoma Coast north of the Russian River is organized into coves every few
miles. Some point South and others point North, especially those coves after
Gerstle Cove (Fisk Mill Cove is an exception). Just take a look at the terrain
option on Google Maps after searching for Jenner CA. The dominant swell has its
origin generally in the North, so those North facing coves take the brunt of the
swell. Generally Fort Ross, Stillwater Cove,Timber Cove and Gerstle Cove are
protected while Ocean Cove not so much, and Stump Cove and Horseshoe Cove pretty
much look down the gun barrel of the North Pacific. Horseshoe Cove would have
been a poor choice of an access point with this past weekend's ocean conditions.

There are divers, and then there are Ab Divers, the latter often falling in the
category of pickers and harvesters, who are unable to get much deeper than 10
feet and often not trained as divers at all, that is uncertified. They are more
interested in catching than diving - i.e goal oriented, which is often a prelude
to a bad experience. (Analogous is hiking or backpacking VS Prospecting or
Hunting).  Divers as I define them often see abalone as an excuse to go
freediving, not infrequently giving away most of their catch.

Add goal oriented ocean activities, a poor knowledge of access points, an angry
sea, poor physical conditioning and inadequate ocean skills and the result is
often most sad.

Curt Degler

Double Twin 104 Steel Pressed Steel Scuba Tanks with manifold

Current hydro 9/07 on both cylinders. Cylinders were oxygen cleaned for 100%
service on 12/08 and have the stickers. Visual inspections on both tanks
November 2009 (Good for another year)

Halcyon style manifold and (I believe Highland Mills bands and hardware, I could
be wrong on the manufacturer but they are very sturdy bands).

Currently filled with 21/35 trimix.

$550 takes em.

Two AL 80 nitrox tanks:
Hydro tested 5/09 with visual good until May 2010.
Hydro tested 10/09 with visual good until September 2010.

One tank has boot. Both have Nitrox stickers on them. Yoke style valves on each.
Both are partially filled with nitrox/or O2 compatible air.

$75 apiece

Tanks are located in Haight Ashbury in San Francisco. Sorry, no shipping as they
are filled with gas I don't want to dump!

Todd Baldi

Hi All!

Here is a press release from CSTR.

Eleanore Rewerts
VP, Communications/Finance

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 24, 2009
California Ships to Reefs Calls for Yukon Photographs

California Ships to Reefs announced today a call for photographs of the HMCS
Yukon artificial reef in Mission Bay, San Diego.  CSTR is encouraging all
photographers with quality images of the Yukon to submit them for review and
potential use in promotional materials and displays at events which the
organization will attend throughout 2010, and in the effort to further
artificial reefing in California.  CSTR will select a maximum of 24 images for
use by the organization, and will pay $25 per image to the submitting
photographer.  Full credit will be given to the photographer, and participants
are encouraged to provide any information they wish included in captions of the
photographs to be used in public displays.  Participants will retain all rights
to use their images elsewhere and CSTR will not release the images to other
entities for use without permission of the photographer.  CSTR will return
and/or delete any images which are not chosen for use and for which the
photographer is not compensated.

“What we ultimately like to depict is the lasting, positive impact over time
that an artificial reef such as the Yukon can have on the California coastal
environment,” noted CSTR Public Relations chairman Kevin Sullivan.  He
continued, “We hope to receive images showing the large diversity of fish life
that the Yukon has attracted in the last 10 years since her reefing, as well as
SCUBA divers enjoying her great recreational value.”

Photographers wishing to submit images for consideration in this program may
submit high resolution digital images on CD or DVD to California Ships to Reefs
at the organization’s P.O. Box 958, Wheatland, California, 95692.  The
deadline for image submission is February 15, 2010.  All images should be
submitted in the highest resolution possible for the best quality reproduction
possible.  Images must be the sole work of the participant.  CSTR is also
encouraging photographers to include information about when the image was
captured, the equipment used, and any special information the participant would
like to include.  If participants would like to submit images via e-mail, they
are encouraged to send them to admin@....  If images
submitted via e-mail are in reduced resolution, CSTR may request full resolution
for use later for high-quality prints.

California Ships to Reefs is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Public Benefit Corporation
seeking to reef surplus ships as artificial reefs, enhancing the ocean
environment and bringing diving and fishing tourism to local ports in
California.  For further information, please visit the organization’s website
at www.californiashipstoreefs.org, or contact state Public Relations committee
chairman Kevin Sullivan at (805) 551-8940.


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I guess Abalone are more dangerous than sharks nowadays huh?

Ben Villao




>
>From: Peter <cobesweb@...>
>To: Bay Area Diving List <ba_diving@yahoogroups.com>
>Sent: Tue, November 24, 2009 10:37:35 AM
>Subject: Re: [ba_diving] Ab diver dies
>
>  >
>>
>
>The North Coast is an unforgiving place with big waves and fast changing
conditions. No one I knew went out last weekend due to the conditions. The
current can run strong and there are few entry and exit points. Even fewer boats
around to help if someone does get into trouble, especially if the ocean is
rough. Pretty much you are on your own, and need to be able to self rescue. I do
not understand why people feel the need to enter the water on days when the
swells are over 8 feet, let alone 10 feet up here.
>
>>They even have a website pretty much dedicated to ab divers.
http://www.saltpointoceanconditions.com/ They do not update it when ab season is
closed. Kinda a bummer since the vis reports for Gerstle, although usually
wrong, at least gives some indication of vis. They will often say stay out of
the water, or only go to the most protect coves around.
>
>>As to technical diving vs ab diving, yes ab is much more dangerous, but for
other reasons. Mostly physical fitness, training and skill levels. Along with
the whole breath hold factor. Seems like a very large percentage of the ab
deaths are heart attacks with a couple deaths happening near shore with people
around who are quickly brought to shore. Other deaths are  due to kelp
entanglement. Training and skills practice would come into play along with
proper equipment configuration. Anyone with their knife strapped to the outside
of their leg is asking for entanglement. <That is what killed my friends brother
in law while ab diving. Everything must be streamlined. Few are also willing to
drop their weight belt. That right there would have probably saved more than a
few people. Of course it may be that they forgot or didn't think about dropping
their weight belts. Again training!
>
>>Most technical divers are highly trained and practice skills routinely, along
with staying in moderately good physical shape. Plus most dive in buddy pairs
where as most ab divers are diving solo, even if you have a buddy, since it is
one up one down. Then if they do not surface you have to locate them in what is
often poor vis of less than 10 feet.
>
>>I have come to realize I am allergic to abalone and will never eat it again...
>
>>Peter Chandler
>
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

At 07:38 PM 11/24/2009, Ken Gwin wrote:
>But these woolen suits were specially developed as early tropical
>dive skins and were
>designed by the famous Hollywood fashionistas, Wallace Beery and Gabby Hayes.
>These guys were the fashion leaders in their time, working way
>before polartec and lycra.
>They knew how to put form and function together in a lasting package.

As evidenced by the fine red color and the button rear flap that gets
rid of the need for a P-valve or any kind of Depends. Wallace Beery,
it's rumored, also invented the diving poncho and an underwater cigar holder.

They were loose in those old days of diving when men were real men,
women were real women, and tiny encrusting bifurcated tunicates were
real tiny encrusting bifurcated tunicates.

Mike Boom

Mikey said:
"I can't even imagine putting together underwater shooting for a major feature
film when diving equipment was still spanking new and primitive and people
weren't all that experienced. I'm amazed at the lead boots and long woolen
underwear for warmth."

Of course, hardhat types used woolen undies in their "dry" diving suits for
years. This
was a big advancement over leather suits stuffed with straw.
But these woolen suits were specially developed as early tropical dive skins and
were
designed by the famous Hollywood fashionistas, Wallace Berry and Gabby Hayes.
These guys were the fashion leaders in their time, working way before polartec
and lycra.
They knew how to put form and function together in a lasting package.

Ken Gwin







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

What a great photo spread! I can't even imagine putting together
underwater shooting for a major feature film when diving equipment
was still spanking new and primitive and people weren't all that
experienced. I'm amazed at the lead boots and long woolen underwear for warmth.

I'm planning even now for my own large underwater scaffolding for
shooting video.

I might skip it for macro shots, though.

Mike Boom

P.S. The photographer, Peter Stackpole, was evidently an Oakland
resident in the latter part of his life and created underwater photo
gear. There's a nice NY Times obit that lays out his life at:

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/14/arts/peter-stackpole-83-chronicler-of-californ\
ia-trends-for-life.html

Right species name, wrong common name. The Pacific Halibut is Hippoglossus
stenolepis. From past conversations with Andy he has that one. He's looking for
the California Halibut which is Paralichthys californicus.

Clinton


On Nov 24, 2009, at 5:14 PM, Chuck Tribolet wrote:

> Andy Lamb and his coauthor are in the final stages of
> a revamping of their book Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest.
>
> They are looking a picture of a complete
> Pacific halibut (Paralichthys californicus)
>
> If you've got one, contact him at andylamb@...
>
>
> --
> Chuck Tribolet
> http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet/
>
> Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

----------------------------------
Clinton Bauder
Opisthobranchs and IO Technologies
----------------------------------

Andy Lamb and his coauthor are in the final stages of
a revamping of their book Coastal Fishes of the Pacific Northwest.

They are looking a picture of a complete
Pacific halibut (Paralichthys californicus)

If you've got one, contact him at andylamb@...


--
Chuck Tribolet
http://www.almaden.ibm.com/cs/people/triblet/

Silicon Valley: STILL the best day job in the world.

LIFE magazine's coverage of the filming of *20,000 Leagues Under the Sea*

http://www.life.com/image/53371349/in-gallery/23472/20000-leagues-under-the-sea


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]