40th Annual San Diego Underwater Photographic Society Film Festival

The San Diego Underwater Photographic Society (SDUPS) is proud to announce that its 40th Annual Film Festival will be held April 25, 2009 in San Diego, CA. This year’s film festival will feature a “headliner” film from Steve Drogin as well as a worldwide contest. The winner of the film contest, as determined by the audience, will be awarded a cash prize of $500. Additionally, there will be a reception honoring many of San Diego scuba diving pioneers with a special emphasis for those that lead the way in underwater photography and cinematography.

http://www.divephotoguide.com/competition/385

Wreck Diving Training on the Robert Gaskin

By deepstop

The first two dives of my wreck diving course in 2007 were in the St. Lawrence River near Brockville, Ontario (or, if you prefer, Alexandria Bay, New York) on the Gaskin. At only 60 feet depth, and with lots of holes in the deck through which a diver can pass, the Gaskin is great place to practice wreck penetrations.

The setup for the course was to make 6 dives, consisting of two dives on each of 3 wrecks. For the Gaskin, and the second wreck, the procedure was for each buddy pair to descend together to the bottom of the buoy line where they were met my the instructors. Each diver would pair off with an instructor and separately enter the wreck, one on the port side and one on the starboard, tying off their lines on the outside. On the first dive, it was simply a matter of laying a good taut penetration line, then reeling it in on the way back.

The instructors and safety divers stayed underwater during both dives by the students, a total of about an hour and a half. The students were spaced every 10-12 minutes, so after a surface interval of only 25 minutes my buddy Mike (an instructor in the RCMP getting his civvy certifications) and I were back in the water descending to the Gaskin once again. This time, when we were reeling back in, the instructors silted out the wreck so we had to depend on the lines for navigation. No problem.

The water temperature at 20C (68F) was cool in my 3mm wet suit and hood, but the dives were short (20 minutes and 18 minutes) and the air was warm so no problem. The maximum depth was 68 feet, which I hit on the first dive. We used Nitrox because of the short surface interval with a mix of 37% Oxygen.

In short, it was lots of fun.

http://deepstop.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/wreck-diving-training-on-the-robert-gaskin/

5 charged with abalone poaching

By LAURA NORTON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Friday, January 9, 2009 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, January 9, 2009 at 11:53 p.m.

Five men suspected of poaching abalone on the Sonoma Coast were arrested Friday and charged with collecting 31 of the prized mollusks for illegal sale, state Fish and Game officials said.

Charles Lester Miller IV, 20; Michael Ray Phipps, 19; and Joshua William Stockman, 19, all of Santa Rosa, were being held at Sonoma County Jail on felony conspiracy and abalone possession charges. Joshua Cowan Berto, 19, and Corin Robert Devlin, 20, also of Santa Rosa, were released on bail.

Fish and Game officials said Miller, who also is charged in another abalone poaching case from November, was spotted scuba diving at Fort Ross on Thursday by a warden.

A large sack of abalone was found hidden on the beach where Miller was diving, and Fish and Game officials subsequently set up an overnight surveillance on the beach, Game Warden Patrick Foy said.

Miller returned shortly after midnight with Phipps, Stockman, Berto and Devlin and collected the cache from the beach, Foy said.

When the men left the beach and wardens attempted to pull over their two vehicles on Highway 1, the men threw three bags of abalone out the windows, Foy said.

Thirty-one abalone were recovered from the roadside after the men were stopped.

“It’s a very significant find,” he said.

While abalone poaching usually carries only misdemeanor charges, the men are being charged with felonies because of the quantity of abalone poached and their suspected intent to sell it, Foy said.

A 2003 abalone poaching case in Sonoma County resulted in three years of probation for a Cloverdale man accused of harvesting 30 abalone and selling them.

In the most serious cases, abalone poaching can result in prison time.

A Mendocino County judge in 2004 sentenced two commercial fishermen from San Ysidro in Southern California to two years in prison, and also took action to seize their boat and ban them from fishing in the future.

Those men were caught with more than 400 abalone.

Berto and Devlin are scheduled to be in court at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, and Miller, Phipps and Stockman are to appear at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090109/news/901090210