W HALERS DIVE CLUB 50TH ANNIVERSARY MEETING DAY & LOCATION COCO S BAKERY RESTAURANT 22200 SHERMAN WAY CANOGA PARK, CA 91303 818-710-8081 THE WHALERS DIVE CLUB, INC., A CALIFORNIA NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION WHEN: 1ST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH 6:30-7:30 SOCIAL HOUR 7:30 9:00 GENERAL MEETING & ENTERTAINMENT WEBSITE: WWW.WHALERSDIVECLUB.COM ADDRESS: P.O. BOX 4283, WEST HILLS, CA 91308-4283 MAY GUEST SPEAKER GEOFF THIELST MARINE DIVING TECHNOLOGIES, SBCC 2013 OFFICERS & BOARD OF DIRECTORS! Steve Roquemore...Programs Ken Kollwitz.. Dive Coordinator BJ Rogers...Membership Rick Dalven Website Bruce Amberger.President Greg Arsenault...Treasurer Trish Kolebeck...Secretary Contact the board: info@whalersdiveclub.com Cheryl Amberger...Newsletter Norm Deatherage...Environment Dahlia Luria Education Adam Crown.Special Events SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST: 2013 Board of Directors & Officers (p1) President s Message (p2) May 2013 Calendar (p3) BJ s Membership Blurb (p4) Whaler Distinguished Speaker Series (p5) Scuba Fair 2013 (p6) Whalers Dive Happenings (p7) Beach Clean-Up & Shore Diving (p8) Camping Trip 2013 (p9) May Guest Speaker (p10) Monthly Hike (p11) Guest Link (p12) SCUBA Show (p13) Whalers Proudly Support/Whalers New Web Site(p14) Membership Information (p15) Save the Date! The Whaler s 50th Anniversary Banquet Saturday, Nov 2, 2013
P AGE 2 May 2013 PRESIDENT S MESSaGE Hello Whalers, IT S HERE!! The SCUBA Fair is this Saturday, May 4th. The Fair is from 9AM to 3PM at the West Valley Christian Church parking lot. See the attached flyer for more details. As of this writing, we have only two remaining spots open, so this has shaped up to be a pretty full event, which is great. We plan on having a Whalers Shared Spot for those of you that have only one or two items that you want to sell. However, as of this writing, no one has volunteered to help with this spot nor has anyone indicated that they plan to make use of it. If by our General Meeting, May 1st, we still have no interest or anyone to help, this spot will be cancelled and opened to the general populous to register for. Again, this year we have a great load of donated raffle prizes. We have a mask and snorkel from Aqua Lung, fins and a cleaning kit from Chris at Aloha Dive, T-Shirts and hoodies from Eric at the Peace, and other items from CIDA, Fourth Element, lots of Whalers stuff, and much more. Come on out and have a fun day with your Whaler friends and meet some new people as well. Typically I don t use this space to speak about our program for the upcoming Meeting, but this month is different. We will be having Geoff Thielst from the Santa Barbara City College Marine Diving Technologies Program. He will be speaking about what the program has to offer, the training they provide, the equipment they have, and much more. This is going to be a very interesting program. Not just for us as avid divers, but for your children, friends, or anyone else that might be interested in a career in diving. Bring anyone and everyone that might have an interest. The Marine Diving Technology Program is an incredible program. I know this from experience because I am a graduate! As always, check out the newsletters, the club s new web site, and come to the meetings for all of the latest goings on. See you all at the meeting, Bruce
P AGE 3 MAY 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 General Meeting Guest Speaker: Geoff Thielst 2 3 4 2nd Annual SCUBA Fair 9:00-3:00 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Dive on the Peace to Santa Barbara Island 12 13 14 15 16 Board Meeting Weilers Deli in Canoga Park 17 18 Nitrox Class 19 SCUBA Review Class 26 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 28 29 30 Hike at Chesebro Whaler Boat Dives for June& July Saturday June 1st: Peace to San Miguel July 19th & 20th: Peace to Begg Rock, San Nick & SBI To reserve your spot on boat dives, call Ken at 805-469-7288. For more detailed information, visit the CIDA website at http://channelislandsdivedventures.com
P AGE 4 Currently we have 63 members on our roster which is up two new memberships from the month prior. As our club continues to grow, please take an active part in our events-- there is still time to volunteer to help at the Scuba Fair this Saturday, but if you can t please stop by to show your support. I look forward to seeing you at the next general membership meeting on Wednesday, May 1st. Remember, bring A CERTIFIED DIVER (one that has not been to the club before) to the monthly meeting and for this you and your guest will each receive a free opportunity drawing ticket. Please welcome the following new members to the club: Barry Shockley and Kris Davis and a thank you to the following members for their renewal and continued support: Betty Pringle and Sue Nakaoki. May Whaler Birthdays Cheryl Amberger, Ken Kollwitz, Susan Nakaoki, Charles Pincus, Elizabeth Rinnander, and Edgar Rios Congratulations to the following Opportunity Drawing Winners: Whaler s Beach Towel Steve Roquemore Hollywood Diver Mesh Bag Rick Dalven Wine Bottle Cork/Deluxe IQ Tester Jack Molina 2710 LED Headlight Laura Scott McNets Diver s Care Products Patty Chan Dan Bag Adam Crown The club is a great place to meet other divers, participate in annual group international travel, stay updated on current events and regulations impacting the diving community and to participate and socialize in dive and non-diving activities. All skill levels are welcome.
P AGE 5 PAGE 5 WHALERS W HALERS DIVE CLUB DIVE C LUB January Sheri Bauer from Scubagearreports.com February..Jonathan Hanks on LA Wrecks March Grant Graves on free diving April..JT Sprouse on Ventura Search & Rescue May...Dr. Geoff Thielst Director of the Marine Diving Technologies at Santa Barbara City College June.Shelly Bern on India July...LA Underwater Photo Society August.Chris Wade Dive Safety Officer for the CA Thank you JT Sprouse for the wonderful presentation on Ventura Search & Rescue! Science Center Please note that due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts, the dates and/or speakers for our Distinguished Speaker Series can change. Please check the monthly newsletters, website, and emails.
P AGE 6 PAGE 6 WHALERS DIVE CLUB at West Valley Christian Church 22450 Sherman Way West Hills, CA 91307 One half block west of Shoup Raffle Prizes: Scuba Gear Clothing Dive Trips And much more... New & Used SCUBA Gear for Sale and other related items Local Area Dive Shops Rum Raggie Clothing (As seen at the SCUBA Show) Training Classes If you have gear to sell, visit our Web Site to sign up for available spots! The SCUBA Fair Organizer: Whalers Dive Club Los Angeles Free to the Public!
P AGE 7 Hi Whalers, The summer dive season is upon us and if you haven t been diving and plan to, this is a great time to make sure all your gear is checked out and in working order; that is if you haven t done so. Make sure to not only check and get your regulator serviced if needed, but also don t forget things like old straps that may break, computer batteries, fix and repair wetsuits and drysuits, check and clean dump valves in your drysuit or BC or anything else you might have been making a mental note of. Wait, there is still more if you haven t been diving in a while, don t be shy and try to make it to the Scuba Refresher that *Dahlia has scheduled for May 5th. Getting in a pool and just going over some basic skills can really help a lot, not to mention it just may save the day sometime when you least expect it. What do you do after all this? Why of course get involved in some of the club activities, if you haven t already! Speaking of club activities, there is much going on and to choose from and there are quite a few things that you can get your non-diving family, spouse, or partner involved in. For some nondiving events, I currently have 2 hikes scheduled May 26 at Cheesbro Canyon, and June 15 at Topanga State Park. I also have a couple of other non-diving trips scheduled for July and August, but first I need to confirm with the club board and after that is done, I ll send out an email blast to let everyone know. For diving activities, there is plenty and some of the trips have been filling up quickly with waiting lists. My suggestion is to try and sign-up ASAP or risk the chance of losing out. The May 11th trip has a waiting list, the June 22nd Rig/Wreck trip is about ½ filled, the July 19th & 20th Begg Rock trip has 2 spots available and the August 3rd & 4th San Clemente trip is ½ full. Also, for you beach divers, one of the club s newest member (Mike Hartley) is going to schedule some beach dives for the club with the first one on June 29th at Leo Carrillo. Don t forget to check the newsletter out for all the details and I hope to see you at some of the club events. Keep diving, Ken * Dahlia is offering training independently from the Dive Club to all Whaler members. For more information, you can contact Dahlia at 818-715-9158.
P AGE 8 PAGE 8 WHALERS DIVE CLUB D EER CREEK: BEACH CLEAN-UP The club adopted this beach on September 23, 1989. Our goal has been to clean up the beach 3 times a year. The Board has selected: May 25, July 27, & the official state Adopt-A-Beach Costal Clean-Up day is September 21. Come one & all; bring family, friends, and potential club members. Trash pick-up and dive start at 9:00AM. We have official Adoption Papers for this beach to Preserve, Protect, & Enhance the coast. There are no facilities, but bags and a Porta- Potty will be provided. Bring food, drink, gloves, sturdy shoes, and your beach dive gear. Any questions? Call Norm at 818-348 -6444. Directions: Deer Creek Beach is approximately 2 miles north of the LA/Ventura County line on Pacific Coast Highway (HWY1). From the Ventura Freeway north, take Kanan Road west (left) to PCH, turn right. Deer Creek is signed (where the highway is only two lanes). The Whaler s first planned shore dive is scheduled for Saturday June 29th at Leo Carrillo. More information to follow.come to the general Meetings, check out our new website at, and watch out for special emails from the Whalers Dive Club! Picture Source: www.shorediving.com
P AGE 9 When: July 25-28, 2013 (Thursday-Sunday) Where: Jade Cove/Plaskett Creek This is a trip that Ken has been doing for quite a while. The last time he organized this trip, there were approximately 40 people spread out over 8-10 campsites. Some went diving and most searched the beach for jade or just hung out and had fun. Some have stayed in the Cambria area and drove up to meet the group and stay Saturday evening for the BIG potluck. Whalers, you can make a reservation now at the Plaskett Creek campground and the nice thing is it does not fill up as fast as a state park. For further information, visit the CIDA website at: http://channelislandsdiveadventures.com/cida-2011-boat-tripschedule/mini-vacations-events
P AGE 10 Geoff Thielst is Director of the Marine Technologies department at Santa Barbara City College where he has taught commercial diving operations for fifteen years. During summer breaks, he continues to work in the offshore construction industry as a Project Manager for Marine Project Management of Ojai California. Prior to teaching, Geoff spent twenty years in the commercial diving industry working his way form entry level tender to Saturation Superintendent for Sub Sea International in the Gulf of Mexico and for Stolt Comex Seaway in California. His deepest dive was to 605 FSW and supervised operations in excess of 700 FSW. He lives in Santa Barbara with his wife and three children. Article and picture source: www.sbcc.edu
P AGE 11 Where: Chesebro Canyon Fire Road and Sulphur Springs Date: Sunday, May 26, 2013 Time: Meet at the trailhead at 10:00AM Directions to trailhead: From the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills, take the Chesebro exit and go north. On the north side of the freeway, follow the road as it curves left. At the stop sign, on Chesebro Road, turn right and drive for about ¾ mile, over the single-lane bridge, and turn right into the Chesebro parking lot. Continue a few hundred yards to the upper parking lot. The Hike: This is a primo and very popular area with almost two dozen trails and fire roads, only a couple of which are closed to bikes. The trails connect to the Wood Ranch and Lang Ranch areas through China Flat. Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons are part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. This is a very popular area for hikers and mountain bikers and I haven t quite decided what trails we will hike. There are many trails connecting together so we can do some sort of a loop trail and none of it looks too difficult or strenuous. I do plan to hike about 4.5-6 miles and figure at least 3 hours time will be needed so please come prepared with water/food and the time for the hike..and be ready to have fun! Hats, sunscreen, and good walking shoes/boots are always recommended. Come join the club on a fun hike and bring the family. Hikes are a great way to know other club members much better and maybe a chance to meet some new dive buddies. Future Hikes June 15-Topanga State Park July-TBA
P AGE 12 Our world increasingly relies upon the resources and knowledge gained from the ocean and marine environment, our last frontier. This demand requires the Marine Technology Program to continue in providing the highest quality divers and marine technicians worldwide. The program is the only community college degree program in the nation which is accredited by both the Association of Commercial Diving Educators (ACDE) and the National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI). Santa Barbara City College pioneered formalized diver and technician education in 1968 with the A.S. degree curriculum. Students who enrolled in the Marine Technology Program have options to obtain an A.S. degree in Marine Technology or certifications from both the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Association of Diving Contractors (ADC) in commercial diving. SBCC also issues diver certifications meeting the Association of Contractors (ADC) standards, under the ADC standard 1099. The two semester training program is designed to meet the needs of marine construction, research and diving industries. These multi-billion dollar industries are dynamic and require personnel who have a broad training base with technical skills above and below the water. The A.S. Degree Marine Technician program trains professional marine technicians and commercial divers. The modularized training curriculum includes instruction in all phases of commercial diving, hyperbarics, bell/saturation diving emergency medicine and welding to name but a few. Teamwork and safety are the prime emphasis of technician training. For more information, go to www.sbcc.edu/mdt Article and picture source: www.sbcc.edu/mdt
P AGE 13 Here is a Quick Look at SCUBA Show 2013 The Diving Event of the Year! 76,000 Feet of Exhibit Space Hundreds of exhibits-the latest new dive gear, fantastic dive destinations (nearby and around the world), marine art and apparel, and more. More than 50 Seminars and Workshops Continuous Film Festival Over $20,000 in Door Prizes Fun-filled Saturday Night Party Casablanca Coming Soon SCUBA Show Mobile App Navigate the show, schedule your seminars, make a to do list of companies to visit and things you want to see. App release date 5/21 Picture and information source: mail@scubashow.com
P AGE 14 Member information and profiles kept online and instantly updatable Automated email notification and reminders of special events Fully integrated with PayPal for on-line payments, and payment tracking Private member only areas with content not available to the public
P AGE 15 MEMBERSHIP Membership rates: Initial $30; Renewal $25; Family (New) - Initial $40; Renewal $35. A Family Membership is for members living in the same household/address where a certified diver member lives. Be sure to join us for great programs, super diving, good food, and wonderful friends! We encourage you to attend the General Meetings and as many Dives, Events, and Trips as possible. Please mail dues to : Whalers Dive Club, Inc. P.O. Box 4283 West Hills, CA 91308-4283 Or.you can now renew your membership online. Just go to and scroll down to the membership link. Whalers - We all receive enough junk mail. As a non-profit organization, we adhere to certain privacy rules, including protecting the email addresses of our membership. The use of the Whaler s mailing list is to distribute club related information to the membership. If you would like to send a general announcement to the full membership, please send it to any of the board members (http:// /contact/contact.htm) and we will be happy to redistribute it if it s appropriate to club business. We make every attempt to hide the email addresses of our membership when sending mass mailings. Also, please do not share email addresses from our published Buddy List with any non-member. Although your political, religious, and social viewpoints are important, and jokes and YouTube videos can be funny, these certainly do not fall into the category of club business. Thank You, Whaler s Board