Newsletter - Fall 2006

Sea Creature Trivia with Prizes!
Question: What's my name? Why am I called that? Why is my head shaped like that?
Prizes:
1st Winner: 2 Boat tickets on Pacific Star for October 4th Night dives.
2nd Place: OMS 7 LED Flashlight
3rd Place: ECO Gift Card w/$25
4th Place: Eco cap and shirt
Submit your 3 part answers to scuba@ecodivecenter.com

Coastal CleanUp Day 2006 was a Great Achievement for Community Involvement

More than 40 divers and hundreds of others descending on to the beach in Santa Monica to participate in International Coastal Clean-Up Day! This was the second year in a row that Eco Dive Center has sponsored the underwater clean-up at the Santa Monica Pier, one of the most recognizable destinations in all of Southern California.

Plastic bags and aluminum cans were the most popular items picked up from around the pier, but divers also came up with discarded fishing line (a serious hazard for divers and marine life), used clothing, beach toys like a Frisbee, and even a tire! Hundred of pounds of garbage were picked up from the sand by non-divers, but the highlight of the day for our crew was the once-a-year dive along the Santa Monica Pier. Brian Davis, president of Eco Divers and one of the event’s coordinators said, “Plastic bags and other non-biodegradable garbage are the greatest culprits. Our trash thrown on the street in downtown will eventually find its way to the ocean where it impacts the fish and birds directly. It’s great, as divers, to be able to have a positive impact on the ocean that gives us so much. Now we need to take what we learn at the beach and keep it in mind every day.”

International Coastal Clean-Up Day is global event in which thousands and thousands of volunteers take action to clean-up our coasts. PADI’s Project AWARE is a major global sponsor. The local activities at the Santa Monica pier and other local beaches are sponsored by Heal the Bay (Heal the Bay Link ), Eco Dive Center, the Santa Monica Baykeeper, the Los Angeles County Lifeguards, the City of Santa Monica, the City of Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles diving community.

Stay tuned for future clean-up opportunities with Eco Divers!

Pictures of Participants

Amazing Farnsworth Wall Diving...and the Next Trip is this SUNDAY!
"Great viz, breath taking reef, challenging vertical wall dives, and a fast fun boat; that's my best description of these trips. These are the kind of dives I day dream about while I'm stuck in LA traffic" says Philippe Besson, an Eco Dive Center instructor who was on the last trip to Farnsworth.

Farnsworth Banks -- off the "backside" of Catalina -- is one of those trips you'll want to do again and again. Not only will you be greeted by the rare purple hydrocoral (yes, real live coral here in California) and huge lingcod, bass and rockfish, but this time of year there is typically 100 foot visibility waiting for you! There are only 10 spots left on the boat for this Sunday, October 1. Call for info and to reserve your ticket on the Island Time Dive Boat.

Advanced Open Water Divers with DAN or Dive Assure Protection Only! Boat Schedule

Get that Shot of a Lifetime: Andrew Sallmon presentation - Tuesday, October 3 7:00 PM - Join the Eco Divers for our monthly pizza night and presentation. This month our speaker is Andrew Sallmon, a professional photographer and rep for Sea & Sea Underwater Camera Systems. Listen in and learn about starting u/w photo and/or improving your existing technique.

Andrew is a freelance underwater and nature photographer specializing in images of marine life and the marine environment. His love of the sea has taken him all over the world looking for ways to capture dynamic portraits of its creatures large and small. He hopes that through the viewing of these images people will someday learn to appreciate and understand the awesome beauty and fragile nature of the oceans and to ultimately change some of the detrimental practices of humankind toward the sea. Directions to Event

Two Night Diving Boat Trips Schedule for this Month!
Ready to see something other than Redondo Canyon at night? Craving those more remote sites by moonlight? Than the month of October has some great opportunities for you!

Explore the local coastline by boat… AT NIGHT! - 10/04 Wednesday Night - $65 - 2 dives on the Pacific Star out of Redondo Beach. Or... explore Anacapa Island by boat... AT Night on the Spectre! - 10/14 Saturday Day/Nite Trip - $105 - 4 dives

Free Gear rental for October 4th trip. Call to reserve!

OIL RIGS: Get Ready to Dive The Eureka & the Ellen! October 22nd on the Island Time.
October is full of exciting, adventurous dives for the more advanced diver. On October 22, we're taking the Island Time -- a fast boat out of Long Beach -- to visit these local oil rigs. The Oil Rigs have been reporting superb visibility and lots of marine life perfect for underwater photography. The rigs are a great chance to see some big fish up close!

Pictures of Oil-Rig Dives
Advanced Open Water Divers with DAN or Dive Assure Protection Only!

Bitchen Free Steel Tank Deal!

Free Steel Tank, Pro Valve, Tank Boot w/current inspections AND Catalina Island 3 dive day trip with the purchase of any equipment package totaling over $1700.00.* That's almost a $500 value -- for free! Not only will you get a great tank and some dives to try out your new gear on, but Eco Dive Center has great prices on all the best gear year round!

Now, what can you do with that LP 85 Steel Tank? Well, more bottom time and less weight. It doesn't take a UCLA Business professor to figure that this is a great offer!

It only gets better! All divers taking advantage of this "Bitchen Free Steel Tank Deal!" get free pool time to practice new set-ups. Why? Diving in a new set of gear with a different tank and wetsuit requires practice due to weghting and buoyancy differences in both. This is why Eco Dive Center highly recommends all participants of the "Bitchen Free Steel Tank Deal!" be responible and jump in the pool any Saturday morning 7am to 11am to practice. It's free and helps big time!

*Mr. C Charter and Steel LP85 2400+ psi only.

More Bottom Time! Hell ya! - Nitrox Certification Courses Scheduled!
During the PADI Enriched Air / Nitrox Course you will be able to select the appropriate nitrox mixture for your planned depth, analyze the mix to insure accuracy and safety, and determine the oxygen exposure limits after each dive.
There's much more to this course than just diving!

Next Classes: 10/25 OR 11/29th

Nitrox Course Video & Nitrox Course Schedule

Zoom Through the Sea! Hitch a ride on a DPV!

Eco Dive Center is excited to be able to offer training and rentals on Diver Propulsion Vehicles -- better known as DPVs or scooters! You can include a DPV Adventure Dive in your Advanced Open Water course, complete a DPV specialty certification, or rent one of the Apollo DPVs. Youu may have already seen the bright yellow scooters on one of the Eco Dive Center boats... and you know you've wanted to take one for a spin.

When you book your next boat trip, talk to us about the DPV and we can arrange a training opportunity. DPV specialty dives can count towards your Master Scuba Diver rating, increase opportunities for professional diving opportunities, or just be a whole lot of fun! More Details

DPVs are available for rental or training on most weekends. Check out the rental rates on ecodivecenter.com, or call the shop at (310) 398-5759.

Get a great deal on your first set of gear -- or stock up on spare gear!

Eco Dive Center regularly updates and improves its rental gear inventory. With the Summer over, it's the time of year in which we turn-over the largest amount of rental gear and offer an amazing used gear blowout!

We will provide you with a full scuba set-up for just $650. Our rental inventory includes most of the major brands including Aqua Lung, Oceanic, ScubaMax, and others. All the rental gear is serviced and maintained regularly and is sold in good working order. The supply is limited, so if you are interested you need to act fast.

And if you are still renting, keep a look out for brand new gear in the inventory in the coming weeks including new regulators from Aqua Lung and Apeks, new wetsuits from Pinnacle and Bare, and new gauges and computers from Suunto.

The Environment, The Oceans and YOU! November Club Speaker Providing an Important Environment Presentation.

Stuart Sandin, Ph.D., of the prestigious Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, will provide an informative, educational and FUN presentation at the November meeting of the Eco Divers. Join us on Tuesday, November 7 at Eco Dive Center for this amazing presentatgion.

Have you noticed our warmer local waters and hoodless dives this Summer? Are the kelp forests thinner than you've seen them before? The changing oceans aren't just a local issue. Dr. Sandin, a Princeton educated marine biologist, has been studying the decline in the health of the world's coral reefs for years and has even discovered a unique set of circumstances that is threatening the future of reef systems.

You won't want to miss this amazing presentation on Tuesday, November 7th!