n e w s l e t t e r - channel islands divers

November 2017

N E W S L E T T E R

M a n y t h a n k s t o t h e

sponsor s of our club:

Channel Island Dive Adventures

Mavericks Undersea Divers (MUD)

WhattaDive! Personal Dive Training

PCH Scuba

Island Packers

Pirates Grub & Grog ***************************

MEETING DATES

November 15 Dr. Jonna Engel

Coastal Commission

Closed for December Go have fun

January 17, 2018 Progressive Raffle

General meeting

February 21, 2018 General meeting

March 21, 2018 General meeting Continued on page 3

C H A N N E L I S L A N D S D I V E R S W W W . C H A N N E L I S L A N D S D I V E R S . O R G 1

Bottom Times from your New President I’m still amazed by . . .

. . . after 31 years of diving right here in our Channel Islands, I

still see things that stir my soul and fire my imagination. Things

like beautiful dive days when the water is warm (relatively, this

is Southern California after all), and clear. There will be no

disclaimers about clear water. When I can look down from the

surface and easily see the bottom 55 feet away, that’s some

great visibility!

This happened two weeks ago at Santa Cruz Island on Drop-Off Reef, a

spectacular piece of underwater topography with ridges, cuts, valleys and

overhangs. Get Nathan on the Spectre to take you there and get him to stay for

two dives. You’ll likely see nudibranchs that you may have never seen before.

. . . the reaction of first time divers to the beauty of a kelp forest once they are

under water. I was privileged to teach two groups of teenaged divers this past

year, diving with the Sea Cadets at Catalina Island and students of the Cate

School right out here at Santa Cruz Island.

While many of them expressed doubts and concerns about diving in kelp before

our dives, ALL of them followed me into the magical forest under the surface

and surfaced filled with awe at the beauty of the sunlight filtering through the

kelp canopy and the variety, number and size of the fish that inhabit our special

forests.

. . . the majestic presence of Black Sea Bass when they decide to grace me

with their company during a dive. Recently, three of these behemoths of the sea

have taken up residence in the Casino Point Marine Park adjacent to Avalon

Harbor at Catalina Island.

November 2017

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

10 - 12 Catalina Trip 15 - General Club Meeting

Jonna Engel from the Coastal Commission Participation Drawing

(winner need not be present)

27 - Board Meeting - 6:30 pm At an upscale abode near Ojai

November

Catalina 2017, the 2018 Board

January 2018

DARK for December. We are closed for the month.

(no meetings)

Dive, Hike, Dive, Surf, Repeat

25 - Open presents

Eat, Drink and be Merry

2 - Christmas Holiday Party

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Channel Is lands Divers Avalon Dive Weekend, 2017 Friday, November 10 through Sunday, November 12, 2017.

December

17 - General Club Meeting Progressive Raffle

(winning ticket needs to be present)

22 - Board Meeting - 6:30 pm Undisclosed Location

February

21 - General Club Meeting Participation Drawing


26 - Board Meeting - 6:30 pm

Undisclosed Location

March






And for those going, Have a great time !!

April





The results are in and certified as official, meaning we counted as high as we could then stopped.

WE now have a new board, complete with some familiar faces and as of a few days back we

conducted our first official business at the October Board meeting.

Without further ado, I give you the 2018 Channel Islands Divers Board of Directors.

President: Mike Doyon

Vice President/Speaker Seeker: Steve Peterson

Secretary: Teresa Bertuzzi

Treasurer: Karen Duran

Club Librarian: Mike Frabasilio

Newsletter Editor: Mike Cunningham

Raffle Coordinator: Bob Cartier

Webmaster: Laurie Hennessy

Dive Coordinator: Bret Niedens

Membership Coordinator: Joe Hennessy

November 2017

Enter the water from the convenient staircase and head straight out about 100 feet and you’ll

probably find them hanging out in their kelp condo, minding their own business and taking an

occasional cruise around the forest’s perimeter to see what’s going on. Approach them slowly

like my Open Water student did in September and you’ll be treated to a close encounter of a

fishy kind.

. . the excitement of that first solo dive after certification. I typically complete my Open Water

certification dives with the Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent, where the student divers

simulate an unassisted ascent to the surface after running out of air. I’m required to make the

ascent with each student to ensure it is done correctly and safely, and upon the student’s

reaching the surface and establishing buoyancy by orally inflating their BCD, I bestow my

“blessing” upon the student and declare them to be a PADI certified Open Water Diver. A bit

corny perhaps, but they seem to enjoy it.

With my last group I had one female buddy team and two male buddy teams. The females

offered to go first, as they had in many of the skills and as the second female diver received

her “blessing”, her buddy asked “Can we go diving on our own now”? Since they both had

plenty of air, I sent them on their way. Second buddy team, same thing, blessing, air check, off

they went. The father of one of the buddies in team three was in the water observing his son’s

graduation and he and his son headed off on their own while I went for a fun dive with the

remaining buddy, letting him lead and set the pace.

All of the divers made it back safely (as expected), navigating underwater to reach the boat

with a safe air reserve and filled with amazement at the creatures they had “discovered”. They

saw ENORMOUS bat rays, FEROCIOUS eels, HUGE lobsters, GIANT Garibaldi,

BUCKTOOTHED Sheepshead. In time they will learn more about these animals and interpret

them differently but for now the wonder of it all is plenty.

How about you? Are you still amazed by your underwater experiences and encounters? Are

you eager for your next dive outing? If not, maybe you just haven’t been in the water enough

or you’re not diving with buddies who inspire you to look beyond what’s there and really SEE

what is going on around you. You dive club is filled with dive buddies who can reignite your

passion for your sport.

Whether diving locally or traveling to exotic destinations, our underwater world is a special

place, and we are among the less than 1 percent of the population privileged to experience it.

LET’S GO DIVING! Mike Doyon


Bottom Times - Continued from the Front page

November 2017

It’s begInnIng to look a lot lIke ChrIstmas


The Channel Islands Divers Annual Christmas Holiday Bash!

Join in on December 2, 2017 for the event of the season. Mark your calendar now.

The Photo Contest Winners will be announced!!

Photo’s in - Underwater Wide Angle - Underwater Macro - Topside - Novice / If you’ve never won before.

And the ever popular - Underwater Video

We’re keeping the hilarious White Elephant gift exchange, v2.0. Bring a gift, something dive/

ocean related that’s wrapped so others have no idea what it is before it’s opened. This is where is gets

complicated, you bring a gift you get a CID numbered chip, again, 1 gift for 1 chip. Not meaning to

repeat myself, repeat myself, 1 chip for 1 gift. Before the game gets under way we’ll have a brief

reading to go over the very few rules we have. Short but oh so very important. Trust me, you don’t

want a repeat of the infamous ‘2015 incident’, not me, no way.

Your club as before provides the ham, the turkey, hot spiced cider, more turkey, stuffing and

dressing, coffee, plates, utensils, napkins, condiments, cups, soft drinks and the ice to keep it cold.

You didn’t miss it. It’s a BYOaB affair. Bring your own adult beverage!

Everyone brings a nice side dish, appetizers, grandma’s Christmas special, brownies, desserts,

breads, salad, cookies, did I mention brownies, etc. to be shared with all.

Rumor has it Santa Jaws plans on sending one of his underlings with some

raffle prizes for a lucky few again this year. It’s never to late to try to be GOOD!

Please, if you can, bring a canned food product for the collection box to help out

those not as fortunate this holiday season. We set the bar high last year with a

tremendous outpouring of generosity. We have it in us, let’s out do ourselves once

again. A good cause that feels good doing it, that's a win win if there ever was.

All of this will happen the same Saturday evening at Pepper Farms Clubhouse 2228 Calle Bellota

Camarillo CA 93010 starting at 6pm and be cleared out by about 10 pm.

I recommend you use Google, it’s easy to find.

November 2017

SCUBA Safety Topics - Author: Bret Niedens Maverick UnderSea Divers

As divers we often share our most recent dives or locations where we have or hope to dive

soon. This monthly column will be dedicated to discussion of SCUBA safety practices, equipment

safety, any diver safety topics to answer the questions you may not know you had. I hope you find it

useful.

Hydrostatic Testing What – Why – When.

We all learned in our Open Water training that tanks require annual visual inspections, and 5-

year hydrostatic recertification. But do you know which agency is responsible for recertification

requirements, what the standards for testing are, or what your recertifier does prior to restamping and

certifying your tank for use another 5 years.

In the United States, the Department of Transportation is the federal agency tasked with any

pressure vessel certification enforcement. The DOT relies on information from the Compressed Gas

Association to not only set standards but also testing protocols for pressure vessel recertification.

Every tank from the very small “Spare Air” cylinders to very large chemical and gas rail line carriers

require integrity testing to verify that the vessel will not leak, or suffer a catastrophic failure while

pressurized.

How do we test a cylinder? The test involves filling the vessel or pipe system with a liquid,

usually water, and pressurization of the vessel to the specified test pressure. Pressure tightness can

be tested by shutting off the supply valve and observing whether there is a pressure loss. Strength is

usually tested by measuring permanent deformation of the container. Hydrostatic testing is the most

common method employed for testing pipes and pressure vessels. Using this

test helps maintain safety standards and durability of a vessel over time.

Newly manufactured pieces are initially qualified using the hydrostatic test.

They are then re-qualified at regular intervals using the proof pressure

test which is also called the modified hydrostatic test.

The test pressure is always considerably higher than the operating

pressure to give a factor of safety. This factor of safety is typically 166.66%,

143% or 150% of the designed working pressure, depending on the regulations that apply. For

example, if a cylinder was rated to DOT-2015 PSI (approximately 139 bar), it would be tested at

around 3360 PSI (approximately 232 bar). Water is commonly used because it is cheap and easily

available, and is usually harmless to the system to be tested. Fluids are nearly incompressible,

therefore requiring relatively little work to develop a high pressure, and is therefore also only able to

release a small amount of energy in case of a failure - only a small volume will escape under high

pressure if the container fails. If high pressure gas were used, then the gas would expand to V=(nRT)/p

with its compressed volume resulting in an explosion, with the attendant risk of damage or injury. This

is the risk which the testing is intended to mitigate. Continued on page 11


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_pressure

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas

November 2017

november’s speaker, Jonna engel A close and personal friend of Jimmy Alan Harvey, big time kudos to him!


Jonna Engel is the senior ecologist at the California Coastal Commission; she has worked for

the Commission since 2006. The main responsibility of Commission ecologists is to review and

provide technical assistance for all projects within the coastal zone that involve potential impacts

upon marine and terrestrial natural resources. Jonna earned her doctorate at UCSC in the Ecology

and Evolutionary Biology Department in June 2004. Her dissertation research was a study of the

influence of pleistocene ice age history, biogeography, and micro-evolutionary and ecological

processes in shaping population genetic structure of the California sea mussel, Mytilus californianus.

She also has a Master's of Marine Science degree from Moss Landing Marine Labs. Her master’s

thesis was a study of the impacts of commercial trawling on a benthic community within Monterey

Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Prior to working for the Commission, Jonna was a contract employee with Channel Islands

National Marine Sanctuary working on marine protected areas, a review of West Coast Sanctuary’s

research programs, and linking research and education. In addition, prior to taking the ecologist

position at the Commission, Jonna taught Island Biogeography for the USC in an immersion course

on Catalina Island for two seasons. Before attending graduate school Jonna worked for the Santa

Barbara Museum of Natural History, as the education coordinator at the Sea Center. She also

worked as a naturalist leading natural history walks on Santa Cruz Island for The Nature

Conservancy. Her first job following graduation from UCSB, with a bachelor’s degree in physical

geography, was as a deck hand for Island Packers Company. While an employee of Island Packers

Company Jonna earned her six-pack license and later her 100 ton captain’s license. She also

learned to SCUBA dive while working for IPCO.

November 2017

Our Dive Sponsors

Contact: Ken Kollwitz

Phone: (805) 469-7288

E-mail: [email protected]

www.ChannelIslandsDiveAdventures.com 5284 Kanan Rd, Agoura Hills, CA 91301

Phone: (818) 991-1800

http//www.pchscuba.com/

425 Constitution Ave., Suite G Camarillo, CA 93012

Phone: (805) 484-0051

Email Address: [email protected]

http://maverickunderseadivers.com/

Wha t t aD i v e ! Personal Dive Training

Contact: Mike Doyon

Phone: (805) 278-7075

E-mail: [email protected]

Thinking about diving? Where do you go? Who do you go with? Need a specialty? Do you

have a friend or family member wanting to learn how to dive? How about advancing in

your dive certification? A local dive trip, or maybe a 2 or 3 day out to our islands? Let’s not

forget the jacuzzi warm water dive vacations. Want to know where to go and with who?

All four below are Club Sponsors and Club Members. If you have a diving question, needs

or requirement, look no further than your local dive club.

Talk to them at the next meeting or give them a call. It’s that simple.


https://www.google.com/search?q=pch+scuba+phone&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj8vMDWk6XWAhXEjVQKHTfPBxQQ6BMIpwEwEg

http://www.pchscuba.com/

mailto:[email protected]

November 2017

Two day bug hunt


Bug Fest, Santa Rosa Island - Truth - Oct. 13th & 14th, 2017 By Ken Kollwitz

On the weekend of October 13 & 14, 2017 we went to Santa Rosa Island for our Annual CIDA Bug Fest aboard the Truth and again it was another successful trip even more so because we ACTUALLY made it to Santa Rosa. According to the weather report we shouldn’t have made it and in fact we were all set for another detour to Santa Cruz Island but like I always tell everyone - “You don’t know till you go”!

The trip out on early Friday morning was uneventful which is good and as I awoke we were just between the 2 islands with no wind and little swell so instead of Santa Cruz Island we started our day at the Santa Rosa east end pinnacles known by Truth Aquatics as “Very Groovy Wall”,

sounds like something captain Davey would have named. From there we moved to East Point proper, San Augustine west & east, Jolla Viejo and finishing up for the night at Johnson Lee. Would you believe we had 28 on the trip and 24 made the night dive which is an all-time record for a night dive.

On Saturday we started early and did 3 1/2 dives around Talcott Shoals. The last dive was

short so it only counted for a half dive. The weather the entire trip was awesome and calm, little wind and only a big swell at Talcott but lots of time between sets. Everyone was amazed especially after the weather report before the trip. Visibility was a good 30′-40′ ft. with water temps in the high 50’s to low 60’s. Most everyone left with bugs with quite a few newbie bug hunters that now have caught the BUG FEVER.

The ride back was very nice and thank you to Captain Davey and the excellent crew we had on this trip. They all worked hard to keep the momentum up getting us in more dives then usual on a Truth Aquatics trip and making everyone go home with SMILES on their face!

http://channelislandsdiveadventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DSCN4811.jpg



November 2017

October’s Raffle Winners: Aqua Lock Wet Suit to Dianne Stevenson from PCH Scuba Gear Retractor to Joe Kerns from PCH Scuba Split Fins to Ray Young from PCH Scuba 3mm Gloves to Laurie Hennessy from PCH Scuba Neoprene Repair Kit to Alex Ward from PCH Scuba Game Bag, Lanyard to Eric Shiver from Anonymous Santa Monica Mountain and Wildflowers to Rick Macias from Anonymous 50 lb. lift bag to Mike Cunningham from Anonymous Island Packers trip for 2 to Richard Armerding

Dive Club Hat to Fahmy Fahmy from the CLUB

CIDA Hat to Patrick Haskins from Ken Kolwitz

October’s Door Prize: Whattadive Hat to Jackie Babenco from Mike Doyon Progressive Winner: HP 80 from PCH Scuba to Scott McComas

Progressive Raffle Months: January, April, July, October Participation Drawing Months: February, May, August, November Membership Appreciation Months: March, June, September, December (Dark)

April 2017 - Joe Kearns, O2EII Nitrox Analyser.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Before they invented drawing boards, what did they go back to?

oCtober’s progressIve DrawIng

Club Patches—New Design

T h e O c t o b e r P r i z e T a b l e

The Progression of the Progressive July 2016 - Diane Stevenson, HP steel 100 tank.

October 2016 - Alex Joffe, GoPro Hero4 Silver.

January 2017 - Mike Cunningham, $300 gift certificate

from PCH Scuba.

Channel Islands Divers Club T-shirts

Buy tickets, win prizes. That’s worth repeating. Step 1 - buy tickets. Step 2 - win prizes. It ’s that easy. Don ’t skip a step!


Channel Islands Divers window decals

July 2017 - Teresa Bertuzzi, GoPro Hero5 sessions.

This month is Participation month. Meaning….

If you participated in a club activity, event or

something the club asked of you, simply put, you

participated. If you had on one of our pretty hats,

shirts or jackets another point. Send me anything

to use in the newsletter, your name goes on a list

and that list holds the winner. Easy peasy. Winner need not be present.

You know what they say about cliffhangers…

When you stop believing in Santa Claus is when you start getting clothes for Christmas!

October 2017 - Scott McComas won himself

a HP steel 80 tank.

Stalking is when two people go for a long romantic walk together, but only one of them knows.

November 2017

Our next board meeting will find us dinning rather

upscale like near Ojai, Monday, November 27th.

All members are WELCOME and ENCOURAGED to

attend. Any board member should be able to help.

.

The board, membership

[email protected]

Please mail renewals to:

CID Membership

P.O. Box 5801

Ventura, CA 93005

For your convenience,

we now accept payment through PayPal

Board of Directors

Membership Pol icy:

Club policy is to drop members from the roster THREE MONTHS AFTER MEMBERSHIP EXPIRATION.

Renewing Members:

Single - $25

Family - $40

New Membership:

Single - $35

Family - $50

Membership going strong

114 members and counting


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

*Owner, WhattaDive, Personal dive Training

**Owner, Mavericks Undersea Divers, MUD

Mike Doyon, President [email protected]

Not Independent*

VP/Speaker Seeker, Steve Peterson [email protected]

Bret Niedens, Dive Coordinator [email protected]

Not Independent**

Teresa Bertuzzi, Secretary [email protected]

Karen Duran, Treasurer [email protected]

Mike Cunningham, Newsletter Editor [email protected]

Laurie Hennessy, Webmaster [email protected]

Bob Cartier, Raffle Coordinator [email protected]

Joe Hennessy, Membership Coordinator

[email protected]

Mike Frabasilio, Club Librarian [email protected]

November 2017

Small pressure vessels are normally tested using a water jacket test. The vessel is visually

examined for defects and then placed in a container filled with water, and in which the change in

volume of the vessel can be measured, usually by monitoring the water level in a calibrated tube. The

vessel is then pressurized for a specified period, usually 30 or more seconds, and if specified, the

expansion will be measured by reading off the amount of liquid that has been forced into the

measuring tube by the volume increase of the pressurized vessel. The vessel is then depressurized,

and the permanent volume increase due to plastic deformation while under pressure is measured by

comparing the final volume in the measuring tube with the volume before pressurization. A leak will

give a similar result to permanent set, but will be detectable by holding the volume in the pressurized

vessel by closing the inlet valve for a period before depressurizing, as the pressure will drop steadily

during this period if there is a leak. In most cases a permanent set that exceeds the specified

maximum will indicate failure. A leak may also be a failure criterion, but it may be that the leak is due

to poor sealing of the test equipment. If the vessel fails, it will normally go through a condemning

process marking the cylinder as unsafe. Condemnation after failure is required by regulation, any

recertifier failing to mark a condemned tank is subject to fine and loss if licensing.

The information needed to specify the test is stamped onto the cylinder. This includes the

design standard, serial number, manufacturer, and manufacture date. After testing, the vessel or its

nameplate will usually be stamp marked with the date of the successful test, and the test facility's

identification mark (this is called the RIN number).

These common gas cylinders (common Scuba cylinders used) have the following

requirements:

• DOT-3AL gas cylinders must be tested every 5 years and have an unlimited life.

• DOT-3AA gas cylinders must be tested every 5 years and have an unlimited life. (Unless stamped

with a star (*) in which case the cylinder meets certain specifications and can have a 10-year

hydrostatic test life seldom seen in U.S. cylinders).

Beyond 5-year recertification requirements a tank should also be retested if exposed to

extreme heat (fire) or any time a deformation or severe surface corrosion is noted.

Safe Diving - BN

Please email any safety or equipment questions or topic suggestions to

[email protected]

Hydrostatic Testing - Continued from page 4


mailto:[email protected]

November 2017


DIVE INTO BAJA by Steve Peterson

Rocky 3 (my loyal canine companion), and I are Baja bound again next spring and would like to invite any interested and adventurous club members to join us. We plan to take an extended camping, kayaking, and diving trip to some of the more remote areas accessible by road. My present plan is to leave Ventura mid-April and bounce around Baja for a month or so. I like to travel on a rather loose schedule so that we can stay where we want for as long as we desire, and then move on. I enjoy exploring new beach areas for a day or two and then traveling on to the next one that looks interesting. I am open to new places, ideas, and flexible in what we do. A few possible destinations include San Francisquito, San Sabastian, San Nicolas, Bahia Tortugas, San Pablo, and Bahia San Basilio. Some of this trip will almost be like backpacking out of your vehicle. You should bring everything you will need, because the amenities of these places are somewhat sparse. What they do have is great beaches, warm sunshine, good diving, and lots and lots of fish. It is great to have the freedom to hang out on the remote beaches for at least a week without running into a town for supplies or water. This requires organizing your food ahead of time and using salt water for dish-washing and personal hygiene. This will be a low budget trip with the largest expense being fuel for your vehicle.

For your safety, you should be self-sufficient and well prepared when traveling on the remote dirt roads. A 4x4 vehicle is always nice for these long dirt roads, but not required. I would strongly recommend high ground clearance, low gearing, and posi-traction (or limited slip rear-end). I carry 3 spare tires, enough fuel for a 300 mile range on rough dirt roads, lots of tools, and drinking water for a several days. My Baja vehicle is a 1-ton 4X4 Pick Up with a lightweight camper on it. I would not recommend this trip for an ordinary passenger car, RVs, or large boats on bolted-together-trailers. Baja dirt road travel is well suited for kayaks and inflatable boats on strong welded trailers with good ground clearance.

I would recommend reading some of the many guidebooks about Baja if you are interested, but have never visited there before. One of the best places to start is the AAA book on Baja. Their descriptions of the areas and road advice are usually very accurate. The AAA map of Baja is still the standard one used for driving. Much Baja information is now available from the internet. A great source is the Baja Nomad Forum for current conditions and all kinds of interesting info. This type of traveling is rough on both vehicles and occupants, but I think the destinations are well worth the inconvenience. If this rustic outing appeals to you, please contact me at 643-5834 and start preparing your vehicle.

n e w s l e t t e r - channel islands divers

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