The Week At OADC
02-11-2003

If you didn't make it to the last club meeting you missed Peter Wallerstein from the Whale Rescue Team. Peter gave an excellent talk about the efforts of his group to save whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, birds, and other marine animals. Especially interesting was the rescue they did off of Rancho Palos Verdes of a mother whale and her calf that had been caught in a fishing net that was pulling them down and threatened to drown them both. Peter and his team cut the mother loose and she watched anxiously as the team cut her calf loose saving both of their lives.

In case you didn't pick up one of the brochures, you can contact the Whale Rescue Team at http://www.whalerescueteam.org/.

Out at Underwater Arch in Catalina this last weekend we had the pleasure of some playful sea lions who buzzed divers, performed underwater acrobatics, and did everything in their power to disrupt our classes. As usual, they were successful. If you haven't had the opportunity to dive with these amazing animals you are missing out on what I consider to be one of the best things about diving in California. I call them "puppy dogs of the sea" because they are playful and crave attention. They've even been known to attempt to steal a fin or two from an unsuspecting diver so they can entice them into a game of tag.

If you're craving some sea lion adventures the best place to see them is Santa Barbara Island. The last trip out to SB island I was on, as soon as the boat anchored there was a mad rush of sea lions sprinting for the water. As we did our giant strides about 30 or 40 sea lion heads bobbed on the water about 50 yards from the boat. Zoom. Zip. The next thing you know sea lions are buzzing within inches of you at speeds that made me think I was a poor Soviet MIG pilot in Top Gun. After a bit of showing off, small packs of sea lions would approach you to check you out and see if you were up for some games. I played a little game with one sea lion where I would blow hard into my regulator and he would shake his head and blow a mouth full of bubbles right back at me. I rank that afternoon as one of the best dives I have done anywhere.

Wonder why I'm telling you all this? Well we've got SB Island trips booked and we would love to have you aboard. Here's a list of our SB Island trips:

Feb 23 on the SunDiver.
Mar 16 on the SunDiver.
May 25 on the SunDiver.
June 29 on the SunDiver.

We have some later in the year as well but why wait? Call the shop and book your sea lion adventure today!

Don't forget, the next club meeting is on March 4th. 7pm at the shop. We'll be discussing Hazardous Marine Creatures. Hope to see you there!

Hope to see a bunch of you on the 23rd. It's going to be fun!

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