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Sarah
09-17-2007, 05:23 AM
The President's Column
By Derek Evanson

Chillin in the California Sun
Summer is here and I for one am planning to enjoy as much of it as possible in scuba gear in the Pacific ocean. The water is warming up from the rather chilly high 50's that we had on my last trip to the rigs and given the warm temperatures we have been experiencing spending time in water with temperature in the 60's sounds really nice. That and the knowledge that air temperatures at the beach are usually 10 or more degrees less than the valley most of us live in makes even the time out of the water a pleasant getaway.

One of the things to plan carefully about your dive, particularly if it is a beach dive that involves a walk to the water, is how you and your buddy gear up for the dive. The wetsuits and drysuits we dive in keep us warm in the water but can also make us pretty darn hot when standing around on a hot, sunny day. If you have ever been the half of a team that is cooking, waiting for your buddy, you know it drains you of energy, can make you nauseous, and makes for a lousy, if not downright unsafe way to start the dive.

All you have to do to avoid this is work with your buddy on your timing. Assemble your BC and reg onto your tank first. If you have a weigh integrated BC get the weight pouchs installed. If you are taking a camera, get it set up. Load up the parking meter, visit the restroom if you are diving a drysuit (wetsuit divers do whatever feels right!¦.), sort out how you are handling keys and locking the vehicles. Do anything that needs to be done and can be done without an exposure suit first. Then, when you and your buddy both agree that all this has been taken care of, get into your suits together. No, not together, you know what I mean! The point is to not leave your buddy trying to decide whether to wrestle off his wetsuit or stand and cook while you try to find your gloves!

I like to wait until the last moment to put on my hood so I carry it with me to the entry point. As the water warms up to mid 60's or higher I donate wear one at all, but that of course is a personal decision and should be based on how hot or cold you tend to get while diving.

Another method I sometimes use to keep from cooking myself is if it is a nice day and we aren't in a hurry is to take multiple trip down to the beach with gear, resting and cooling off in between trips. I just make sure someone stays with gear that isn't locked up, obviously easier if you have any non-divers riding shotgun on the days activities. A group works well this because it lets you take turns while still having someone to socialize with. It takes a little longer, but it isn't supposed to be a race.

It also helps to have a large tarp to work from to minimize how much sand gets on and in the gear. This is also a nice way to work things if you are going to do more than one dive. Leave the gear and some of the group to tend it while others take only the tanks up to the vehicles to swap out empties for full, or go get fills. And hanging out on a nice beach in between dives is a pretty nice way to spend some time.

So let's do some coooool diving, spend some time on the beach, have a picnic, maybe throw around a Frisbee or football, some socializing, and to borrow a word from Paul, some "chillaxin". And when we dive in a group somebody has likely remembered to bring the sunscreen!

Lots of new pix in the gallery
Frank has been doing a lot of diving and shooting. Check it out here.

New San Diego Dive Boat
Waterhorse Dive Charters ( http://waterhorsecharters.com/index.html) now making runs to Los Coronados, the kelp beds, Wreck Alley, and various points between. Check out their website.

New Promotion at Hollywoodivers ( http://www.hollywoodivers.com)
Hollywoodivers has installed a new state of the art Compressor system. Come by and mention Burbank Dive Club for a 50 percent off a Hollywoodivers nitrox card. Limit one per customer.

Meeting Location Still Buchanan Arms!
From now on, we will meet at The Buchanan Arms! (http://maps.google.com/maps?num=100&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&resnum=0&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=buchanan+arms+restaurant&near=Burbank,+CA&fb=1&cid=0,0,1107667405888832137&sa=X&oi=local_result&resnum=1&ct=image)See the meetings page for info!

Membership Dues were due from ALL CLUB MEMBERS
Since we have changed to a yearly schedule all dues were due at the January meeting. If you couldn't make it please go to the membership page to download the forms that you need to fill out and send them with your checks to the Membership Director.

Standard Safe Diving Practices
Statement of Understanding
The Burbank Dive Club promotes, adheres to and is a strong supporter of the PADI 'Standard Safe Diving Practices Statement of Understanding' that can be found at the PADI website. You can view the online Statement here (http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:ZBfkVfubR-wJ:www.bbsr.edu/Education/waterstart/WSStandardSafeDiving.pdf+padi+standard+safe+diving +practices+statement&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&client=safari)or download a PDF here (http://www.burbankdiveclub.com/PADI_Safe_Diving_Practices.pdf)

Drop me a line if you have anything you'd like to see on your club's website.