3/5/2017 Volume 25 Issue 3

Dive Currents Newsletter Southern California Dive Club of the Inland Empire

T-Shirts Available

See Will Henry at our club Meeting

Photo Contest

Submit your photos to our monthly pho-

to contest. Send pics to:

scdciephotos2017@gmail.com

Keep up to date on our activities

Like us on

or visit us on

the Web

Upcoming Events Tuesday, March 7th:

Club Meeting Fuddruckers Restaurant 4423 E Ontario Mills Cir Ontario, CA 91764

Social Hour 6pm

Meeting starts at 7pm

March 19th Dive Day at Divers Cove Laguna Beach

We keep trying to dive at Divers Cove, but the weather keeps getting in the way! Let’s try it again!

May 3rd

Chamber Day on the Cee Ray

Join Robert Openshaw (our VP) & Mike Tommaney (our President) aboard the

Cee Ray. Click here to sign up . Sign ups

start on March 1st and it’s first come first served. Sign up now if you’re planning on attending, spots are filling fast.

Sat & Sun May 13th & 14th

Drift Dive & Lake Mohave

More info to follow watch for the event on our fanpage

March Speaker Karl Huggins has been the director of the the USC Hyperbaric

Chamber of Catalina since the early 90s. His many years of experi-

ence in the treatment, research and educating of diver related inju-

ries make him an outstanding speaker. This a meeting you must

make! Karl will not accept any money for speaking. He will accept

donations for the Catalina Chamber. We’ll be collecting voluntary

donations to give to Karl for the Chamber.

The topic will be Panic & the Causes of Diving Accidents.

A Special Thanks to Signature Scuba for supporting us

by extending free air fills to our club members on club night,

a 10 fill air card to club members, 10 % off store wide to club

members, and 25% off raffle prizes for our club raffles. They

are located at 11955 Jack Benny Dr. #102 Rancho Cucamon-

ga, CA 91739.

In This Issue

On the cover:

Upcoming Events

Speaker Info

President’s msg…...pg 2

Board Members…..pg 2

Scuba Classes……….pg 2

Photo Contest……...pg 3

Critter of the month..pg 4

3/5/2017 Volume 25 Issue 3

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Hello Club Members & Friends,

It’s already March with spring & summer just around the corner with the end of California Lobster season on

March 22nd. If anyone would like to get one last chance at those tasty critters, The Cee Ray is having an end of the

season trip. If any of you are interested contact the Cee Ray or join the Cee ray fanpage for last minute deals & fu-

ture trips. Be sure to mention you’re a member of the dive club since it’s a closed group.

The Belize trip is being finalized, so if you’re planning on going, get your deposit into the dive shack. For more info

talk to Norm Corlew of myself. I’m also working on a trip to Cozumel the end of July, I should have the details in a

week or so. Watch the events on our fanpage.

I’m moving the drift dive trip to Lake Mohave/Laughlin to May 13-14. I found out Kiss, The River Run, & the end of

spring break are all converging between Easter & the end of April. The weekends of the May 13th & 20th are fore-

cast to be quiet weekends. I chose the weekend of the 13th. You all give me some feedback if you would like to

change to the weekend of the 20th.

Send your diving photos to scdciephotos2017@gmail.com for a chance to win raffle tickets & get your photos pub-lished on our fanpage.

Good Diving

Mike Tommaney

scdciepresident@gmail.com

Presidents Message

2017 Board Members

President…………………………..Mike Tommaney

Vice President…………….…...Robert Openshaw

Secretary………………………….Lowell Thompson

Communications………….…...Mike Tommaney

Membership…………………………..Norm Corlew

Activities…………………………………..Matt Corlew

Parliamentarian……………….Lowell Thompson

We’re always open to suggestions & ideas

for new adventures.

Would you like to help with the Club? We’re

in need of someone for secretary &

Communications.

Courses by Mike Tommaney PADI MSDT Instructor

March 4th PADI Rescue Diver-EFR-O2 In session

April- Advanced Open Water Schedules Details TBD

May Drift Diver at Laughlin/Bullhead? – Lake Mohave Details TBD

May—Open Water schedule Details TBD

Club member discounts apply

If there’s a course you are interested in taking? Contact Mike so he

can schedule your class.

Contact Mike Tommaney by clicking here or visit his Fanpage

3/5/2017 Volume 25 Issue 3

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Photo Contest Winners

Submit your photos

Submit your photos

Submit your photos

3/5/2017 Volume 25 Issue 3

4

Creature of the month

California Spiny Lobster

In common with all spiny lobsters, the California spiny lobster has two large, spiny antennae, but no large claws on its

legs. The California spiny lobster is one of the largest spiny lobster species, and grows up to 60 centimeters (24 in)

long, but does not usually exceed 30 cm (12 in). Males can weigh up to 7.4 kilograms (16 lb), with the record being a

16 lbs, 1 oz. male caught off Catalina island in 1968. The upper side of the animal is brownish red, without the paler

bands or spots seen in some other spiny lobsters. The legs are a similar color, but with one or more lighter streaks run-

ning along their length.

Males and females of all ages can be distinguished by the position of the two round genital openings or gonopores. In

females, they are at the bases of the third pair of pereiopods, while in males they are at the base of the fifth (last)

pereiopods, furthest from the head and the closest to the abdomen. Mature females have a small claw on the fifth

pereiopod, and enlarged pleopods.

California spiny lobsters are nocturnal, hiding in crevices during the day, with only the tips of their long antennae

showing, as a means of avoiding predators. Towards dawn, the spiny lobsters form aggregations, which they maintain

until dusk. At night, they emerge and feed on sea urchins, clams, mussels and worms. This activity is important in lim-

iting sea urchin populations, and so maintaining healthy seabed communities.

Natural predators of the California spiny lobster include bony fish such as the California sheepshead, giant sea bass

and cabezone, sharks including the horn shark and leopard shark, octopuses and sea otters. In response to an ap-

proaching predator, spiny lobsters including the California spiny lobster can produce a loud noise using the stick-slip

phenomenon, akin to a bowed instrument. The bases of the antennae act as a plectrum, which is rubbed over a file on

the edge of the antennular plate. If a predator is very close, spiny lobsters will flex their muscular tail in order to es-

cape the predator, backwards.

There is an annual migration, in which spiny lobsters enter shallower water in spring and summer, and head out to

deeper water in fall and winter, reaching depths as great as 240 ft (73 m), perhaps to avoid the effects of winter

storms. California Lobster season ends on March 22, 2017.

Article courtesy of Wikipedia