July, 2006 - Los Angeles Fathomiers

FATHOMIERS NEWSLETTER
FREEDIVING – SPEARFISHING – COMPETITION
SINCE 1957
38th ANNUAL FATHOMIERS SCRAMBLE MEET
July2006
Vol.?? No. 7
Inside this issue:
Los Angeles Fathomiers
37th Annual Scramble Meet Open
August 12, 2006
Scrambles Meet,
1
Minutes, calendar
2
Competition, pts.
3
The Los Angeles Fathomiers present the World Famous 37th annual Scramble
Meet Open on Saturday August 12, 2006. This spearfishing meet is OPEN TO New logo, shooting the breeze.
EVERYONE. FREEDIVING ONLY. Rules are below.
Currents, Rory
1. All divers must pre register before Thursday August 10th. Send your Lentz update
application with $30 fee to the treasurer Mike Petrusko at 13911 Judah Ave.
Pics of the month.
Hawthorne, CA 90250.
Scrambles meet
2. Divers must begin at dawn, diving is permitted anywhere in California
ocean waters. Meet ends at 3:00 p.m. and all fish must be inside catch circle by Scrambles meet
3:00 p.m. sharp. Fish must be personally presented by the diver - NO
LINKS, and HellEXCEPTIONS.
divers Rodeo
3. Scoring is based on total aggregate weight of no more than three (3) fish per
diver using muscle loaded speargun, Hawaiian sling, or pole spear. No
Powerheads. ONLY ONE fish per species allowed. All fish must be taken In
compliance with California Fish and Game regulations. Sharks, rays, eels, and
mola molas are not permitted.
4
5
6
7
8
9
Special points of
interest:
4. Special Limitations: Calico Bass and Sand Bass must be a minimum of 14
inches. Sheephead minimum size is 18 inches.
• The Scrambles
meet is coming
fast!! Plan for a
dive spot NOW!!
5. Fish may only be taken while freediving. Scuba, hooka, or any other kind of
breathing aid is not allowed.
• LINKS. A bunch of
good ones for us
divers!
6. The Fathomiers Recorder may disqualify any participant that did not follow
the rules. The Recorder’s decision is final.
• Lots of WSB!!! Kent
Hill places 3rd in
Neptunes Bluewater meet!!
7. Competitors must possess a valid CA fishing license.
The Fathomiers Newsletter is the
official monthly publication of the
Los Angeles Fathomiers
The Fathomiers is a Southern California club dedicated
to Freediving and Competitive Spearfishing.
Membership is open to the public. To become an Active member, you
must fulfill obligations and conditions. You can also become an
Associate Member for $20. Contact the Fathomiers for further
information.
PRESIDENT
CONTACT NUMBERS
Eric Banados
714-726-8409
Email: [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT
Randy Weston
Email :
[email protected]
SECRETARY
Stathis Kostopoulos 310-458-9313
Email: [email protected]
TREASURER
Mike Petrusko
Email:[email protected]
RECORDER
Mark Navas 805-306-0732
Email: [email protected]
CONSERVATION
Gary Thompson
909-674-4918
ROSTER
Bob Sellers.
Email:bsellers @yahoo.com
NEWSLETTER
Paul Romanowski
714-847-1930
Email: [email protected]
Editor’s adress:17212 Ash st. Huntington Bch. Ca. 92647
Editor’s note: Since this position is voluntary, I will edit,
and delete crap as I see necessary. Any and all complaints
can either be kept to yourself, or you can take the job, freeing up miles of my time for my diving exploits. Please send
pics in the form of jpeg, or on disk. All stories are welcome.
What Turtle bay is
famous for!!! Big
yellowtail!! Average
weight, 32lb
GUTTED&GILLED
Langoste es no legal por usted!!
But catch and release was fun. I
found 5 lobster OVER 10 lb. in
daylight in 2 days, without trying.
This brute weighed 13lb. The
pangero had never seen one over
7lb. He was thrilled we released it
unharmed. We got a little video!!
Page 2
June 2006Minutes
Meeting was called to order at 7:30 pm by president Erik
Banados.
Visitors introduced themselves. Officers gave their reports.
A volunteering list for the Scramble Meet was circulated
to club members.
The club shared some fish stories, we welcomed in a couple new members, and Eric was dressed in pink and purple for the night, with red clown shoes.
Not really, I was just wondering if anyone even reads the
minutes!!!.
UPDATED CALENDAR– 2005
AS OF JULY 2006
7/9 Club Dive. La Jolla. Right in front of Lifeguard station by the children’s pool.
7/12 PEACE boat freedive trip. Santa Cruz island. 805650-DIVE
7/13Club meeting, 7pm. Round Table Pizza.
7/19 National Championsips. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
AUG:
8/10 Club meeting. 7pm. Round table pizza.
8/12 Scrambles meet.
8/20 GLACD meet. Trancas, Malibu.
8/21-23 Peace dive boat 2 day. 805-650-DIVE
8/26 San Diego Freedivers Blue water meet.
SEPT:
9/5-6 Peace boat trip. CORTEZ BANK.
9/9 Randy Fry memorial spearfishing tournament.
9/14 Club meeting. Round Table Pizza.
9/16 Tri Club meet. Leo Carrillo, Malibu.
9/23 PCC meet. Cambria.
OCT:
10/6 At around 10pm, the DFG will be start issuing tickets for taking lobster early!!!
10/7 Lobster season opens at midnight.
10/8 Sturgill Polespear meet.
10/12 Club meeting. Round Table pizza.
10/15 GLACD meet, White’s point, PV.
10/17 World meet, Portugal.
NOV:
11/9 club meeting. Round Table Pizza.
11/12 GLACD/ Fathomiers club dive.Thousand steps,
Laguna.
DEC:
12/8 Club meeting. Round table Pizza.
12/10 Larry Staat polespear meet./ club dive.
Inside Stor y Headlin e
May2005 Fathomiers Competitive Results
Al Shuck points are up for grabs!!! Brandon Wahlers,3. Fil Labastida,1. John Hanson2, Clint 2, Richard 3. I have 1. This looks to be a separate contest for the next few
months all by itself! Richard has 3, Brandon is gone to the nationals. So it is up to
Clint to steal a point or 2 to keep himself on the hunt for this trophy!! Good luck with
that; Richard wants this one pretty bad!!!
Al Schuck
Memorial
June club dive, 2006
Richard won the meet with a sheephead and a lingcod to his credit. Clint held on
for 2nd place, and is keeping his points lead secure. Tentative Dennis May gave
a good showing, as did Petros. Water quality is much improved from last year,
and everyone agrees this summer holds some promise for good coastal diving
conditions. FINALLY!!!!
DIVER
Jan
Feb
Mar
April
Clint Koberstein
90.96
Richard Balta
81.76 100
Fil Labastida
100
100
97.24 100
John Hanson
33.21 79.39 68.71 83.42
Petros Y.
56.11 36.40 33.51
Mark Navas
66.43 74.47 13.43 31.15
June
83.83
Aug
Seprt
Oct Nov
Dec Totals
Margin,
points
back
472.03
50.85
317.58
154.45
264.73
207.30
27.46 75.54
229.02
243.01
14.45
199.93
272.10
20.38 28.72 76.53
125.63
346.40
83.81
83.81
388.22
Mike Thomas
37.92 43.38
81.30
390.73
Eric Banados
51.52
64.14
407.89
Carlos Serret
39.75 12.54
52.29
419.74
Ryan Moore
44.35
44.35
427.68
33.50
438.53
88.98 26.08 23.03 43.56 35.93
Dennis May (T)
Gary Thompson
39.42 100
July
421.18
Dave Galich
100
May
33.50
12.62
Ernie Shultz
16.35
16.35
442.20
Zoilo Velasquez
25.45
25.45
446.58
Randy Weston
14.21
22.79
449.24
Craig Dockendorf
14.82
14.82
457.21
Vol.?? No. 7
8.58
Page 3
So, did you miss me??!!!?? Just what has our editor been up to??? Lazy bastard…
Well, I have been unrealistically busy. And, my computer choked to death on that virus, Malware. Once system 32
is corrupt, you are TOAST!!! After the Feb. newsletter, I lost ability to get into files. Files would lock up the computer once
you open them. My computer sent out 5 emails every 30 seconds for??? A day and a half before I realized what had happened. So, I would not directly email ANYONE. And, funny as it is, I am the 2nd worst on a computer on the planet. Great
choice for an editor!!!! As it were, everyone who I know that IS good on a computer was super busy too. So, let’s hope my
antivirus is good enough to save me!!!
As a club, YOU need to say thanks to 3 guys: Eric Banados, Skip Hellen, and David Galich. These guys helped me
rebuild my computer, so I can continue the newsletter for you.
Potential for a new OFFICIAL club logo…. Well, it has to be posted in the newsletter before the
club can vote on it, so everyone can get their opinions voiced. Consider this my throwing the idea up to the club for discussion, and a vote in August. (Somebody will have to 2nd my motion…) Every year, we beg for someone to design a t-shirt for
us, so that it can be almost late as usual for our Scrambles meet. And we get a variety of prints forwarded. Some better than
others. The best fish art was Ken Pitcher’s YT in kelp shirt. The late Steve Redding made a very popular WSB draft we have
used often. It is a favorite of many. Well, this year, Randy Weston took the bull by the horns, and produced the BEST version of our Fathomier logo I have ever seen. On the front page, it is there next to the original. In my eyes, the old dog should
be dragged behind the barn, and shot. Clubs, companies, sports teams all change their logos from time to time, so this idea is
not earth shattering. It is 2006, and I feel a new logo would keep up with the times, as the rest of the club has. I mean, LOOK
at us: I joined in 1995, became a member in 1996. In that span, we went from a hand typed newsletter, to Cisco’s computer
generated newsletter, to Tyler’s total building of a newsletter system, to my 3 steps backwards off a cliff...ok… bad example!
Look to our scale– from a big inaccurate spring scale to a fully digital certified scale, and cross checking to be sure that regular scales will weigh accurate to the ounce. Our presidents now have full blown programs to help them maintain the club, we
have a vice pres. He wasn’t here in 1996. My point??? The old logo LOOKS 1966, not 2006. I feel it is time to change.
Randy’s logo incorporates the original points, no doubt that is still a FATOMIER logo! And, it is modern, using modern
techniques to create it. I feel it should be incorporated into our ”stock” shirt, as well as the Scramble’s meet shirt. And he
has some updated logo pics with fish. We need to consider replacing the old logo where the fish looks like a Chinese goldfish
morphed into a yellowtail. Well, now we have something to argue about at the July meeting!!!!! Good to be back….
Congratulations, Dave!!
After several years of
diving and trying very hard, Dave
put a bullet in his first WSB. The
fish was 25lb, and was taken on the
backside of Catalina, Fri. before
the Neptunes Blue water meet. If
you look closely in the right, I am
wrestling with my seabass.
Several fish had been
seen, including (Dare I say it)…
the 60lb fish that won the meet. It
was sleeping, and I told Dave to go
find it and hit it. He ran into this
fish a few seconds later, and could
not pass on the good shot the fish
gave him. A wise choice!!!
Hell, even a blind squirrel
finds an acorn or 2!!!
Page 4
CURRENTS
Well, not too much going on as of late. Ocean has cleaned up well, divers have LOTS of opportunity for nice fish
all over the place. I had been working so much the last 4 months, it was downright depressing. I made my first dives in
OVER 6 MONTHS finally in June. So, my safety tips for the month from my observations:
After taking any amount of time off, watch your depth more than your bottom time. To an experienced diver, the
down time limits itself with heart rate, level of comfort/ relaxation. I felt instantly comfortable when I hit the cool waters of
Catalina on Fri. Within 1/2 hr, I had shot a giant calico, seen several black seabass, and stalked a few WSB. Down times
went right to a comfortable 2 minutes. But one thing was really missing; the depth. I could NOT bring myself to dive more
than 25-30 ft. Nerves, ears, sinuses all said NO!!! Plus, my chest didn’t like the crushing of the water on me. Day 2, I was
able to go straight to 50ft. Without issue. My body needed to catch up a bit. I was very glad I didn’t shoot any fish that
wrapped up deep on me. 2 weeks later, in Baja, I had no issues with 65’ of diving. But I made 2 dives into the 70ft range,
and that little bit stopped me cold again like my first day back in the water. I have warned you time and again about this, and
I kind of finally tested my own theory: TRAIN for the diving you expect to do!! And DO NOT do any diving you are not
trained for. Nice to know deep down that I had the common sense to take it easy, and wait for my time to come. I will now
begin my exercise regimen a bit to get my sorry ass back in shape, as I WANT to be able to dive as well as I have in the
past, but I am not capable at this time for any of my prior nonsense!!! ‘Cause if you think I was slow to get this newsletter
out, imagine how long it would take if I was DEAD…..
UPDATE on Rory Lentz: As many of you remember, Rory has been going through some tough living with brain
cancer. What many don’t realize is that the strain of the situation caused his marriage to go south., which is very sad, as he
has some wonderful kids, and I am sure he didn’t need that B.S. on top of his cancer. Well, they have given him some different therapies, stuff not in the norm. And it seems as though Rory is having a bit of a renaissance, as his cancer went into
submission as best they can tell. Last I heard, they were having a hard time detecting the cancer at all, and what was once a
sure death sentence has become proof of what a never quit attitude and a willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed
mindset can do. As always, we the Fathomiers wish Rory the best of luck, and hope that he has many more healthy years to
spend with his children, in what surely must seem like a new life to him!!!
STUPID WIDE OPEN WHITE SEABASS!!!
When they are breeding, and unpressured, they just swim around lazy as
can be!! I don’t know where, but dang, that’s a beautiful picture of a
school of whites!!
Vol.?? No. 7
Ryan Moore, 10lb calico.
Actually, his 2nd calico in 2 years over
10lb. Screw being like Mike!! I want to
be like Ryan!!
Page 5
PICS of the MONTH!!
Duelling seabass!!!! Randy
got this 57lb. Redding fish
last month, and Anthony
funicello got his 50+ lb seabass while scouting the
Neptunes Blue water meet.
Our board members not
only serve their club, they
serve up the fish on
skewers!!!
Congratulations to both divers for taking their first fish
over 50lb.
Next Club Meetings
July 9, La Jolla club
dive.3 fish meet.
July 13(thurs.) club
meeting, 7pm ish…
Round Table pizza.
August 10. Club meeting. Deadline for sign in.
August 12, Scrambles
meet!!
Anyone caught trying to
sabotage Richards’ or my
boat for the meet will be
shot. Fair enough.
Last year in July, Ryan Moore made the pictures page with a truck jack to the face. This
year, he decided to stick to diving instead. I
am not sure where this big grouper came
from, but it is a very impressive fish to be
sure!! The PIC OF THE MONTH!!!!!
Don’t believe Ryan when he tells you this is one of his
big
calicos...
38th annual Los Angeles Fathomiers Scrambles Meet!!
Special notes about the meet this year. So read up!!!! There is NO SIGN IN ON THE BEACH THIS YEAR. You
MUST pre-register by Aug. 10th, our last club meeting before the meet. Everyone MUST fill out the waiver to pre-register
for the Scrambles meet. If you do not, your fish will count toward the club dive, but you will be eliminated from the meet
itself. No sign in, no trophy. Members do not have to pay to enter. ASSOCIATES DO!! There is no official start time for
diving, nor any start location this year. You had better be at the weigh in site with your fish on time!! We have some awesome prizes that have been donated to us this year. Notable goodies are listed here in the sidebars, plus other stuff that is
not listed and will be sent off with lucky divers in the raffle!
This is the first year we have awarded prizes directly for the winners. Start planning NOW on how to win!!
1st place: Bluewater
gun by Speardiverguns.
Raffle items: Daryl
Wong speargun!!
Hammerhead Muzzle speargun(s)??
Fins by Hammerhead.
Gear from Riffe.
Gear from Custom
Buoyancy.
And much more!!!!
2nd place:Yazbeck
wetsuit.
3rd place:Rail gun
by Sumora.
4th place: Picasso
Black team fins.
5th place:125ft.
Floatline by Underwaterhunters.
Raffle:
Held on site after
weigh-in. Prizes GALORE!
PREVIOUS RAFFLE PRIZES
DONATED BY:
Riffe: Speargun.com
Wongspearguns.com
Spear-diverguns.com
Picassoamerica.com
Aimritehawaii.com
Custombuoyancy.com
Underwaterhunters.com
Freediveshop.com
Hammerheadmuzzles.com
Sumora
M&B Wetsuits
Sport Chalet
Wellington Signs
PHR (Me, the editor!)
Page 7
Mail in Registration deadline is August 10, 2005.
TO REGISTER, FILL OUT THIS FORM AND MAIL WITH $30 FEE TO THE LOS ANGELES FATHOMIERS
(Pre-payment and Registration is required, T-shirt is included)
The Los Angeles Fathomiers present the World Famous 38th annual Scramble Meet Open on Saturday August
12, 2006. This spearfishing meet is OPEN TO EVERYONE. FREEDIVING ONLY. Rules are below.
1. All divers must register before Thursday August 10th. Send your application with $30 fee to the treasurer
Mike Petrusko at 13911 Judah Ave. Hawthorne, CA 90250. T-shirt is included with registration.
2. Divers must begin at dawn, diving is permitted anywhere in California ocean waters. Meet ends at 3:00 p.m.
and all fish must be inside catch circle by 3:00 p.m. sharp. Fish must be person-ally presented by the diver - NO
EXCEPTIONS.
3. Scoring is based on total aggregate weight of no more than three (3) fish per diver using muscle loaded speargun, Hawaiian sling, or pole spear. No Powerheads. ONLY ONE fish per species allowed. All fish must be
taken in compliance with California Fish and Game regulations. Sharks, rays, eels, and mola molas are not permitted.
4. Special Limitations: Calico Bass and Sand Bass must be a minimum of 14 inches. Sheephead minimum size is
18 inches. Competitors must possess a valid CA fishing license.
5. Fish may only be taken while freediving. Scuba, hooka, or any other kind of breathing aid is not allowed.
6. The Fathomier’s Recorder may disqualify any participant that did not follow the rules. The Re-corder’s decision is final.
Trophies will be presented for first through fifth places and for the largest fish taken.
The first place winner’s name will be inscribed on the prestigious Fathomiers Perpetual Trophy.
Raffle, soft drinks, green salad, potato salad and chowder will be available after weigh-in at 3:00 p.m.
BY VIRTUE OF MY SIGNATURE BELOW I ASSERT THAT I AM IN EXCELLENT PHYSICAL CONDITION AND
THAT I AM PARTICIPATING AND DIVING ENTIRELY OF MY OWN VOLITION.
I HERE WITH FORFEIT ALL CLAIMS AGAINST AND HOLD HARMLESS THE LOS ANGELES FATHOMIERS
AND/OR ANY INDIVIDUALS REPRESENTING OR ASSOCIATED WITH THAT ORGANIZATION FOR ANY ILLNESS, INJURY, DAMAGES, LIABILITY, LEGAL FEES, OR RESPONSIBILITY OF ANY KIND THAT COULD
ARISE AS A RESULT OF MY PARTICIPATION IN THIS CONTEST OR EVENT.
NAME
_________________________________
ADDRESS
__________________________________________________________________________
SIGNATURE_____________________________
For further information, contact: Bob Sellers (310) 320-7153
Erik Banados (714) 726-8409 Mark Navas (805) 217-7761
Fathomiers Website:
Vol.?? No. 7
PHONE __________________________
DATE ____________________
Randy Weston (562) 712-5374
Larry Carter (909) 506-6253
http://www.fathomiers.net
Page 8
Links: Fathomiers related sites .
This list is in NO WAY complete!!! I have been asked to compile some of the better locations, and
throw you some info. So, HERE it is. You missed something you wanted to see here, well, send me an update.
If you send me an update link, do the following: Make sure it is FATHOMIER RELATED. DO NOT just send
me an adress. I WILL AUTO DELETE IT! Send me an adress, who you are, and a brief write up of what the
website or magazine or tv show is about. If there is no GOOD info… ie phone number, website adress, mailing
adress, don’t bother. A tv show from last month does me no good...do NOT send me that. If you send a skipper/ boat in, include berth, size, accommodations. NO PORN. NO RELIGION. I REPEAT!!! NO PORN, NAKED THING LINKS. Things we want/ need: MAPS., GPS#’s, Safety info, travel info, Boat info. Dive/camp
operations. Gear sites. Weather sites. Fishing sites, state DFG/conservation links. Truck/ car links. Magazine/
club links. Links will not be posted every month….They will be more like a 2-3 times a year thing. They might
wind up on our website, some of the better ones. HERE GOES!!
http://www.underwaterhunters.com/ Skip Hellen’s website. Dedicated to US… spearfishermen of Southern California.
http://www.bajagps.com/ GPS Numbers for over 1,000 locations in Baja. Info to many locations, links. Got GPS?? You got Baja!!!
http://cdip.ucsd.edu/? SoCal Swell model/ forecast. Want to see how big the waves might be in your area? Here you go!
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/index.shtml Swell models for 1/2 the world. All of the US, and so much more.
http://www.fathomiers.net/ I’ll give you 3 guesses what this one is…. Our home website….. Dummy!
http://www.intellicast.com/ Worldwide satellite weather and swell models. Got to search, but what incredible info!!
http://www.allcoastsportfishing.com/index.html Allcoast sportfishing. A website dedicated to informing fishermen… a MUST!!!
http://bloodydecks.com/ Another website dedicated to fishing!! Tons of current info on the bite, and locations.
http://www.oceanhunters.com/index.html The Long Beach Neptunes website.
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/mapregs5.html The California DFG web page with the size limits and closures of fish.
http://campolorenzo.com A campsite on the south side of San Quintin bay. The SINDICATURA LINK!!!!
http://campgecko.com/ This is Dr Abraham’s place, in the south of Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja. Very affordable, and fun!!
http://tacomaterritory.com/ The premier website dealing with Toyota trucks. Repair info, upgrades, contacts.
http://chevytruckworld.tenmagazines.com/ Kind of complicated to get through the sign up for this site. But Dave Galich uses it.
All you ever wanted to know about Chevy trucks.
Helldiver’s Rodeo. 1st & 2nd Place!!!!
Richard finally agreed to go
dive a competition outside of his
back yard. And like I told him almost
10 years ago…. The ONLY reason
you and I aren’t winning those meets,
or shooting big fish like tuna or ulua,
is because we are not there!!!” So
Brandon convinced Richard to go. To
say thanks to Brandon, Richard took
1st. Place from Brandon. HAHAHA!!! That’s what friends are
for!!
The guys shot jack cravelle,
amberjack, great barracuda, Spanish
mackerel, snappers, hogfish, grouper,
and porgy. Lesson learned….don’t
invite Fathomiers unless you want to
see them holding your trophies!!!