Los Angeles Fathomiers

Dear Fellow Fathomiers,

One of our own, Jason Breaza, has passed recently.

For those of us that knew Jay, I believe many would agree that his sense of humor and funny way of looking at things and life will be dearly missed. I can personally say that although I didn’t know him like a blood brother, he will be remembered as a Fathomier brother none the less, and I will miss seeing him on those days when the dive conditions were less than stellar, but hearing some of his funny quips on life made for lots of laughter and good times post-dive. I still can’t believe he went out at Terranea 2 years ago when the whole coast was getting slammed and the water, even at the Terranea was brown, blown and freezing. What a champ and an inspiration in humor!

Jay you will be missed! May your spirit shine down on those lame days when a good laughter is needed!

Please see Funeral and Memorial arrangement information below.

If you are available please try your best to attend in honor of Jay!

Respectfully,

Erik Sochin

Fathomiers 2012 President

Jason Breaza’s Memorial information

Brown Colonial Mortuary    714-542-3949
204 west 17′th Street
Santa Ana, CA 92706
Monday March 26
6:30-9:00pm

Funeral Mass
Saints Simon&Jude              714-962-3333
20444 Magnolia Street
Huntington Beach CA  92646
Tuesday, March 27
10:00am

Reception To Follow

Huntington Beach Elks Lodge
7711 Talbert Avenue
Huntington Beach CA 92647
11:30-2:00 pm

March Club Dive- Whites Point, Palos Verdes

Date:  Sunday, March 11^th, 2012

Rules:

• Meet starts at 8:00 AM; competitors and game must be in the weight-in circle at 1:30 pm sharp or be disqualified.
• Diver may use kayaks, paddleboards or beach diving.
• The meet has a 3 fish limit, allowing 1 fish per species, all DFG rules apply.
• There is a 12 inch size limit  for all fish except Bass, which will be 14 inches. Sheephead must be a minimum of 18 inches.

Directions:  From Western Ave turn Left on Paseo Del Mar, turn Right on Kay Fiorentino,(at white point/royal palms county park) drive down hill and park at the southern most lot.

We  look forward to seeing you there…

Derek Kimball

Los Angeles Fathomiers Award Banquet 

Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments for 2011!

Date:  Saturday, February 25, 2012

Information:

• Our Traditional Pot-Luck!  Bring your favorite dish to share.
• No Host Bar,  bring your own beverages!
• Event Schedule
  • 5 pm – Event set-up and socializing.
  • 6 pm – Dinner begins!
  • 7pm – Awards ceremony

Location: St. Mary’s Syriac Orthodox Church

                           1515 E Taft Ave., Orange CA 92865

Please RSVP @ Derek.kimball@technicolor.com

Include how many will be attending (including kids) and the dish you will be sharing.

We look forward to seeing you there…

Derek Kimball / LA Fathomiers

2012 NEW BOARD / MLPA MAPS / FIRST 3 DIVES OF NEXT YEAR

2012 BOARD ANNOUNCEMENT

Congratulations to the newly elected board members for 2012!

PRESIDENT – Erik Sochin

VICE PRESIDENT – Rene Rojas

SECRETARY- Asi Ifrah

TREASURER – Petros Yiannikouros

RECORDER- Sunni Sethi

NEWSLETTER – Marc Fages

MEMBERSHIP – Al Schneppershoff

DETAILED MLPA MAPS

(Disclaimer- Some maps are available online at WON but these are not final or official)
While it is still to be seen when the MLPA’s will go into effect ( possibly to be announced as early as January 1st) here is a sneak peak at how your favorite dive area might fair in the process , and thanks to our new Treasurer Petros Y. for providing the link (click here and scroll down the page)

3 NEW DIVES ANNOUNCED

January 15th – Reef Point ( at south-end parking lot of Crystal Cove State Beach area )

February 12th – Malibu Colony

March 11th – White’s Point, San Pedro

Larry Staat Memorial Pole Spear Meet

Whites Point, Palos Verdes

Date:  Sunday, December 4^th, 2011

Rules:

• Pole Spear ONLY Competition!
• Meet starts at 8:00 AM; competitors and game must be in the weight-in circle at 1:30 pm sharp or be disqualified.
• Diver may use kayaks, paddleboards or beach diving.
• The meet has a 10 fish limit, allowing 3 fish per species, except sheephead (only 1 allowed); all DFG rules apply.
• There is a 12 inch size limit  for all fish except Bass, which will be 14 inches. Sheephead must be a minimum of 18 inches.
• The winner will be determined by the club point system and shall receive the “Larry Staat”
  Memorial Trophy. To be eligible for the trophy, a diver must spear at least 1 fish and be a member in good standing by the year end.
• Scoring; each diver’s “Average  Score” is determined by dividing his total points by the number of dives
  he participated in BEFORE THIS DIVE. This “Average Score” will then be  subtracted from the diver with the highest Average Score to yield each
  diver’s “Handicap Points”. These “Handicap Points” will then be added to  each divers percentage score from this meet to yield his “Total
  Handicapped Score” to determine the winner of this meet. Only the diver’s actual percentage score, without Handicap Points, will be added to his
  total points for the year.

Directions:  From Western Ave turn Left on Paseo Del Mar, turn Right on Kay Fiorentino,(at white point/royal palms county park) drive down hill and park at the southern most lot.

We  look forward to seeing you there…

Derek Kimball

Greetings my Fellow Fathomiers!

It is that time again……….

Yep, you guessed it!

Time to nominate some new Board Members.

Nominations

For those of you who have served on the board before ( in some cases numerous times) I can’t say thank you enough!

It takes alot of character and drive to maintain the prestigious level of our club and  to keep the momentum going for all of our activities and events.

For those of you who haven’t served, now is a good time to consider throwing your name into the mix.

Several board positions will be vacant for next year, and we need the support of all of you to make sure we have a solid nomination process at our next meeting.

Raffle

We know that coming to meetings can be alot of work for those with busy family lives and other obligatons.

So in an effort to sweeten the deal, we are going to have a members-only Raffle  in the spirit of Lobster Season and the upcoming  December Larry Staat Handicap Pole Spear Event! One Riffe Polespear complete with tip and One C3 LED Hand Held Dive light will be raffled to 2 lucky winners.

This Raffle is free to all members present at our next meeting!

Guest Speaker: Carla Sue Hanson

But to make the night even more incredible, we will have a very  special guest speaker, Carla Sue Hanson, to share her story and experiences with us.

Carla has spoken at our club before, so for those of you who missed her last time, now is your chance to hear about an amazing Women’s Champion Diver

and the skills and stories that she has to share with everyone.

This is a MANDATORY MEETING, so please be sure to make it out to avoid harrassment at the hands of your Fathomier Brothers.

Please come on down to the next meeting, we need The Entire Memberships Support, and it will prove to be a fun night with great opportunities!!

A couple of you will walk away way stoked on a new dive item!

See you there.

Erik Sochin

VP Fathomiers

45th Annual Charlie Sturgill Memorial Pole Spear Competition   (Download Application)

Sunday October 9th, 2011

Location:      Monica Hall’s House. (Granddaughter of Charlie Sturgill)

                   1210 W. Paseo Del Mar., San Pedro, CA   90731

                   1/2 mile W of Point Fermin Park   

Rules:          OPEN TO EVERYONE.  FREEDIVING / POLE SPEAR ONLY COMPETITION!

• Start Time is Sunrise on Sunday, October 9^th, with No Boundaries. 
• No Check in Necessary. 
• All non-members must turn in entry fee and completed registration form by October 8^th to participate! 
• All fish must be in the weigh-in circle at 2:00 p.m. SHARP!  No exceptions!
• Divers may use kayaks, paddleboards, boats, or beach dive.
• The meet has a 20 fish limit, no more than 3 fish per species. There is a 12 inch size limit for all fish except Bass, which will be 14 inches. There is a limit of 1 Sheepshead it must be a min of 18 inches when in season.  
• ·        Scoring will be one point per fish and one point per pound. 

Cost:              $10 entry fee for non members.  NO COST FOR FATHOMIERS

 Awards:       Trophies 1^st through 5^th place, plus Largest Fish award.

This meet is a celebration in honor of the LATE GREAT CHARLIE STURGILL.  Divers who gather here will be doing so out of respect for CHARLIE and his family.  A BBQ lunch will follow the weigh in process. Please bring a Pot Luck item to share.

Our La Jolla Club Dive Started under Overcast Skies and a 3′ + swell hitting the reefs. However, the mood was optomistic as we saw 30′+ visibility and upper 60′s water temps on the inside as we all kayaked out to the outer kelp. Unfortunately, the optimisim was a little discouraged by the poor visibility on the outside. None the less, a few of the guys in the club decided to stick it out on the outer kelps and were well rewarded. Congratulations to Scott Cortney on his win with a descent sized WSB, and to Doug Van Mullem and Paul Romanowski for their Yellowtails!  Be sure to read the full account from Doug VanMullem in the newsletter.

Erik Sochin – VP Los Angeles Fathomiers

July Club Dive County Line – Results

This year’s County Line Club dive was held under an overcast sky and with a consistent 4-6 ft. South Swell, which made the timing of water entry very critical. As always, those that participated made it out with typical Fathomier style and grace.

Visibility was not the best at 8-12 ft. Being in the shallows meant at many times being dragged 20 ft. back an forth as the long southern hemisphere lines swept the entire ocean floor with you. Although visibility was tough, some WSB did come in ( see above picture) and a Big Congratulations goes out to Derek Kimball for his 45 lber which won him the competition.

After a full morning of diving, some of the boys hung out to catch an afternoon surf session in the ever present head-high swell. Carlos once again did a bang-up job serving a gourmet broiled fish taco lunch complete with mango chutney and all the usual fixings. read more in the newsletter including a personal account from Doug Van Mullen.

Erik Sochin

Vice President