The Aqua Tooter
October 2026
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Announcements and Club News
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Greetings from the President
Jim Driggers' monthly
| | | | Club Meeting October 1st
Entertainment for next Thursday is still being finalized.
Please tune in to the calendar on our website for more details!
| | | | Want to Dive More?
Planning a dive? Want to find dive buddies?
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| | | | Caspar Cove Kelp Restoration
September 25th to 27th
Come help the kelp up in Mendocino on the last event of this season. The event itself happens on the Saturday, but some of us head up there and camp from Friday night until Sunday morning. There are several campsites around the area, the closest being Caspar Cove RV Park - I recommend teaming up with other members and sharing a campsite. More info on the Caspar Cove project is available here. Free air refills are available on Saturday (the Mendocino fire department brings a compressor to the beach).
More details including contact info on the club calendar. | | McAbee to San Carlos Snorkel
October 10th
Somewhat annual snorkel between McAbee Beach and San Carlos Beach in Monterey. We'll park at the left side of San Carlos Beach/Breakwater, walk to McAbee, and snorkel back. The snorkel back usually takes about an hour and provides ample opportunity to practice freediving. The bottom is usually about 15-25' below the surface along our route. For those who want a second dive in the water, they can snorkel or scuba dive one of the dive sites at San Carlos Beach. Please register if you plan to join. See the Club Dive Communication thread for more information and carpooling opportunities. After our time in the water, we'll likely head to Gianni's Pizza. | | | | November Club Dive
*Pt Lobos Reservations Needed*
The November Club Dive will be at Point Lobos State Park on November 11, 2026. Per the California State Parks website linked below, only 10 buddy teams can dive each day in the park and reservations are required. Since November 11 is a Saturday, reservations for those 10 spots will likely be gone within 15-30 minutes. From my personal experience, if you want to join the club dive at Point Lobos, log into the park's reservation system on Wednesday, September 30, so when midnight comes, you can immediately fill out the form and submit it. For more information and coordination with other drivers, check out the "Point Lobos Nov 14th" thread in the Club Dive communication Forum. | | | Wharf II - Monterey
August 23rd |  | We chose the site for its ease of entry/exit and that the pylons and wall are often populated by critters.
The crew consisted of Jim, Oliver, Dan and me with shore support from Debbie and Dan’s puppy Deakin. Because San Carlos was closed for a locals only party, many divers and classes were at the Wharf. We agreed upon a safety plan of going out in pairs and if separated to return to the shore in 70 minutes.
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 | The 1st dive was pea soup with visibility varying from 1-4 meters under cloud cover with a temp of 55. Oliver and I swam halfway down the wall and descended. At the corner we were separated. I was having trouble finding subjects for macro with the conditions.
2nd dive had improved visibility, the sun was out and I explored further down the pylons and found some Nudis and a shrimp protecting its home to photograph. Several schools of pile perch around 40cm were gathered under the pier. I was hoping in vain to find a fringe head. |
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 | I think all the classes were in the sand. I saw no one along the wharf although I saw almost nothing due to visibility. Coming back from the 2nd dive, it became very dark and I almost hit the corner as I could barely see it. There was an added cloud of murkiness right there at the corner.
-Erik |
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Salt Point Campout
August 28th - 30th
The turnout this year was great. In a group effort we got all the gear down to the washed out cove entry point and geared up for our dives. I dove with Jim and Dan Kaplan the first time, and Oliver spearheaded the group with Sharon and Aethan Economides, while Tim Economides had to sit that one out due to wetsuit failure.
Conditions were favourable with small swells, low wind and moderate vis, probably about 6-8 metres. I had some equalisation issues and we had to stay shallow and did not dive the initial plan (out of the cove towards the kelp on the north side). Water temp was around 13C. For the second dive I paired with Tim, who yoinked Aethan's wetsuit, while Oliver teamed up with Dan and Jim, Aethan and Sharon decided to dry out.
Tim and I ran into a huge anchor somewhere around the central line of the cove closer to its entrance from the ocean (see it here). We also saw lots of fish on both dives, despite the area lacking kelp. Tim and I then missed our exit by a few degrees too south and ended up doing some slippery rock climbing in full gear, with Sharon and Jim meeting us halfway to help get back to the original entry point. It was also good timing since the wind picked up and conditions were worsening.
I know Oliver arrived Thursday and he and Dan Wilcox put Dan's new dpv skills to good use, though Dan had a commitment preventing him from staying for the weekend. Sharon, Tim and I also got a swim in on Sunday morning, while Jane got to snorkel in the company of a little snoozing seal. Hope she shares some pics with us!
Overall it was a lovely time: good dives, great food in wonderful company, a full moon and ample stargazing, a baby fox or coyote (it was so quick I couldn't tell exactly) meeting me at my tent, and good sleep.
-Sofia
| Point Pinos
September 12th |  | |
September's club dive at Point Pinos was attended by eight divers and three people on the beach. Debbie and Lori & Juan watched keys, supported with zip ups, and watche red out for us all in amd out of the water.
We showed up at Point Pinos a little before 8:30 to assess conditions. We decided that it looked good for us to try some exploratory dives and we made two different dive plans. Oliver, Derek, and Sophia headed out on a dive at Point Pinos (when you stand at the corner to the left side) and reported some bull kelp and lots of fish. Jim, David H., and Lindsay went to the right side in the direction of a large kelp bed, to the site name Sewers. After a surface swim to the kelp bed, we were greeted by otters and harbor seals coming to check us out at very close distance. The kelp bed was the thickest I've been in, and it had so much beauty to show. I had to remind myself to keep looking up, and was rewarded by views of otters diving for food and curious seals. It was honestly one of my favorite dives in a long time. The exit was close to high tide and a little rough, but other good buddies were there to support the exit. Jane and new member Kirsten joined in and tried out some new gear in the Point Pinos cove area and it was Jane's first dive in a long time, happy to have her back in the water again.
Oliver, Derek, and Sophia decided on a second dive because they wanted to check out the Sewers side and unfortunately the timing was during all the otters post-lunch rest so they did not report the same encounters as the first group but still got to enjoy the kelp forest. The rest of us decided one dive was perfect for the day and we wanted to enjoy the beach too. Jim gave me a tutorial on how to use my compass, I'm a slow learner but I'm trying to get it.
Groups reported visibility around 10-20 feet throughout various parts of the dive at temperatures around a warm 58 degrees. My depth at its deepest was 43ft with an average of 30ft at Sewers.
After the dives, Lindsay (Lori & Juan) and Jane went to check out the open house going on at Hopkins Research Station. To cap off the day, Lindsay, Lori, and Juan tried out a new restaurant called Vivolo's Chowder House just a few blocks away from Gianni's Pizza. I would recomed the group to try out this spot some time.
-Lindsay | |
Free Club Audio Visual Equipment
Since the club has recently updated its audio-visual equipment to improve the club's general meeting performance, the following AV equipment is now available to club members. The club's board of directors decided to offer this equipment free of charge to club members:
Peavey PVi100 microphone
Behringer U-Phoria UM2
Audio-Technica ATW-R200
InFocus IN32
AudioBuddy M-Audio
2x 1/4" audio cables 1 male/1 female ends
Various Audio cables
2x Benq projector remotes
WD6400h1u 00 external hard drive
Electrical plugs with 9v outputs
Microphone holder
Headset with mini stereo audio plug
Mini tripod
Laser pointer
If you want anything above, please let club president Jim Driggers know and arrange to pick it up. | | Dive into the depths of people's lived experiences alongside, submersed, and inexplicably intertwined with the ocean. This is a space to explore the expansive nature of the underwater world and what it brings to us as humans. Each of us has a story to tell that involves the ocean. Together, let's see people as sea people.
| | | | SCHOLARSHIPS
Nine categories of scholarships are offered this year in marine conservation (basic or applied research), marine biology, underwater archaeology, sea turtle conservation, climate change adaptation/mitigation, oceans & human health, extreme environment human physiology, and journalism/graphic arts/photography/videography. They are intended to support independent research, field work, and conservation/restoration activities, as specified in the descriptions found in the press release and on the website.
TRAINING GRANTS
Ten categories of training grants are offered this year. Training grants provide funding for diving and diving-related underwater training. WDHOF and our sponsors offer several dive training grants for both beginners to learn to dive and for certified divers to advance their skills.
| | | | For the first time, researchers have spotted a rare, deep-sea squid alive off the California coast. During an August ocean expedition south of Monterey, researchers found a bigfin squid — with the scientific name Magnapinna sp. — undulating about 2 miles underwater. It marked the first sighting of this elusive animal living in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.
| | | | Ocean Photographer of the Year Awards 2026
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Club Minutes and Business
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