Chamber Day 2013 and Catalina Kelp Diving

Wednesday, May 1st, 2013, marked the 25th annual Chamber Day on Catalina. The event benefits Catalina’s hyperbaric chamber, the only hyperbaric chamber in Southern California that is exclusively dedicated to the treatment of diving accidents. The Chamber, which is staffed 24/7/365 by volunteers, derives over half of its annual budget from Chamber Day proceeds.

We arrived at Big Fisherman Cove on the west end of Catalina Island in the late morning for a walking tour of the facility. The Los Angeles County Port Police and Baywatch Lifeguards were in attendance, and visitors were permitted to board and view their boats. Finally, we hopped in the hyperbaric chamber for a shallow (one-foot) demonstration “dive”.

catalina chamber day-police-rov — Los Angeles Port Police underwater ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles)

And then we went diving for real! Local dive charter boats (including our host, the Pacific Star) donated their services for two dives in the Catalina kelp. We saw lots of the usual rock reef residents, fish and invertebrate critters alike.

catalina chamber day-kelp-2

catalina chamber day-kelp-sheephead — Female sheephead

catalina chamber day-bat-ray — Bat ray close up

catalina chamber day-blackeye-goby-2 — Blackeye Goby

catalina chamber day-blackeye-goby-5 — Blackeye Goby

catalina chamber day-c-o-sole — C-O Sole

catalina chamber day-garibaldi — Garibaldi

catalina chamber day-moray-eel — Moray Eel

catalina chamber day-navanax — Pair of Navanax

catalina chamber day-navanax-eggs — Navanax Eggs

catalina chamber day-nudibranch-eggs — Dorid nudibranch egg ribbon in a loose spiral

catalina chamber day-sheep-crab — Sheep crab in kelp

Starfish texture — Starfish close-up texture

catalina chamber day-jelly — I have no idea what this is. Jellyfish? Salp? SEA MONSTER?!