Bird Rock Dive: Catalina Island

In Advanced Scuba Photo, we have two cameras, the Beast and the Mother of the Beast, Canon Rebel T2is with monster underwater housings, complete with strobes, flashes, macro and wide-angle lenses.

My partner, Ben and I were using the Beast at Bird Rock, a tiny island off Catalina, which is a fantastic dive spot.

I’ll admit, we had already been down several times and I had pretty shoddy pictures.  I wasn’t expecting anything miraculous to come of that dive.

It was the coldest morning of Session 62, the water temperature at the surface was only about 57 degrees.

But once we were down we saw the most amazing things.

The freezing water made for incredible viz, crystal clear.  The first thing I saw was a large snail suctioned onto a piece of bull kelp.

Not 20 feet away, lay a delicate maroon sea star, nestled down between two rocks.

Then there was this very flashy garibaldi that kept swimming in front of the camera.

He even came back around after I’d swum away.

I thought he had the most magnificent eyes I had ever seen.

There was a clam down near the kelp beds, and he was lovely.

I was using the macro lens so I zoomed in very close.

I found my first abalone that day too, chipped but still beautiful.

There was another star hiding in the surf grass with marvelous spotting.

The kelp itself was pretty amazing too.

It was by far the best dive of Session 62.

Highly Unusual Traditions of TNT

“We have had the time of our lives and I will not forget the faces left behind. It’s hard to walk away from the best of days. But if it has to end I am glad you have been my friend in the time of our lives.” Tyrone Wells

Click the links to watch the videos of CIMI tradition! 

Every year, CIMI hosts a variety show on the second to last night.  We call it TNT (Talent or No Talent).  Campers, counselors and instructors alike are welcome to enter the show and perform in front of the entire camp.  Over the years and throughout the sessions, CIMIans have developed their own little traditions that are passed down each summer.

Aerial view of Toyon Bay

A definite camp favorite would be the famous Watermelon Duel.  Staff members, Straka and Kyle established the first Catalina Sea Camp Watermelon Duel in 2008.  The tradition was continued in the Summer 2011 Watermelon Duel during the second session of CIMI by Wyatt and Garrett.  “This was a tribute indeed,” said Wyatt, “Garrett is Kyle’s younger brother, It only seemed right.”

Campers spell out “WE LOVE CIMI” in Scrabble tiles for the Board Games Carnival

The Beach Yacht Club (TBYC) staff are among the most popular people in camp.  The Yachties, we affectionately call them, have been led by one man in particular for the past three years.  In CIMI tradition, none of the Yachties are called by their real names and each select a very strange alias to be called by during Sea Camp.  Gilligan has been the ringleader of TBYC since 2009 and he favors Disney songs.  Each summer he choses a different Disney song and adapts it to fit a funny skit.  In 2010 he did “The Lion King in 4 (six) Minutes” with the help of campers Rose and Charlie as well as assorted other Yachties and staff.  This year, he preformed “A Whole New World (CIMI Style)” with the help of Nick Jones, dive staff.  TBYC and the Dive Staff have a long-standing “war” and this song satirizes that rivalry in song, dance and a Disney love story.

The Beach Yacht Club (TBYC)

The Dive Deck

CIMI divides the campers into different “crews.”  The 12, 13 year olds are the A Crew.  14, 15 year olds make up the B Crew and 16, 17 year olds are the C Crew.  In 2010 the “Men of the C Crew” preformed a “Belly Slapping Extravaganza” in which they all stood in a line and pairs slapped their bellies to different rhythms.  This act was continued in the 2011 “Belly Slapping Extravaganza (Reprise)” on one of the coldest night of the session.

Men of the C Crew Belly Slapping Extravaganza

In 2009 campers Jessica and Nicole performed “So Long Goodbye” by Sum 41.  Nicole did not return the following summer but Jess played the song a second time, closing her final TNT with the song and a message to, “Smile because it happened.”  Campers Emmy and Lewis continued the tradition in 2011 with Emmy on vocals and Lewis playing guitar.  “I was losing my voice the day of TNT and I still had no music,” said Emmy, “so I dragged Lewis into the act half an hour before the show because I really wanted to continue what Jess started.  There’s no bridge, not much of an intro, and we only practiced one time before the performance.  But it was really fun and once I got up there I didn’t care that my voice sounded funny or that my timing was off.  All that matters is that the song got passed down.”

CIMI at Toyon Bay

But perhaps the most celebrated of TNT traditions is the Catalina Sea Camp Airband.  The second-year C boys perform shirtless onstage, playing “airstruments” and lip synching to popular rock songs.  In 2008, the Airband covered “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses.  The following year was a fantastic rendition of “Run to the Hills” by Iron Maiden.  2010 yielded a hilarious and energetic “TNT” by ACDC.  Summer 2011 kicked off with a bang and a sexy, thrilling version of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”

Needless to say CIMI is full of wonderful, unique traditions.  TNT shows just a fraction of all the special things that the CIMIans share.