Be careful with your gear at Casino Pt...

[davidbaraff]

I've been to Casino Pt. on six or seven dive trips over the past four years. Although gear safety hasn't been an issue there, I did something a little dumb this time and I paid the price. I wanted to warn people, so nobody has the same issue I did.

On Saturday (5/19), I did two dives with a group of people (an A/OW class, actually) and we finished the second dive around 3PM. Our gear was along the wall to the right of the stairs. Since we were coming back for a night dive in a few hours, and since it had never been a problem leaving stuff out, I moved my wetsuit to the far right wall, around the corner, next to the water on the inside of the cove, to catch the most sun possible. Unfortunately, this left it a good ways away from all our other stuff, and kind of obviously set it apart.

Now, I'd never even consider leaving something like a dive computer out visibly (in fact, I took it with me in my bag -- i wouldn't even let it sit inside a gear back on its own). And there was a dive computer, hanging visibly off of a bag, when I left. But a wetsuit? It's not like it has high resale value. (And think of the bad karma, I said to myself.)

Long story short: when I came back at 6PM, my suite was gone: someone had simply walked off with it, and it never came back. (We checked all the shops, and if someone had taken it by mistake, it would have been back by now, or a shop would have called me to let me know.) Fortunately, my night dive (the main reason I had joined the class in the first place) was saved by a kindly Scubaluv employee who was diving with us and who whisked me over to the (now closed scubaluv shop) and back in ten minutes, to borrow a suit for the night dive, and the remainder of my stay, thus saving the next two days of diving for me. Thanks again, Rick...

So while I still think gear in clumps near other gear, and not off its own is pretty safe, be careful if your gear appears to be off its own. Way too tempting for someone, obviously...

[coldwaterlloyd]

Sorry to hear of your lost suit . You can leave something out a 1000 times with no issues , but it just takes the one bad apple to ruin your day , hope you pee'ed in it lots before he took it .

[drbill]

Sorry to hear that. Locals do congregate in that part of the Casino parking area after hours and drink. I'd hate to think it was one of them, but I'm afraid that is a possibility. Of course visitors also walk along the wall there so it could have been anyone. In all the years I've been here on the island, I've only had one case of SCUBA theft (two dive computers, a compass and my save-a-dive kit) but I think it was someone targeting me (an ex-con) because we told him to stay away from our building.

[electrix]

Many years ago I knew a guy that would steal anything that was not nailed down,his theory was that if the owner wanted it they would take better care of it.

[Selchie in LB]

Bummer Dude. I've been to the dive park several times and have never had an issue. I/we always tuck things away or cover them up. But I can't say I've left anything behind for 3 hours. Not that amount of time should matter.

[blue steal]

Sorry your suit was taken. since it was off to the side of the park and by it self someone may have thought it was left behind. It could still turn up at the fill station or one of the dive shops, wishful thinking on my part.
Let us know if it ever turns up.

[H2Ocean]

are the lockers still there? .75 cents gets a key to lock tanks and everything, they work pretty good, some of them anyway.

[Leejnd]

Always sad to hear of humans doing these things to each other. But we all know that it happens.

Just to even things out, allow me to tell a brief story of my own about Catalina (not dive related, but...well, you'll see). Years ago, when our kids were young, we did a Mexican cruise. I'd given each kid about $50 for souvenir money for the entire cruise, and Avalon was our first stop. When we first got there, my daughter had to use the bathroom, so she went to a public restroom near the pier. She came back out and we started walking away, when suddenly she went pale and ran back to the bathroom - it seems she'd left her little purse in the stall. Of course, it was gone.

She was heartbroken, and it was SO hard for me NOT to give her another $50.00, but what lesson would that have taught her? She was quiet and subdued for the rest of the day. When we went to re-board the ship, she saw an "Information" booth on the pier and suggested we ask if anyone had turned it in, just in case. We walked in, and...there it was, right on the guy's desk, in all its little-girl-pink-flowered glory. And every dollar was still inside!

I've had a warm place in my heart for Catalina ever since...and even more so since I discovered the dive park there.

I know this doesn't make up for the disgusting theft of your wetsuit, but at least I think it equals out the bad juju.

[blue steal]

are the lockers still there? .75 cents gets a key to lock.

The lockers are there and have been painted last summer. It is .75 cents per entry.
I've never used them before, but on my next trip being solo I'll probably put my valuables, save-a-dive kit, and a few other odds and ends in for the day.

[Leejnd]

The lockers are there and have been painted last summer. It is .75 cents per entry.
I've never used them before, but on my next trip being solo I'll probably put my valuables, save-a-dive kit, and a few other odds and ends in for the day.

I've used them every time I've been to the park, and I found them very conveniently placed and secure. They're a little small for a wetsuit, tho.