Laguna lifeguards arrival time?

[DMS]

Well, As For Myself, I Also Dive Quite A Bit Of Solo And On The Beaches Of Laguna It Is Not Only Taboo (and Can Net You A Hefty Fine From The Lifeguards) To Dive Without A Snorkel, But Also, To Dive Without A Buddy. There Are Many Beaches Outside Of Laguna (redondo, Palos Verdes, Lajolla) That Are Not Regulated To Diving With A Buddy. Hense, My Extensive Solo Experience. During The Summer Months They Are Usually There At About 7:30 Am To Regulate Classes. Classes Are Only Allowed On The Beach From 7-10am. However, I've Run Advanced Classes In The Afternoon Without So Much As A Second Glance From A Guard. It's Primarily For The Open Water Classes In The Earlier Part Of The Day Being Off The Beach By 10 Am. Take A Snorkel And A Buddy Because They Can Site You On Your Way Back In As Well!

 

[HBDiveGirl]

Oh, phew, just a solo dive. I thought for sure you were gonna be unsafe and dive without the most important piece of equipment one needs for,,,, ummmm.,,,,,, snorkeling. I was gonna say, on exit, just tell them a sea lion snatched your snorkel. Hard to say that about your buddy

How about, "A sealion snatched my buddy!"

Almost happened to MaxBottomTime and me last year at Marineland. Something about a jealous husband... I dunno.... ask evilJeff....

But Max repulsed the attack and I remained a buddied diver to the end... Phew, indeed.

Had I lacked both a buddy and a snorkel, I would have undoubtedly died a most horrible death.

hbF.A.S.'chica

 

[HBDiveGirl]

Well, As For Myself, I Also Dive Quite A Bit Of Solo And On The Beaches Of Laguna It Is Not Only Taboo (and Can Net You A Hefty Fine From The Lifeguards) To Dive Without A Snorkel, But Also, To Dive Without A Buddy. There Are Many Beaches Outside Of Laguna (redondo, Palos Verdes, Lajolla) That Are Not Regulated To Diving With A Buddy. Hense, My Extensive Solo Experience. During The Summer Months They Are Usually There At About 7:30 Am To Regulate Classes. Classes Are Only Allowed On The Beach From 7-10am. However, I've Run Advanced Classes In The Afternoon Without So Much As A Second Glance From A Guard. It's Primarily For The Open Water Classes In The Earlier Part Of The Day Being Off The Beach By 10 Am. Take A Snorkel And A Buddy Because They Can Site You On Your Way Back In As Well!

A Capital Suggestion

 

[Robert Phillips]

Well, As For Myself, I Also Dive Quite A Bit Of Solo And On The Beaches Of Laguna It Is Not Only Taboo (and Can Net You A Hefty Fine From The Lifeguards) To Dive Without A Snorkel, But Also, To Dive Without A Buddy. There Are Many Beaches Outside Of Laguna (redondo, Palos Verdes, Lajolla) That Are Not Regulated To Diving With A Buddy. Hense, My Extensive Solo Experience. During The Summer Months They Are Usually There At About 7:30 Am To Regulate Classes. Classes Are Only Allowed On The Beach From 7-10am. However, I've Run Advanced Classes In The Afternoon Without So Much As A Second Glance From A Guard. It's Primarily For The Open Water Classes In The Earlier Part Of The Day Being Off The Beach By 10 Am. Take A Snorkel And A Buddy Because They Can Site You On Your Way Back In As Well!

I have been over this too many times!:light:
Read the code here and tell me where it says you cannot dive solo.
And then read it again and tell me when you are in violation.

 

[Robert Phillips]

A Capital Suggestion

That Is Funny!:lol:

 

[ChrisM]

Agreed, it is, like much legislation, poorly written and certainly if someone has the spare time to argue against the municipal conspiracy to take away their rights to scuba, they could have fun arguing it (and probably lose to some exasperated judge).

But, parsing out text, you can come up with the following (statutes are read as a whole, generally):

1. No person shall participate in any skin diving or scuba diving activity at any time in the Pacific Ocean within the city in a manner that constitutes a hazard to any other person or to themselves.
2. [the] lack of proper equipment (such equipment to include mask, fins, snorkel, buoyancy compensator and diving partner) or other conditions . . . cause a present danger to the persons skin diving or scuba diving or to others [this "causes" clause appears to modify all of the options, not just the last].
3. No person shall fail, refuse or neglect to stop skin diving or scuba diving activities or to leave the water when ordered to do so by any such employee of the city.
4. The violation of any of the provisions of this chapter is punishable as a misdemeanor.

So cannot dive if it presents a danger, lack or partner presents a danger, ergo cannot dive with no partner.

Simply the messenger....... I, for one, think that neither a snorkel nor a buddy is necessarily "proper" equipment, nor does the lack of same necessarily endanger the diver or others.

 

[Robert Phillips]

(b) Authorized Order to Discontinue Skin Diving or Scuba Diving. The city manager, marine safety chief, police chief or their authorized designees, or any officer or employee designated by the city manager to enforce surfing regulations and control skin diving and scuba diving activities, may prohibit skin diving and scuba diving at any time diving conditions become hazardous as a result of storm, congestion of persons, lack of proper equipment.Etc...

No person shall fail, refuse or neglect to stop skin diving or scuba diving activities or to leave the water when ordered to do so by any such employee of the city. (Ord. 1369 § 7, 2000; Ord. 1157 § 1, 1988: Ord. 506 (part), 1962).

The hazard issue in paragraph a is arguable, and the Pacific Ocean is not within the city. If you come out of the water by yourself, could you have been diving in a way that was a hazard to yourself? Justify a ticket for that.

The italicised sentence in paragraph b is an important part. The italicised and bold section is the most important part.
You must be warned and then ignore the warning to be breaking a law.

Disclaimer: This is not legal advice, do not take this as permission to solo dive in Laguna Beach. Don't tell lifeguards you heard it was okay on the internet to dive solo there. You do this in Laguna Beach at your own risk.
I am also not trying to condone solo diving. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

 

[JMdiver]

Way to cover yourself Robert.

Happy Diving
John

 

[duckbill]

"The violation of any of the provisions of this chapter is punishable as a misdemeanor. (Ord. 506 (part), 1962)."

"...any..." does not mean just 18.21.030(b) i.e. refusing to discontinue if caught diving without a snorkel or buddy. It includes simply diving with a "lack of proper equipment" (by their definition to include buddies and snorkels). A misdemenor carries a potential fine. Therefore, if I am reading this correctly, you can be fined for simply not having a buddy or snorkel whether you obey their order to discontinue or not.

I can only hope that I'm wrong here.

 

[duckbill]

................to argue against the municipal conspiracy to take away their rights to scuba,.................

I really wish I had the original 1962 Ordinance 506 text without the additions of the later ordinances. I don't know if snorkels and buddies were mentioned in the 1962 ordinance, but I do understand that the original ordinance was actually a compromise to SECURE "rights to SCUBA"! From what I understand, the city council at that time was set to ban SCUBA diving entirely on all of it's beaches until a group of diving pioneers arbitrated a compromise with the city- the original 1962 Ordinance 506. Thanks to them we are still able to dive Laguna. I'm just visiting and had my first dive in Laguna yesterday (with a buddy, I might add). Pretty nice diving area you guys have down here. Don't p*ss the city council off. They could still decide to ban diving. I hear Monterey's city council doesn't favor SCUBA divers either. I don't really understand their bias against divers.