To kick off PADI's Aware Week this year, myself, along with several other fabulous instructional staff, decided to host a local Dive Against Debris beach clean up dive at McAbee Beach. Approximately this time last year, we cleaned up this same beach by collecting 47lbs of debris from the water. Today we are returning to this popular tourist beach to re-survey this site. If you are in the area, please feel free to stop by and lend a hand by walking along the beach picking up any trash you find, joining the divers in the water (must be SCUBA certified), or by simply saying hello. Everyone is an ocean ambassador and together we can make a difference for the ocean's inhabitants by picking up human debris. 

Event Details are as Follows:

Join us to help clean up one of Monterey’s popular dive sites: McAbee Beach and Dive Against Debris! The event will take place on Sunday, Sept 16, at 8AM. PADI Instructors Melissa Boyd and Austin Smith, along with PADI DM Mike Brister, will host the event and provide the site and event orientation. No entry fees (unless you are participating in the Dive Against Debris certification course) and all are welcome. You do need to be a certified diver to participate, have cold water experience, and divers are expected to provide their own gear and bags or receptacles for collecting “trash.” Please sign up in advance by calling Any Water Sports 408-244-4433 or RSVP on the Any Water Divers Facebook page, so we know how many divers to expect.

Prizes will be awarded for several categories: most trash collected by weight, most trash collected by volume, and “most unique” articles of trash collected. Judges decisions will be final.

Many items that are discarded into the sea are extremely harmful to the marine life, and can become toxic as they decompose and deteriorate. Invest one morning of your time to add your efforts to preserving our local dive sites and protecting the local marine inhabitants that call our waters home, and enjoy a fun and rewarding day of diving at the same time!

Additionally, for those who are interested, you can earn your Dive Against Debris certification while helping protect the ocean environment. A classroom session will be offered on Thursday, Sept 13, from 6:30 – 8:30PM at Any Water Sports. $55 fee includes instruction and certification fees.

Please note – you do not have to be enrolled in the Dive Against Debris course to participate in this Fun Dive!