If you're like me, you've mentally spent a majority of 2021 like the person in this picture. A lot of our pre-2020 life is forever altered from the likes of the coronavirus known as Covid-19. Movie theaters, restaurants, small businesses and even our home life experienced drastic changes. Dreams have been altered and, in some cases, altogether destroyed. Countries throughout the world have closed their borders and greatly limited the ability to truly enjoy traveling the world. It's a bleak outlook when we wake up everyday to some new change - better known as - new variant.  

Divers don't lay down though. We are an active bunch. 

With our little self-contained breathing apparatus' we enter the water and glide through our dives safely and, more importantly, contained. We socially distance. We throw our masks on. We get vaccinated. Mainly because we are in love with this sport. For some of us, we are in love with seeing the world in all its glory both above and below!

Divers also like a challenge!

For the last three years, our dive community has taken up one of the best winter challenges of Southern California. The 30-Dive Challenge serves as a great way to get in the water on a regular basis and enjoy that beautiful SoCal winter diving. The question is: can you navigate the holidays and squeeze in 30 dives between November 1st and December 31st? Last year, over 70 divers accomplished the challenge and entered into the winner's circle where 18 prizes were raffled off. Our divers enjoyed lights, regulators, BCDs, wetsuits and even a 3-day trip to Monterrey in a beautiful AirBnB! 

Our manufacturers were huge supporters in the previous years. Atomic Aquatics, Aqualung, ScubaPro, Sherwood, Tusa, Dive1stAid and much more came out in full force to provide some amazing prizes! We expect no less from them even during these challenging times. We've got some of the best manufacturers in the world living right here in beautiful Southern California! (Maybe they'll read that and bump up the coolness!) 

So raise that fin! It's time to dive!!!

The rules ever year are simple. Divers conduct 30 dives anywhere in the world at a minimum depth of 15 feet for at least 20 minutes.

That's super simple! At the end, you can head over the submission area and turn in the proof of logs. This can be a logbook or a dive computer log, whatever works best for your tracking!

What else are you up to? A challenge. That's what you're up to! 

So, if you are a diver, let's dust off that dive gear. Let's make a solid plan on that calendar to make time for up to 30 dives! 

About the Author:

D.J. Mansfield is a PADI Course Director who dives Southern California and has done so for 24 years. He is currently the Director of Operations for Beach Cities Scuba and is a committed ocean steward and trainer for divers all over the world. 

Follow him on Instagram @djmansfield7 or contact him at dj@beachcitiescuba.com.   

Did you know Beach Cities Scuba is a 100% AWARE partner? We are committed to supporting our ocean partners and creating a protected environment for sea life that includes responsible fishing practices and minimal human interaction. See how you can get involved today!