Since the regular divers at Veterans Park have exclusive rights to the name “Pagan Dive,” we’ve had to rename this dive the “Christmas Dive.”

It was a really light turn out, probably due to the rain the previous day.

Dr. D., Nice Bob, Donna The Hot Biker Chick, TwinDuct, me and Lars (Yes, Lars is still alive and in town) were the only participants.

Nice Bob and Lars had to split early, so they geared up and headed down without delay.

Dr. D. and I waited for Donna The Hot Biker Chick; TwinDuct decided to stay dry and provide kitchen support.

Once Dr. D, Donna and I reached the shoreline, we had discovered that Lars had problems with his air.

Nice Bob and Lars decided to cut the dive short; just for fun, Lars spent a good five minutes playing around in the surf zone with one fin on and one fin off.

We entered at the sandy part of the beach, near Pigeon Shit Cave.

The sandy part made it an easy entrance; the big waves crashing against the rocks made it a macho entrance.

All made the entrance with no problem.

Logged SCUBA Dive #429

Dove with Dr. D (aka Dennis G.) and Donna The Hot Biker Chick, Ended dive solo

120 Reef
Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, USA

In With: 2900 psi
Out With: 1200 psi
Max depth: 42 feet
Waves: Waves going to shore with one big ass wave
Visibility: Eight to 10 feet
Water Temperature: 62 degrees
Air Temperature: 55 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 32 minutes

We swam out and submerged.

Visibility wasn’t that great, but at least I have the satisfaction of yet another dive before year’s end.

While taking a picture of this weird, tropical looking fish, I got separated from Dr. D and Donna.

I looked for them and even surfaced, just to see if they’d be waiting for me.

Of course they weren’t, so I continued my dive without them.

A bed of uni.

Visibility sucked enough to where I started heading in after 20 minutes; I sort of mis-navigated and accidentally ran in to the old pier pilings.

I surfaced to get a fresh heading and went straight to my entry point – the sandy part of the surf zone.

Again, the sandy part made it an easy exit, but if you didn’t time it right or weren’t quick enough, a wave could slam you into the rocks.

I made it out, Donna made it out, Dr. D. was not so lucky; he got smashed a couple times to the point that he was pretty winded by the time he made it to shore.

About five minutes after our exits, a huge 15 foot rouge wave pounded against the cove.

We were lucky – that could have been for us, and someone would have gotten hurt.

Thank you God!

By the time we made the macho walk up to the parking lot, TwinDuct had the ghetto Grill fired up and Professional Debriefer Paul had joined us.

TwinDuct passed out shot glasses to toast Christmas with some Jameson Whiskey; I’ve sworn off the stuff since our Kern trip.

2012 has been wrapping up well for me.

It’s been a good year, an adventurous year, and I think my psychological wounds from Psycho Bitch have almost healed.

Speaking of Psychos, one topic of conversation was that Donna The Hot Biker Chick and Wrinkles are the only normal (normal as far as being female, that is) women that semi-sort-of dive with the group.

They have professional jobs, and seem to be emotionally and mentally stable; the other regular women seem to be bipolar or schizophrenic.

That was someone else’s observation, but I tend to agree.

Me, Donna The Hot Biker Chick, Dr. D and TwinDuct

October 18, 2012

As a result of my much publicized diving trip to Albania, I was honorably invited to be the guest speaker at the October Dive N Surf club meeting.

How could I not refuse?

This is the place that started recreational diving in this area!

And even though they refuse to fill my 30 year old Luxfer Aluminum tanks, that still pass hydro and VIP, I could not refuse a platform on how macho of a diver that I really am.

I spent several hours making a PowerPoint presentation complete with photos and video.

The club announcement went like this –

“Recently Jeff returned from an exploratory dive trip to Albania, and he has agreed to share his excellent photos, and his stories of triumph and misadventure while trying to dive in this former Eastern Bloc country. Since the fall of Albania’s communist regime in 1990, only a few brave westerners have toured this isolated land on the Adriatic Sea, and even fewer have tried to scuba dive there. But that’s just the kind of challenge that inspired Jeff to risk all on a trip to Albania.. and he also heard they have cheap beer there.”

Come see Jeff’s photos and videos, listen to his amusing stories, get his tips on how to plan dive excursions to exotic off-the-beaten-path foreign locations, and listen to his unique philosophy on diving, travel, and living the adventurous life.

By the way, “Jeff” is my real name.

So, anyway I knew they planned on me showing videos, and I verified that the laptop that was going to be provided had PowerPoint.

Well, I didn’t verify that they would actually have an amplification system for the audio on the videos.

Well, there were no speakers – at least nothing that could amplify the sound to an entire room.

I was told by someone that “only four to ten people show up,” so I thought maybe everyone could squeeze tight and listen to the tiny speaker on the laptop.

About 35 people showed up – I think.

I will go with that number, even though it may have been less.

The presentation went well, even though I had tried my best at an impromptu measure to compensate for no fucking audio on the videos.

Over all, it was a “good” presentation from what I heard.

The audience was not able to hear the video narration, the Muslim call to Prayer in Tirana or the Albanian music that accompanied the diving scenes.

I should have brought a fucking megaphone!

Anyway, again, those who are interested in the videos of my trip can find it here:

Jeff In Europe

Thanks to all who attended, and sorry it wasn’t an “excellent” presentation.