Secret Location: 41 20 74 77 65 6e 74 79 20 6d 69 6e 75 74 65 20 72 69 64 65 20 6f 66 66 20 74 68 65 20 53 70 61 6e 69 73 68 20 52 6f 75 6e 64 20 42 65 61 63 68 20 69 73 20 61 20 66 61 72 6d 20 77 68 65 72 65 20 6f 6e 6c 79 20 70 69 70 65 73 20 61 72 65 20 67 72 6f 77 6e 2e

Lobster hunting off the “Island Diver” boat with the Divevets Group

Solo diving/night diving

In With: 2800 psi
Out With: 500 psi
Max depth: 130 feet plus (By accident)
Waves: Sort of choppy
Visibility: 15 feet, good
Water Temperature: 61 degrees Fahrenheit
Total Bottom Time: About 20 minutes
Notable Event: When a little deeper than planned.

Most divers swam back from the North on the last dive, so the decision was made to move the boat “closer.”

Bob sat this dive out since he had limited.

I asked this time which direction I should go; the Captain and Bob pointed North.

I had an hour surface interval and was the second one, after Dan, overboard.

I followed the anchor line down and found Dan stalking an Electric Ray; I had other things to do.

I proceeded North.

It’s just like Vet’s Park in Redondo – sand, sand and more sand.

I came across a cement or steel box that was covered with Red Anemone; they were talking about these boxes on the boat.

Sure enough, one lobster was stuck on the ceiling of the box completely out of reach – I was at 95 feet.

I kept going.

The next thing I knew was that I was at 130 plus feet.

I never had seen my depth gauge register that deep!

Shit! Time to turn back.

At 85 feet I ran across a bunch of lobsters on a quest for food.

In a matter of minutes I had scrapped up five, but I was pushing my bottom time and air.

I immediately started to ascend to 40 feet.

I couldn’t see the bottom or any reference point, so all I knew was that I was getting pushed out to sea by a current.

I decided to blow off my safety stop and just surface.

I surfaced way out.

I swam maybe 50 yards on the surface and got back to the boat.

Not very many divers even saw a lobster this dive.

My $20 “water resistant” watch is still ticking.

Long Point, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
(aka the Old Marineland)

Dove With Nick

In With: 3100 psi
Out With: 1100 psi
Max depth: 45 feet, maybe 50
Waves: 0 – flat!
Visibility: 15-20 feet
Water Temperature: Cool
Total Bottom Time: 50 minutes
Notable Event: This is my 200th logged SCUBA Dive!

Long Point was as flat as a lake; so flat, we went off the point.

While Nick and I entered over the rocks and swam through the kept, three divers did a giant stride off of one of the big boulders on the Point.

They said that it’s how they get back in, too.

“Just let a wave push you back up,” they said.

We toured around the point, saw a school of sandiness, fish, played with a small octopus.

Reverend Al and his group ran across us; he gave me a yank on my fin.

Al later said to Nick, “You look just as tall underwater as on top.”

Nick replied, “Things also look bigger underwater.”

We toured back to the cove at a depth averaging 15 to 20 feet.

We came ashore at the cove without incident.

The gates to Old Marineland were open; we went in and looked around.

What is left of “Baja Reef” at Old Marineland.

I’m standing where the “International Cafe” was.

Just behind it stood the games and picnic area.

This was the Dimetoss and Hoopla at Marineland.

Wow!

What memories!

I used to work here when I was 16.

The games were in between the International Cafe and the picnic grounds.

I took many a drunken man’s money at those games.

The Pt. Vicente Lighthouse is seen from the Old Marineland cliffs.

I believe this is where the locker room for Baja Reef was located.

All the other structures have been torn down.

Very soon, nothing will be left.