Redondo Pier, Redondo Beach, California

Dove With TwinDuct

In With: 2900 psi
Out With: 600 psi
Max depth: 60 feet
Waves: Six feet surge and swells at the shoreline
Visibility: Three feet under Redondo Pier, 15+  feet at depth in the canyon.
Water Temperature: About 64 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 35 minutes

This is the annual “Heal The Bay” beach clean up; the pier was closed to fishermen so divers could pick up trash underneath.

Tony, DM for Dive N Surf,  gives the pre-dive briefing; everyone listens carefully…

“The waves are up… if you can’t lift the “trash” don’t try and bring it ashore and only wave your hand if you need help…”

The waves posed a problem for inexperienced and non-macho divers.

You had to time your entry and exit just right.

At the shoreline, I waited for my buddy TwinDuct to gear up as I watched the other divers enter…

The Divemasters were kept busy…

I did something that I hadn’t done on a beach entry for quite a while – breathe off my regulator as I was entering the water and swimming through the surf zone.

TwinDuct and I made it out with no problems – experience and machismo pays off.

Also, I had my newly purchased “spring loaded” fin straps – they really paid off on this beach entry!

I did not have to fumble at all to put my fins on, and once on, they stayed on.

Me off of Redondo Pier, TwinDuct is in the background.

We descended in 20 feet of water at headed 330 degrees to the pier; I sort of got off course and had to peak – I missed it, we were West of the pier, heading into the Harbor.

I corrected course and we swam under the pier…

Visibility under the pier sucked!

I found a knife and a few fishing weights, but the “good stuff” I thought was already picked up.

An old pier piling underneath the current pier?

We headed South and down the canyon.

There were so many rotting fish, shark and bat ray corpses off the canyon…

A rotting shark corpse… all that’s left is the head.

I think these creatures got hooked by fishermen off the pier, escaped injured and swam down the shelf to die; their corpses rot and become fish (and lobster!) food.

I almost got my testicles pinched off by a spider crab; thankfully I defended myself using my cage fighting abilities.

At 800 psi we headed in and surfaced in 15 feet of water.

We made a skillful exit in the increasingly pounding waves.

Me and TwinDuct pose with our stash of trash.

I found socks, a knife, beer bottles, plastic bags, coffee cup lids and an assortment of other plastic and paper crap.

TwinDuct found pretty much the same, plus a bucket.

We went back down to shore and watched the show…

Dan from Divevets DMed the divers body surfing back to shore.

WAVE! WAVE! WAVE! Watch your back!.

Surf’s up dude!

Why did they schedule an event like this when the surf was going to be so rough?

After watching the show, I saw many mistakes made by novice or inexperienced divers entering and exiting the surf.

My advise for entering rough water:

First, don’t do it if you think you can’t make it!

Never turn your back on the ocean!

I saw many divers turn their back on the ocean when they thought they were safe, only to get slammed by a huge wave when their back was turned.

Also, don’t put air in your BCD!

You will float like a cork and get nailed riding a wave.

When a big wave approaches, dive underneath it – don’t jump up thinking it will pass underneath you.

I’ve had bad experiences myself in the “surf zone” – read about it here.

Red shirted non-divers cleaned the beach and surrounding areas.

The underwater trash is sorted and logged; found on this clean-up – a crutch, a fishing hoop net, fishing reels, a dildo, a lot of knives, bottles, tons of plastic garbage, a used condom and an assortment of fishing weights, to name a few.

So now here comes the debriefing…

Partying in the parking lot is the Divevets’ forte.

We exchanged diving stories and corrupted newly indoctrinated divers as Cyber The Attack Dog puts his ear to the ground, listening for approaching police cars.

Another great day of diving for public service!

Veteran’s Park, Redondo Beach, CA

Dove With Angelshark

In With: 2900 psi
Out With: 700 psi
Max depth: 85 feet
Waves: Mild swells
Visibility: 20 feet
Water Temperature: Comfortably cool, but chilly at depth
Total Bottom Time: 45 minutes

This was some sort of unofficial bay “clean up dive” where divers bring ashore a bag of trash and then party in the park to celebrate.

I took Angelshark up on the offer to buddy up with her; we met in the crowded Vet’s Park parking lot a little after 7:40 AM.

She and other chick divers admired the Duster; it’s hard not to.

This was Angelshark’s first ocean dive in a dry suit – that sort of made me nervous, as I have no experience with them.

She briefly explained how they work; it’s just like operating a BC jacket, except the suit is one big air jacket.

Angelshark has been diving for three years and has over 600 logged dives!

“I go diving four times a week, sometimes two or three times a day,” she said.

We walked out, put our fins on and swam about 50 yards out before submerging.

Me and Angelshark prepare to submerge.

We descended in 25 feet of water; I followed her over the shelf.

I wasn’t sure where we were headed, just down to pick up trash.

I kept accidentally bumping into her, not knowing where exactly we were going.

We picked up trash at 85 feet, I was getting a little narced.

A crab hides in a fox hole.

We went up the shelf; this is what Angelshark looks like underwater.

There’s still plenty of trash above the shelf.

I followed her back down the shelf to 80 feet.

We both had 80 cubic feet tanks, but she has smaller lungs.

I pointed out that I had 1200 psi and we were at 80 feet; I started heading in and she followed.

Up the shelf and after a nice slow swim and safety stop in, we were in shallow water.

Angelshark took a fin off before she could touch bottom.

“I take one fin off first so I can just worry about the other one when I can feel the bottom,” she said.

I tried that approach and did not like the lack of control while being in the surf zone.

I again, as always, tripped over the one foot sand step.

Angelshark helped me up and on my next step tripped over my trash bag.

A non-macho exit in front of a hot chick is hard to live down.

Angelshark accidentally caught an octopus, which crawled out of a piece of trash; she had to argue with a Korean woman about why she was “throwing food” back into the ocean.

“It was so small, why would she want to eat it?” Angelshark asked.

My bag of trash; Vet’s Park is a lot cleaner now than in previous years.

Wrinkles from the Old Marineland site greeted me; I had brain fade because I didn’t place the face outside of that spot.

I apologized and said that I must be getting Alzheimer’s.

Scubaboard.com was having some kind of “Beach Crab” event.

Wrinkles and I walked over and checked the scene out.

Wrinkles is quite popular in the local diving community; she has a dive named after her – the “Wrinkles Dive” every second Saturday of the month, I think.

“The ‘Wrinkles Dive’ used to be whenever I wanted to go diving, I would just post and people would show up.

“Now, it’s commercialized to the point I can’t even make my own dives,” Wrinkles said.

Another great day of diving with a great buddy!