The swell map was solid blue around Palos Verdes and there was a big turnout at Terranea today – maybe 20 divers and a lot of new faces.

I was the first one off the Point – it was like slipping off the rocks and into a lake.

Having no idea where to drop on the statue and memorial rocks, I decided to follow Ben and his group.

After a short surface swim, we submerged.

Logged SCUBA Dive #501

Dove with Ben, Randy and Rob

The Point, Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, USA

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 900 psi
Max depth: 62 feet
Waves: Flat
Visibility: 15 – 20 feet
Water Temperature: 67 degrees
Air Temperature: 74 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 42 minutes

Surprisingly, I had no issues going down – it usually takes me a while to equalize.

We followed Ben, who was carrying a memorial rock for his dead cat that he was going to place by the statue.

So when all is complete, there will be three rocks – Shanon Wesserling and Dennis Gunn, who were regular divers in our group… and then Ben’s cat.

Well, Ben did a better job of trying to find the statue than I did… but the thing is, we never found the statue.

We started heading to the Cove after 10 minutes, Ben carried the rock for the entire dive.

Lobsters!

Garibaldi!

My photos were OK – they’re starting to all look the same.

Nothing out of the ordinary or spectacular to report on this routine dive.

Some other divers later reported running in to two divers measuring the reefs in the garden.

Everyone made it out with an easy exit; OK, I tripped over a rock, but it was still easy.

Today’s crew – Rob, Me, Joe (kneeling), Ben and Randy.

Debriefing was light with potato chips and Budweiser, the King Of Beers.

I complained to Ben that we were too shallow towards the end and that I kept floating up.

Ben said, “You should have told me, I would have given you a rock for extra weight.”

We saw the two divers who were measuring the reefs – they were carrying writing boards and had measuring tapes.

Just like in a scene from a movie, these divers turned out to be two beautiful women…

Emily and Jackie were measuring algae in the garden.

Ben and I gave them our contact information and told them to join us every weekend, usually here.

They were very friendly and even took a Budweiser.

I believe it is Emily that wants to be a Marine Biologist.

I am going to try and break the routine and go diving down in Laguna Beach soon.

Until next time!

I arrived at Terranea Resort a few minutes after 8 AM, to what was going to be my 500th dive.

There were maybe eight or nine divers there, but only three regulars – Reverend Al, BlueSteel and Libertarian Ted.

It was decided to go off the Point.

Unlike most other dives, I was actually waiting on the rest.

I was the first to enter and watched the others make easy entrances.

We swam out and dropped right on the statue…

Logged SCUBA Dive #500

Dove with Reverend Al, BlueSteel and Libertarian Ted

The Point, Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, USA

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 1000 psi
Max depth: 60 feet
Waves: Some surge but manageable
Visibility: 10 – 15 feet
Water Temperature: 69 degrees
Air Temperature: 75 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 46 minutes

The Lady of the Point, plus a new addition…

Photo by Reverend AL

Memorial rocks – “Shanon Wesserling Final Dive 2012” “Dennis Gunn 1940-2016 A great ??? a dive buddy”

I want a rock when I die.

We followed Reverend Al.

Amazingly, these pictures look like the hundreds of other pictures that I’ve taken here.

A block reef.

The Sun Stars are gone, but I have noticed these weird stringy blobs have been appearing more frequently.

This was a nice, uneventful dive.

When visibility sucked, we surfaced.

I tripped over a rock on exit, but everyone else seemed to have made it out just fine.

During the dive, we headed shallower earlier than usual; I still had 1000 psi in my tank, which is rare for a Point to Cove dive.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Nick, Jill (a.k.a. Jilly-fish) and their son Ben; they showed up just for my 500th dive and to check out the diving scene, which they’ve been missing for several years.

Jill brought Korean ribs, kimchi and potato salad; I had no issues being the cook!

My dive buddies for my 500th dive – BlueSteel, Libertarian Ted, Reverend Al and Myself.

Ben, Nick, Jill and Me.

Me and Ben as Reverend Al photo bombs.

We were amazed at what people will go to to avoid parking fees…

Parking Wars

During our debrief, some psycho Russian sounding chick, who was a passenger in another vehicle, got out of the car and ran to a newly vacant parking spot as someone else was trying to pull in.

She yelled, “You can’t park here, this is my spot!”

The driver who was trying to park yelled back, “Lady, I was waiting, I’m next in line – it doesn’t work that way here.”

The psycho woman actually sat down in the parking spot.

The guy acted like he was leaving and then started to back up into the space.

The lady screamed – I didn’t see exactly what happened.

The guy in the car yelled, “Call the police!”

“I am calling them right now,” she said.

During this time, the car that the lady came out of found another spot and parked; nobody appeared to be physically injured; obviously the woman is mentally damaged.

I think that was the same psycho woman that was yelling at diver Irish Andy a year ago, telling him that if he was done with his business at Terranea, he needed to leave so she could park.

Andy told her, “When I leave, I’m going to make sure you don’t park here.”

Thanks again everybody for all the years of diving – great memories.

Thanks again to Jill for the food.

Until next time!