Logged SCUBA Dive #344

Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

It’s time to get wet again, but this time Terranea Resort was open to the public – no more slipping the guard a beer for beach access.

Conditions from yesterday were reported as “green with poor visibility.”

Dove with Instructor Ron & Nick

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 1500 psi
Max depth: 34 feet
Waves: Annoying surge at shore
Visibility: 0 to 10 feet
Temperature: 58 degrees
Total Bottom Time: Exactly 20 minutes

It was low tide and with the promise of pretty crappy conditions, we decided to go off the cove.

Max Bottomtime had reported that he had lost a camera light between the Cove and The Point, replacing it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

We decided to search for it.

For some reason, I have an uncanny ability to predict the future, hence my luck at the race track.

With my excellent navigational skills and our perfect search pattern, Nick found the camera lighting…

Congratulations to Nick for scoring us all some beer!

Neither Ron nor Nick were macho enough to carry the camera lighting (it weighed 20 plus pounds), so I put it in my game bag and lugged it around the entire dive.

Vis sucked, so I’ll spare you the pictures.

After 20 minutes went by, diving over the sand just to record this dive, we exited the cove.

Instructor Ron helped carry the extremely heavy camera lighting to shore.

Nick returns the camera housing to Max Bottomtime, our recovery team was rewarded with a case of Budweiser!

Debriefing continued, but this time with safety cups and the glare of the public.

Hopefully conditions will improve and maybe, one day, I’ll have something to write about besides diving here.

I pulled up in the mighty truck to our current parking spot at Terranea; the divers really missed seeing the Duster and I was told, “Not bringing the Duster is just wrong.”

I was hoping for a hot chick named Wrinkles to show up and dive, but she was a no show; I went with Instructor Ron.

Logged SCUBA Dive #343

Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

Dove with Instructor Ron

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 700 psi
Max depth: 64 feet
Waves: As flat as a lake
Visibility: 15 to 20 feet
Temperature: 54 degrees, colder at depth
Total Bottom Time: About 42 minutes

We made an uneventful entry off of The Point.

We descended in an attempt to find the statue; but hit bottom on a sand bar, which sort of disoriented me as there were no familiar reefs to aid in navigation.

We never found the statue.

A nudibrach next to an egg ribbon.

Instructor Ron is right behind.

Two divers follow.

A sunstar hides behind some kelp.

Vis was 10 to 20 feet, depending on where we went.

I don’t know what these are… they look like a collection of sunflower seeds.

I don’t know what these are either, but they look like small yellow maggots, but they weren’t moving.

We exited The Cove without hassle.

Debriefing continues ahead of the Terranea Resort opening; apparently the public opening has been pushed back a few days.

I think next week I’ll bring my barbecue to test our debriefing limits.