Veteran’s Park, Redondo Beach, CA

Solo Diving

In with: 3000 psi
Out with: 1000 psi
Max depth: 80 feet
Waves: 4 to 6 foot swells
Visibility: 10 feet
Water Temperature: Cold, maybe 57 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 35 minutes or so

It’s been stormy lately and it is forecast to rain tomorrow, so I decided to dive this morning.

I didn’t bother checking any other locations; I assumed it would be sort of rough anywhere, but that’s not always the case.

Dan and Chris from the Divevets were in the almost vacant parking lot.

Chris had come out reporting 10 foot visibility and the surf seemed sort of manageable.

I geared up and walked out.

In waist high surf I was hit by several large swells that pushed me back.

I was able to put my fins on, swim out and submerge.

Vis sucked; maybe 10 feet or less, but the bottom churned in the swells.

I thought about maybe canceling, but I proceeded down the canyon to 80 feet and then back up to 65 feet and then headed South towards the “monument” or “blocks” as some call it.

I couldn’t find the monument; I may have just passed by them within a few feet.

My camera stayed in my pocket this whole dive.

Once back up from the canyon, the swells became apparent.

The ocean floor at 35 feet was moving with the surge.

I slowly proceeded back to shore and was pounded by four to six foot swells coming back to shore.

Only a few divers were in the parking lot; most classes had been canceled.

I probably would have been better off staying dry.

Long Point, CA
(aka The Old Marineland)

Solo Diving

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 1000 psi
Max depth: 40 feet
Waves: Easy 1-2 foot swells
Visibility: 15 feet plus
Water Temperature: Cold, 54 degrees at the surface
Total Bottom Time: 45 minutes

My first dive of the New Year!

There’s suppose to be a storm coming in later in the week, so I headed out to dive and party with the Divevets crew.

The wind was blowing pretty hard from over the hill, but the sea remained fairly calm to everyone’s surprise.

Most of the group watched the conditions for probably close to a half an hour; I didn’t wait.

I entered off the cove and went to the right to find the old pier pilings and anything else that might be interesting.

The water was so cold I had an “ice cream” headache for the first ten minutes of the dive.

Most of the time, the dive resembled the barren sands of Vet’s park, but I did come by a few sparse and shallow reefs.

Urchins live on parts of the old pier pilings.

A field Of Sea Feathers.

A starfish lays on top of his feast.

I also ran across a strange creature that I could not identify in the slightest…

I made it back in over the rocks with no problem.

The walk back up was uneventful, but the ensuing party to celebrate New Years was true to the Divevets’ spirit.

Juan Twenty collected fishing weights on his dive.

An hour or so of diving, followed by three hours of “debriefing”…

Happy New Year everyone!

A new chick named Ana was the center of attention at this gathering; it was pretty funny watching two of the divers compete for her attention.