Ok, I guess I screwed up just a bit.

I thought we were suppose to meet at 10:30 PM at the dock, the plan was to leave at that time.

Having pissed off Instructor John, Instructor Ron and Jim, who hate to wait on anyone, I arrived at 10:30 and did the fastest sprint gear-up that I have ever done.

We were off at 10:50 PM and I kept thinking, “I geared up so quickly, I must have left something behind.”

The mighty zodiac chugged along the flat seas with four divers, eight tanks and gear.

We arrived at a pre-scouted secret destination off of Palos Verdes 20 minutes before midnight…

Logged Dive #351

Secret Location: 4f 66 66 20 74 68 65 20 67 61 74 65 73 20 6f 66 20 4d 61 72 20 6e 65 61 72 20 61 20 70 6c 61 63 65 20 77 69 74 68 20 74 68 72 65 65 20 63 68 69 6d 6e 65 79 73 2e

Solo Diving/SoCal Buddy Diving

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 500 psi
Max depth: 40 feet
Waves: Pretty damn flat
Visibility: 5 to 15 feet, really bad close to shore
Water Temperature: About 60 degrees on the surface
Total Bottom Time: About 40 minutes

We entered the water a minute or so before midnight…

I inflated my BC, tied it to the boat and threw it overboard… I soon followed.

The BC didn’t fit, I couldn’t put it on.

It was twisted up… I untwisted it, and managed to put my arms through… but I couldn’t find my console or regulators.

I was in such a hurry gearing up, I put my BC and regulator on the tanks basically inside out and backwards.

Instructor Ron helped me regear in the water while saying, “I wonder how you’re going to document this episode.”

I submerged about 15 minutes after midnight and headed towards shore – the lobsters are usually pretty shallow this time of the season.

Visibility was initially pretty damn clear.

Ten minutes into the dive I spotted and pinned my first legal bug; the anxiety of “will I get skunked tonight” was now over.

I proceeded to go shallower and eventually hit 15 feet where vis turned to crap.

I turned around and came accross the biggest F’ing bug that I had ever seen in my entire life!

It was as big as a horse… well, maybe a small dog.

I exhaled and pinned it to the bottom; as I took my other hand to slide underneath the torso it’s tail whipped up and hit me in the nuts which made me lose my grip.

I closed my legs and tried to use some jiu jitsu to subdue the monster, but it wiggled free and escaped.

My lobster hunting hubris has now been ruined.

I was lucky enough to find two more way-legal bugs before heading back to the mighty zodiac.

I caught three, Instructor Ron none, Jim one or two and Instructor John five or six.

I was quite content with this spot, but of course the divers who didn’t do too well wanted to find another spot.

The next dive and outcome will be up in another hour…

Another relaxing Sunday of diving and debriefing.

I have gotten some emails asking if I dive anywhere else other than Terranea Resort and Veteran’s Park – yes, I have plans to dive elsewhere and do other activities, but the time has not quite come yet.

Apparently, Terranea Resort opened at the worst possible time for the Hotel and Resort industry as an article in the Daily Breeze states, the lenders are taking steps on foreclosing on the property.

I hope things work out for the resort as management has been nothing but hospitable towards us divers.

Sort of a thin crowd today; a lot of the divers had hangovers from Saturday night, so we all decided to go to 120 reef and not risk fighting a current from the Point.

Logged SCUBA Dive #347

Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

Solo Diving/SoCal Buddy Diving

In With: 2900 psi
Out With: 500 psi
Max depth: 42 feet
Waves: Ocean was flat, but challenging waves on the shoreline
Visibility: 5-7 feet
Water Temperature: In the 60s
Total Bottom Time: 45 minutes

It was approaching high tide and the swells that rolled into the rocks were deep – ankle high, then waist high; I made it out with little problem.

Everyone seemed to have their buddy situation taken care of; I decided to go it alone.

The ocean off of Terranea is getting more crowded…

From left to right – a paddle boarder (or god-like figure walking on water?), two divers and a fishing boat.

I submerged and went 120 degrees on my compass.

I approached a dark blob in the water; as I got closer it was the beginning of the reef.

Vis was five to seven feet – good maybe for some macro photography.

A Sunstar.

Other pictures of 120 reef:

I ran across Not New Chris and his buddy.

A diver scouts for lobsters before the season begins – I didn’t see any this dive.

Starfish cling to a reef.

At 1,000 psi I started heading in; I could hear the swells crashing against the rocks and moving all the pebbles around at the shoreline.

High tide was coming in fairly quickly; I stood up in waist high water when a few large swells pushed me up against a rock, then swept me back out.

I struggled for a few minutes, being patient to make a final exit when I got a leg cramp; thanks to my machismo, I ignored the pain.

I finally rode a swell in and was able to crawl behind a large rock, take my fins off and walk ashore – this was not a very graceful exit.

Let the debriefing begin!

Today’s menu was beer, bratwursts and hotdogs, in addition to the usual strange looks from first time guests, not used to our bumper parties.

Biplanes patrolled the shoreline looking for illegal aliens and terrorists.

Traditional debriefing continued until noon.