September 21, 2019*

I awoke to the boat moving with the engines still on… so I thought.

Yes, the boat was moving with the slight swells, and yes, the generator was on, but there we were, anchored off of Santa Barbara Island at a place called “The Rookery.”

After a great breakfast of bacon and eggs with coffee, I started to get ready for my first dive.

When I turned my air on, air was heard leaking out from my first stage.

Fuck! This again!

I just had to get my wrench and tighten down one of my hoses, but I got some strange looks when I was working on my regulator.

Elwood the Divemaster gave the dive briefing and asked if anyone needed a buddy… everyone was fine.

I was number one on the roster and number one off the boat.

Logged SCUBA Dive #511

Solo Diving, SoCal Buddy Diving

The Rookery, Santa Barbara Island, CA

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 400 psi
Max depth: 42 feet
Waves: Slight Chop, but pretty calm
Visibility: 15-30 feet depending on where you were.
Water Temperature: 61 degrees at depth
Air Temperature: 72 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 47 minutes

I submerged and swam North-West through a myriad of kelp.

Conditions last week were reported to be “green and shitty;” this is obviously a big improvement.

It was a very nice uneventful dive, until, out of nowhere, I was maliciously and deliberately attacked by a Sea Lion…

The Sea Lion encounter can be watched on YouTube: Training Tiny The Sea Lion To Attack

I heard the boat, and made an easy return…

I surfaced right at the swim step and after a slight struggle getting my fins off, crawled back onto the boat.

More dives to come! Stay tuned!

*Due to lack of internet access, and too much to do to write while it is happening, there has been a delay in these posts. Pretend you are in 1990.

My life is slowly starting to come back to normal; I looked at the swell maps this morning and it was all dark blue around Palos Verdes.

There was no way I could talk my way out of a dive, so I arrived promptly at 8:00 AM at Terranea Resort.

I’m still trying to get used to my order of operation with my new car and the fact that I can’t get my key wet.

I need to take all my diving gear out, and then lock my car before putting my keys into a waterproof case and then into my pocket.

I forgot my mask, so I had to un-wetsuit (that is a word, right?) and fetch my mask from the car.

Well, when I realized I left my hood in the car, I said, “Fuck it, I’m macho and going anyway.”

Chipper, Nice Bob and Joe R. were in attendance, along with about two dozen other divers from various clubs and groups.

I forgot how pleasant the walk to the beach is from the parking lot.

After tripping on some rocks and making the most ungraceful entrance into the water ever, I dawned my fins and headed towards the finger outside of Pigeon Shit Cave.

Logged SCUBA Dive #510

Solo Diving

Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 1500 psi
Max depth: 40 feet
Waves: Flat as a lake, pretty much
Visibility: 15-20 feet depending on where you were.
Water Temperature: 61 degrees at depth
Air Temperature: 74 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 36 minutes

I submerged and headed towards 120 reef.

My camera lens fogged over with condensation – I should have put a “do not eat” in it; My pictures were fucked.

I reached 120 reef; vis was 15 to 20 feet, but a bit silty.

I looked up, and out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw another diver.

It was a great white shark!

Well, I think.

It was probably three or four feet in length and looked just like Jaws, except for an incredibly big, disproportional back fin.

I honestly, don’t know what else it could be, but what a shitty time for my camera to be screwed up.

I made an easy, slow tour around 120 reef.

I saw a lot of small fish and the Sheephead are definitely coming back.

I have extreme guilt for shooting all the sheephead that I did back when I started to hunt.

Yeah, their meat is really good, but there is no sport in the hunt – shooting a Sheephead is like shooting your own dog.

After a little over a half an hour, I headed back in to a sort of macho exit.

Debriefing consisted of Budweiser – the King of beers, some Russian beer, someone’s homemade ginger ale and some chips and dip.

There was a bottle of Russian “non-alcoholic beer” that was given to me.

I politely declined, but was later told, “It’s Russian beer, of course it has alcohol in it, it’s just made for non-alcoholics.”

It’s great to be back!

More diving soon!