Long Point (aka The Old Marineland), Palos Verdes, California

Solo Diving, So Cal Buddy Diving

In With: 2200 psi
Out With: 700 psi
Max depth: About 50 feet
Waves: Small swells, but with a few predictable surprises
Visibility: 20-25 feet
Water Temperature: 64 degrees
Total Bottom Time: About 35 minutes

I arrived at Long Point about 30 minutes late; I was able to park in the last remaining illegal spot in the tiny lot.

The parking lot was jammed with divers – regulars and new comers.

Reverend Al said that he was going to try The Point; I didn’t check conditions for myself, but nobody was holding beers in their hands, so I geared up and followed Reverend Al and his group to the boulder entrance.

WARNING: Boulder entries are potentially dangerous and should be reserved exclusively for macho divers.

I made it out with no problem.

We waited for everyone else to make it out.

I looked underwater to preview the visibility…

…it looked spectacular!

I had used my tank previously to clean my regulator, so I went diving with a short filled tank.

I told reverend Al that I was going to follow the group to the Pinnacle, and then take off on my own after five minutes.

We descended; I had a hard time equalizing, but managed to follow the group down with the great visibility.

The Pinnacle – Underwater architecture at its best.

I hung out around the Pinnacle for maybe 10 minutes.

There were a lot of fish here!

A diver at Long Point with a deco bottle?

He later told us, he wants to practice carrying it.

If he needs practice carrying gear back up the hill, he can carry mine!

I broke away from the group and started towards the cove for an exit.

There was some weird kind of nudibrach that I had never seen before – it looked like a bleached Spanish Shawl.

Another Sun Star!

Just think, two years ago, I had never seen one; now they’re all over the place!

An abundance of kelp is returning to Long Point.

I was running low on air and did a surface swim of about 100 yards to the cove.

I used about 200 psi of air looking for a lost fin from last week – no luck.

Juan Twenty was nice enough to be the unofficial Dive Master upon exit, while Cyber the attack dog kept watch.

After another macho walk up the switchback trail, the divers heavily debriefed with an assortment of domestic and imported beers.

Another perfect day of diving at the Old Marineland!

Long Point (aka The Old Marineland, Terranea Resort), Palos Verdes, California

Solo Diving, So Cal Buddy Diving

In With: 2700 psi
Out With: 800 psi
Max depth: 40 feet
Waves: Pretty flat, but roughened as my dive progressed
Visibility: 10-15 feet
Water Temperature: 55 degrees Fahrenheit
Total Bottom Time: About 45 minutes

Quite a few divers showed up this morning for “Sunday Services.”

There must have been 15 divers (including two females!) that walked down to the shore in one long caravan.

I was the first one out, making an unimpressive entry as I almost slipped a few times.

I headed to 120 reef.

The cold water brings the Sun Stars to the area.

The brutal remains of a crab fight – a single detached claw.

I kept hearing air leak, so I started to try and take a picture of my back… Reverend Al swam over and was nice to take the recon photo…

A slight air leak off my first stage – I’ll definitely need service.

I swam back in when I got down to 1000 psi; the vis in the cove sucked.

The swells had gotten higher during my dive and I ended up body surfing in to the rocks.

Heavy debriefing among divers and dive groupies started.

A suicidal diver poured gasoline over himself, but Juan Twenty convinced him life is too precious to waste.

When the diver calmed down and found out how much gas costs he started looking for matches.

Ed mans the real barbecue – featured on today’s menu: Korean ribs, kim chi, rice, carne asada and beer!

We just moved in to the parking lot and immediately decreased the local property values.

Chris, Juan Twenty, Macho Man Me and Reverend Al

Females can’t resist a guy who drives a Duster.

Two females showed up in the afternoon, probably hoping we would have left by then.

Ed and the two diving females.

Ed and I finished up at Walker’s Cafe at Point Fermin.

We talked to and drank beer with the premier bikers in the community.

The toilet paper at Walker’s Cafe comes in rough (40 grit), medium and soft.

All in all, another great day of Southern California SCUBA diving and debriefing!