Logged SCUBA Dive #307

SECRET LOCATION: 41 74 20 74 68 65 20 67 61 74 65 73 20 6f 66 20 6d 61 72 2c 20 4e 6f 72 74 68 20 6f 66 20 74 68 65 20 6c 6f 6c 69 70 6f 70 20 74 72 65 65 2e, Palos Verdes, CA

Solo Diving, SoCal Buddy Diving

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 500 psi
Max depth: 35 feet
Waves: Three foot swells, sort of challenging
Visibility: 15 to 20 feet
Water Temperature: 65 degrees
Total Bottom Time: About 45 minutes

The next dive we went shallower, where we should have started to begin with!

I again was the first overboard and checked the anchor, which rested at 30 feet; nothing this time.

The kelp was thick, but not as thick as the place I went to on Opening Night.

I looked under the low lying kelp and eel grass and pinned my first legal lobster of the dive about 10 minutes in.

There are plenty of lobsters around here in the 25 to 30 foot range, but they would flee as soon as my light touched them.

I had an idea to turn my light that is attached to my mask off; that way, I would only have one light that I could easily control.

I could turn it to the side and not spook the next lobster while keeping a “dark eye” on it while I approached.

Within five minutes, I pinned my next one.

I surfaced to peak a few times; I wasn’t planning another marathon swim back on this dive, although I didn’t plan the last one.

I was the first back on the boat; the rest of the group got delayed because some divers were busy throwing up… Ah! Lobster bait!

I am so macho! I can hold all of my lobsters with one arm and a beer in the other!

Bob cleaned up with some pretty big bugs and limited for the night.

He overshot the boat on his way back, and caught three big ones under the kelp in 30 feet of water, within five minutes.

Dan took some newbies out and came back with an empty bag; everyone laughed.

Total bugs caught on this trip was 22, amongst eight divers.

The boat ride back was still rough; some drank beer, others threw up, supposedly to make room for more beer.

As we passed by the Portofino Inn, a naked woman, standing on her balcony, welcomed us back to the harbor.

She was sort of ugly, but after a drinking a few beers on the open sea, she looked OK to me.

Traditional debriefing continued in the parking lot until a little after midnight.

I have some ideas about optimizing my catch in this area; I’m going to test it on my next outing… stay tuned!

Logged SCUBA Dive #307

SECRET LOCATION: 22 54 68 65 20 43 72 61 6e 65 22 20 6e 65 61 72 20 74 68 65 20 72 6f 63 6b 20 74 68 61 74 27 73 20 66 6c 61 74 2e, Palos Verdes, CA

Solo Diving, SoCal Buddy Diving

In With: 3200 psi
Out With: 500 psi
Max depth: 50 feet
Waves: Three foot swells, sort of challenging
Visibility: 15 to 20 feet
Water Temperature: 65 degrees
Total Bottom Time: About 30 minutes

This is my first trip this season on the Island Diver; after being embarrassed with one bug on Opening Night, I was hoping to make up for it on this trip.

The mighty Island Diver awaits its next assignment!

The divers were all from Divevets and, with the exception of one hot chick, was a stag boat.

Opening Night proved that the lobsters are shallow, but the Captain and charter organizer decided to try a spot in 50 feet of water; the same spot last year really sucked.

The boat tossed in the fairly large and rough swells; some non-macho divers were starting to get sea sick.

Once at the location, I was the first one overboard; when I surfaced from my giant stride, I was 15 feet away from the boat… then 20 feet…

Dan asked, “Is there a current?”

“Hell, yes, there’s a current!” I yelled.

I swam to the anchor line and submerged to the ocean floor at 50 feet and followed the chain to the anchor.

I spotted a lobster and pinned it, but it was pitifully short.

I was told, “Go towards shore where it’s shallower.”

I thought, “If the lobsters are at 25 feet, why the fuck did we anchor in 50 feet of water?”

I swam South East, towards the beach and spotted only a few shorts, no legal bugs.

I swam and swam but didn’t get any shallower than 45 feet – WHY ARE WE THIS DEEP?

I surfaced a few times to spot the boat and make sure I was swimming up current; the boat was getting smaller, but the shore didn’t appear to get any larger.

The kelp in this area was insignificant, but my mask kept leaking which was slightly annoying.

In 45 feet of water I spotted a legal bug and pinned it!

Finally, I have one, so the anxiety of getting skunked tonight was over.

I surfaced when I got down to 1000 psi and looked for the boat…

Where’s the boat?

The swells were rolling…

Where the fuck is the boat?

About 100+ yards away I saw it; I was down current but way over between me and the shore.

I started the long swim back, knowing I couldn’t swim directly there because of the current.

I surface swam for twenty minutes before making it 30 yards directly in front of the bow; exhausted, I let the current take me to the boat.

The first thing I said to the boat Captain was, “This place fucking sucks!”

My experience was common with the other divers… very few legal lobsters and a hell of a swim back, as everyone was trying to get shallower!