Long Point, CA
(aka The Old Marineland)

Solo Diving

I got to Long Point about 8:30 AM; No other divers were around.

Cardiac Hill “killed” Nick last week. He’s still sore.

I went in around 9:30 AM; I did the one fin on entry. It worked perfectly. I had my spear with me.

The visibility was absolutely spectacular, maybe up to 30 feet.

I swam to the rocky point just outside of Pigeon shit cave, not the Point.

I was so awed by the scenery that I didn’t hunt until I had about 2000 psi.

I saw some really big sheephead, some males. Those fish are so stupid, and these were really big. I was scared to shoot them — they looked really big.

I got down to 1200 psi and thought, “I really need to catch something.”

I speared a sheephead and ripped part of its back off; it escaped. I felt sorry for the creature.

I went looking for the bigger fish and saw one of those shovelnosed guitar fishes. It scared the shit out of me because they look really big underwater and similar to a shark, but it swam by with no problem.

I eventually speared a 12 inch sheephead with only 800 psi left. I started to swim back, but saw more. I chased after them, but at 300 psi, I had to surface. I was about 100 yards North of Pigeon Shit Cave, totally off track.

I swam back to the cove and made an easy exit.

When coming up with my fish, a chick who was standing on the beach with her dike girlfriend said, “look at him, how macho. I bet that fish didn’t have a chance.”

Oh well, especially not in my frying pan.

In with: 3000 psi
Out with 300 psi
Maximum depth: 30 feet
Waves: 3 feet and calm
Visibility: 30 feet
Water Temperature: warm
Total Bottom Time: 40+ minutes

Long Point, CA
(aka The Old Marineland)

Dove with Nick

I met Nick at 8:00 AM.

The waves looked exactly like last week — the same conditions.

I was determined not to get thrown like last week.

I was very careful and walked out after Nick was in.

I put my fins on after I was in the surf.

It sort of sucks because you have no control when you’re out.

Dennis (of Dennis, Fred and Al) later advised us to put one fin on while on land and the other fin on in the surf.

We swam to the jetty near pigeon shit cave.

We submerged; I was hunting, Nick was just sight seeing.

There was a solo diver there who was hunting with a spear gun.

I came upon a sheephead that was feeding on an urchin that I had broken open.

I measured her; she actually helped me by laying flat against my spear.

That fish was so stupid; I didn’t have the heart to shoot it.

We swam around the reef and in to the second kelp bed.

We saw the other spear fisherman pass by again.

I didn’t think we were at the second kelp bed, so we went East trying to find it.

At 40 feet, we got quite an aerobic workout fighting the current.

We surfaced to find that we were way the hell out past our target.

We swam on the surface until we were a hundred yards to shore.

The waves were crashing on the rocks.

We submerged me to the bottom, Nick to 10 feet and went in.

We surfaced about 20 yards to shore.

I went in first, riding a swell in and then crawling like hell for higher ground.

We again talked to Dennis of “Dennis, Fred and Al.”

He gave us some pointers on boat diving.

Visibility was good, 20 feet and clear.

The water was 55 degrees F according to Nick’s thermometer.

In with: 2900 psi
Out with: 1100 psi
Maximum depth: 40 feet
Waves: 1-4 feet
Visibility: 20 feet and clear
Water temperature: 55 degrees F