Getting older and more out of shape, I was determined to get in the water today.

The regular Sunday morning group had already called the dive off by the time I arrived.

“The Cove and The Point look like washing machines,” someone said.

I walked down and verified – green water and heavy surf.

The group went to check out Honeymoon Cove.

Honeymoon Cove looked spectacular – you could see the bottom of the ocean from the cliffs and there were barely any waves.

We started to gear up, then someone went to go take another look.

Someone suggested, after looking at the steep goat trail down, that we check out Malaga Cove.

I took another look.

“OK, let’s check out Malaga Cove, and if it sucks, we’ll come back,” I said.

Malaga was diveable – short waves crashing on shore with water that didn’t look too muddy.

Professional Debriefer Paul was there for shore support; he drafted me to take “Mr. Kim” for a swim.

To make a long story as short as possible, Paul won a YouTube contest and part of his prize was some kind of a stuffed toy bear from Korea – “Mr. Kim.”

With too much time on his hands, Paul has decided to send “Mr. Kim” around the world on various adventures.

Logged SCUBA Dive #368

SoCal Buddy Diving With Reverend Al, SCJoe, Eric and Jordan – oh yeah, and “Mr. Kim”

In With: 2800 psi
Out With: 1700 psi
Max depth: 20 feet
Waves: one to two foot manageable swells, with a few surprises
Visibility: 5 to 10 feet
Water Temperature: 56 degrees
Total Bottom Time: About 35 minutes

After waiting patiently for some rouge waves to subside, I made an easy rock entrance into the shallow Malaga Cove waters and joined the rest of the divers.

Mr. Kim showed no signs of panic.

After the above picture was taken, my camera froze in the “On” position, with no response from any of the controls.

Why the hell doesn’t it do that on land?

Crap!

I don’t know how well the pictures would have turned out anyway, the water was sort of silty.

But, lobsters, horn sharks and various fish were in abundance.

I mean, the ocean floor was covered with horn sharks.

Trying to fix my camera, I lost sight of the group – it was just me and “Mr. Kim.”

A little pissed that my camera wasn’t working, I slowly headed for a sandy beach exit.

Twenty five minutes later I was approaching the shore in waist high waters.

I took my fins off and turned back towards the ocean to find a set of large waves heading my way.

Easily diving underneath them, I was pushed above some kind of a hole where I couldn’t feel the ground.

I thought I would have to put my fins on again, but I regained traction soon after.

Traditional debriefing soon followed…

Professional Debriefer Paul drafted our help in making an AFLAC commercial for a video contest – 10 seconds long, and first prize is $25,000…

I don’t believe the video is done as of this writing, but we had a lot of fun helping him make it – you will fully understand when you see the commercial.

If he wins the $25,000, he has promised to throw a huge party for us.

We met two hot free divers – Valerie and Tao, who decided to split a beer during our debriefing.

Split a beer?

Yes, Valerie was driving, so she didn’t want to have a full beer.

How responsible!

It was nice to finally get in the water again!

I’m thinking about starting cage fighting again, just so I can stay in shape for diving.

I got called in to work Sunday morning, so I was unable to show up for the dive; plus, my butt and back are really sore from the fall that I took on Friday night.

Fortunately, I was able to make it to the debriefing at Old Marineland.Terranea was diveable – 54 degree water, eight to 10 feet of visibility, but “very cloudy.”

It was a disappointing dive to many.

I stuck to the Budweiser…

…others celebrated Cinco de Mayo, a bit early.

I talked with some divers who happened to go hoop netting for lobsters the same night I went out last.

I got skunked, and they limited!

Where?

How deep?

They said, “You don’t share your secret spots, so I won’t either.”

I begged them for the general area and depth.

“Off of Palos Verdes in 15 feet of water.”

Fifteen feet of water, after all these storms?

“Visibility was crap, so we hoop netted,” he said.

With the increasing swells, I’m actually surprised they made it out Friday night.

The debriefing crew – divers and shore support…

From left to right – Eric, Chris from Michigan, Reverend Al, Drysuit Greg, Ted, Dive Bum Don, The Painter Guy, SC Joe, Me.

We stood around and had some tequila fueled political debates.

We all agreed that California is impossible to govern, but the talks almost turned violent when someone said, “I like Jerry Brown, because I’m a really big environmentalist.”

“Jerry Brown is a career politician who kills jobs and leads a socialist agenda,” I said.

The Painter Guy said that California is so screwed up, if you want to scrape off lead based paint, you need to be licensed, you have to seal off the area with plastic and then treat the dust as hazardous waste.

I also added that the environmental wackos have gone so far as to outlaw gold dredging in California – It’s all back breaking sluicing and panning now, which is the next target for the enviro-nazis.

Meg Whitman was brought up, but I said, “She’s saying the same crap that Schwarzenegger said to get elected, nothing will change with her.”

After careful research, I made it clear that I am supporting Dale Ogden for California Governor.

We also discussed the stupid new Immigration Bill that would require all United States workers to register with the Federal Government and obtain a biometric Federal worker’s identity card, the unconstitutional Healthcare “reform”, the stupid McCain bill that would put vitamins under FDA control and other contemporary topics.

Aside from the Jerry Brown lover, we pretty much agreed that government is getting too big, too controlling and very Orwellian – Welcome to the Brave New World!

With Spring fast approaching, I’m concerned about the diving now being ruined by red tide; for some reason, it seems that after an El Nino, algae blooms rise after Winter.

But, with Spring and Summer, also comes river rafting and Gold prospecting; I may be headed up to the East Fork of the San Gabriel River soon, to find Gold so I can buy newer diving equipment – maybe a day trip or a weekend excursion.