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

Solo Diving

In With: 2400 psi
Out With: 1200 psi
Max depth: 30 feet
Waves: 2-4 foot rolling waves – high tide
Visibility: 0-5 feet
Water Temperature: Cool
Total Bottom Time: About 15-20 minutes

I got there about 8 AM; The Divevets were debating whether to call the dive.

The Point looked insane, it had big rolling swells – it was high tide.

Nick and I walked down fully geared for our entry.

I entered and made it through the surf zone; Nick called off his dive at the shoreline.

I proceeded on my own.

I submerged and headed for 120 reef.

The vis sucked – zero to five feet; I hit the bottom before seeing it.

I think I made it to 120 reef because it became really dark.

I headed West, but I soon came to the realization that this dive was pointless.

I heard waves crashing against the rocks, which is a scary sound when you know you have to go ashore eventually.

I swam back in while two other divers were making their entry.

It took several attempts to get back in.

The swells kept rolling in and rolling out; I wasn’t about to grab on to a rock and get maytagged as I did on other dives.

I crawled up to the dry rocks.

I briefed Reverend Al and his crew on the zero to five feet conditions and choppy seas.

Al said they would go to the right, off The Cove.

I fired up the barbecue and hung out with Nick and Lars – talking politics.

Al and his group eventually got back and reported 5 to 15 feet vis to the right.

A group of bikers and a tourist bus visited the parking lot during our debriefing.

Honeymoon Cove, Palos Verdes Estates, CA

Solo Diving/night diving/lobster diving with shore support.

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 500 psi
Max depth: 25 feet
Waves: 1-2 feet, insignificant
Visibility: 10 feet plus
Water Temperature: Cool and comfortable
Total Bottom Time: About 50 minutes
Photos by: Nick

I’ve heard so much about this place – “It’s better than Malaga Cove because it’s so hard to get to from shore and is not ‘lobstered’ out.”

I arrived at 7:30 PM; Nick soon arrived and so did Ron T.

Ron and Nick were not planning on diving but came to either provide shore support or to see how desperate I was to fill my bag with seven tasty lobsters.

I geared up.

Nick was such a pussy; he was going to stay on top of the cliff and not risk the goat trail down to the shore.

Dive Master Ron followed me down the steep goat trail to the shore line.

The walk down sucked, but entry into the water was smooth.

I put my fins on and basically crawled out.

I went South and caught and released a short lobster.

I was hoping that it wouldn’t set the precedent for the night.

Back and forth, back and forth, covering as much ground as I possibly could looking for lobsters.

All in all, three lobsters and all short!

I swam back in, debriefed with Ron and took probably 20 minutes to walk back up the hill.

The walk up sucked!

Just short of the lip of the cliff is a crawl.

In Ron’s words, “You didn’t catch anything, but that sure was a macho dive.”