Veteran’s Park, Redondo Beach, CA

Solo Diving

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 700 psi
Max depth: About 95 feet
Waves: Small swells
Visibility: About 10-15 feet, maybe more in some places
Water Temperature: 52 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 45 minutes

Ah, yes!

Veteran’s Park once again!

Quite a number of displaced Marineland divers showed up this morning; even Dive Bum Don was at Vet’s – he later said that once a year gives him his fill for this place.

The waves were flat with an occasional ankle breaker; I was ready to submerge at about 9 AM.

That’s me with Palos Verdes in the background.

Diving conditions are improving; I could actually see the bottom before hitting it.

I swam to the drop off – the edge of the canyon; it goes from 35 feet straight down to 85 feet then continues to much deeper…

Down the canyon I went and spotted a lone white starfish.

There used to be a huge white starfish here a couple of years ago… until some douche bag student in a Sports Chalet class decided to take it home as a souvenir.

I always keep my eyes open for trouble, especially when I dive alone…

A killer human-eating crab was on a traffic cone waiting to pounce on the next unsuspecting diver.

Luckily he knew I was prepared and didn’t attack!

Nearby I found someone’s cell phone…

…obviously a remnant from one of the crab’s many victims.

I went deep today for the massage and therapeutic benefits such a dive has to offer.

My console read my deepest was 90 feet; my computer said 98 feet.

I turned around at 1500 psi and swam East… then I realized that I live on the West coast, so I needed to go West.

I turned around and started getting deeper again!

Narced!

I didn’t even feel a buzz, but my navigation skills proved that I was narced.

I corrected course and vowed to kick myself in the ass later.

As I was a ascending the canyon wall, I ran across a cool cap…

I did my best to look cool in it.

I later gave it to Dan from Divevets since he likes my taste in hats so much.

After a nice shallow swim in to out gas, I made it to shore with no problems.

I socialized for a bit with the Divevets, Jake and a few from the Marineland scene.

Dive Bum Don made a good point for diving with redundant air.

Twice he had O-rings burst and other problems with his air.

“That tank empties in a matter of a minute and a half, and at 65 feet you don’t have much time,” he said.

Another diver asked, “Can’t you just turn your tank off and turn in on only when needed, until you get to the surface?”

“That takes too much time, and in an emergency situation like that it’s best just to do an emergency ascent to the surface,” I said.

Don agreed.

I think my next major dive purchase is a pony bottle – my Spare Air (aka Three Breathes To Death) is still better than nothing.

I also heard that lame ass Sports Chalet is giving store credit for old SCUBA gear.

A dive store brought in all their decaying rental equipment and raped Sports Chalet for thousands of dollars in gear.

Before heading back to the hood, I had a few debriefing beers in the lot while getting a sun tan.

Veteran’s Park, Redondo Beach, CA

Solo Diving

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 600 psi
Max depth: 85 feet
Waves: Small surge with some waves to pay attention to.
Visibility: About 5-10 feet or so
Water Temperature: 53 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 40 minutes

It was a gloomy morning; but, I hadn’t been under the water since the end of lobster season several weeks ago.

Diving conditions over the last couple weeks have been reported as “cold with crappy visibility.”

Plus, I was suppose to dive the Palawan with the Divevets who were accompanying a Daily Breeze reporter – the trip I was suppose to be on was canceled due to conditions and secretly rescheduled without me.

So, I feel cheated by that group, but oh well; I guess I’ll see April 20th when the story comes out as to who they picked to go over me.

The Vet’s parking lot was sparse with divers, but I did recognize a few faces.

I geared up and was in the water around 9:45 AM.

I submerged to 20 feet and headed West, down the shelf.

Vis was 10 above the shelf, but over the shelf it got really dark and really cold.

I tried to find the “monument” or “the blocks” at 65 feet, but I couldn’t.

I still had plenty of air and was determined to find something of interest.

The first thing I did to ensure I would get some interesting pictures is take yet another self portrait …

I trolled for a bit at 85 feet or so and was looking for something besides myself to photograph.

A starfish gives Jiu Jitsu to a conch.

A crab guards the last of the squid egg sacks on the bottom of the canyon.

I fumbled with my camera for a while, trying to figure out how to turn the flash back on.

I made sure I was still paying attention to my air and bottom time; you don’t necessarily have to be hunting to be distracted.

I swam back up the shelf and almost ran in to a gigantic human eating crab that was guarding the edge of the canyon…

I slowly swam in, taking my safety stop on the “stroll.”

I dove with my newly acquired computer, but aside from the depth and temperature (given in the metric system!), it really doesn’t seem to tell me anything that the tables don’t tell me before I hit the water.

I came across a patch of loose kelp and I looked close…

Oh yeah!

Lobsters are really stupid creatures, but they’re smart enough to know when lobster season is over!

Two lobsters were hiding under kelp that was sloshing around in 20 feet of water.

These stupid creatures were smart enough to hide and survive during lobster season, but didn’t have a problem with taking a daytime walk now!

I made an easy, but cautious, exit as the surf was kicking up.

I watched a few newbies, probably students, enter through the surf…

Thankfully, no problems with their entry or my dive.

I debriefed for a little while with Budweiser and Clamato juice – an excellent breakfast beer – while I showed a student my spare air.

It feels good to get in the water again!