Logged SCUBA Dive #304

SECRET LOCATION: 54 68 65 20 67 61 74 65 73 20 6f 66 20 6d 61 72 2c 20 6e 65 61 72 20 74 68 65 20 74 68 72 65 65 20 63 68 69 6d 6e 65 79 73 – Palos Verdes

Solo Diving/SoCal Buddy Diving

In With: 2900 psi
Out With: 400 psi
Max depth: 35 feet
Waves: Minor chop
Visibility: 15 to 20 feet
Water Temperature: 67 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 35 minutes
Notable Event: It’s Opening Night of Lobster Season!

I met Instructor John and Jim at King Harbor around 10:30 PM.

We geared up and were off within 30 minutes for the ride to the secret location.

In the harbor, we almost got hit by some asshole who nearly ran us over.

John maneuvered to avoid a collision and yelled, “Hey! Hey! Didn’t you see us over here?”

The guy looked over and sped up, creating a wake in the “no wake” zone; I wish I could remember the name of that asshole’s boat.

Instructor John said, “We don’t dive the break wall on Opening Night because of assholes like that.”

Many boats and shore divers were off the cliffs of Palos Verdes; lights were everywhere.

We jumped in at midnight; I fumbled with my gear, putting my BCD on in the water.

I noticed that my computer was no longer on my wrist; did I even put it on?

I submerged and touched bottom, but didn’t see my computer, only a short lobster.

“OK, they’re around, I probably just left it on the boat,” I thought.

I continued my dive computerless, knowing it would be a shallow one; I would run out of air before running out of time.

This location has tons of kelp that I constantly had to cut and untangle; on this dive I probably cut more seaweed that the average sushi chef does in a year.

I spotted my first lobster, swam over and pinned… it started to flee backwards… and I grabbed his antennas.

It wiggled free, hitting me in the head as it escaped backwards; being macho I ignored the pain.

I approached another lobster shortly afterward; I pinned it, measured it and bagged it!

My first lobster of the 2008 season!

After another 5 minutes, my light waved past a huge six pound bug; I aimed my light to the side and swam forward to pounce on it….

I wasn’t moving!

Fuck! I was caught in the kelp!

The bug fled.

I backed up and freed myself and continued my dive.

I tried to pin several more; they either were too short, or they fled too quickly.

I am either rusty in my lobster pinning, or the lobsters are getting smarter.

I made it back to the zodiac after a very short surface swim; Jim was already on board with three massive bugs.

My first lobster of the season!

What a monster!

OK, where the hell is my computer?

It is not on the boat.

It must have really fallen off my arm when I put my BCD on!

Instructor John made it back to the boat and submerged to look for it; I geared back up and with 600 psi left, jumped over board.

OK, where’s my light?

I just had it!

I looked below and saw a light; is that John?

No, I had dropped it; was this a jinxed dive or what?

I dove down, and retrieved my light, as John was ascending, holding my computer.

Phew!

Redondo Pier, Redondo Beach, California

Dove With TwinDuct

In With: 2900 psi
Out With: 600 psi
Max depth: 60 feet
Waves: Six feet surge and swells at the shoreline
Visibility: Three feet under Redondo Pier, 15+  feet at depth in the canyon.
Water Temperature: About 64 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 35 minutes

This is the annual “Heal The Bay” beach clean up; the pier was closed to fishermen so divers could pick up trash underneath.

Tony, DM for Dive N Surf,  gives the pre-dive briefing; everyone listens carefully…

“The waves are up… if you can’t lift the “trash” don’t try and bring it ashore and only wave your hand if you need help…”

The waves posed a problem for inexperienced and non-macho divers.

You had to time your entry and exit just right.

At the shoreline, I waited for my buddy TwinDuct to gear up as I watched the other divers enter…

The Divemasters were kept busy…

I did something that I hadn’t done on a beach entry for quite a while – breathe off my regulator as I was entering the water and swimming through the surf zone.

TwinDuct and I made it out with no problems – experience and machismo pays off.

Also, I had my newly purchased “spring loaded” fin straps – they really paid off on this beach entry!

I did not have to fumble at all to put my fins on, and once on, they stayed on.

Me off of Redondo Pier, TwinDuct is in the background.

We descended in 20 feet of water at headed 330 degrees to the pier; I sort of got off course and had to peak – I missed it, we were West of the pier, heading into the Harbor.

I corrected course and we swam under the pier…

Visibility under the pier sucked!

I found a knife and a few fishing weights, but the “good stuff” I thought was already picked up.

An old pier piling underneath the current pier?

We headed South and down the canyon.

There were so many rotting fish, shark and bat ray corpses off the canyon…

A rotting shark corpse… all that’s left is the head.

I think these creatures got hooked by fishermen off the pier, escaped injured and swam down the shelf to die; their corpses rot and become fish (and lobster!) food.

I almost got my testicles pinched off by a spider crab; thankfully I defended myself using my cage fighting abilities.

At 800 psi we headed in and surfaced in 15 feet of water.

We made a skillful exit in the increasingly pounding waves.

Me and TwinDuct pose with our stash of trash.

I found socks, a knife, beer bottles, plastic bags, coffee cup lids and an assortment of other plastic and paper crap.

TwinDuct found pretty much the same, plus a bucket.

We went back down to shore and watched the show…

Dan from Divevets DMed the divers body surfing back to shore.

WAVE! WAVE! WAVE! Watch your back!.

Surf’s up dude!

Why did they schedule an event like this when the surf was going to be so rough?

After watching the show, I saw many mistakes made by novice or inexperienced divers entering and exiting the surf.

My advise for entering rough water:

First, don’t do it if you think you can’t make it!

Never turn your back on the ocean!

I saw many divers turn their back on the ocean when they thought they were safe, only to get slammed by a huge wave when their back was turned.

Also, don’t put air in your BCD!

You will float like a cork and get nailed riding a wave.

When a big wave approaches, dive underneath it – don’t jump up thinking it will pass underneath you.

I’ve had bad experiences myself in the “surf zone” – read about it here.

Red shirted non-divers cleaned the beach and surrounding areas.

The underwater trash is sorted and logged; found on this clean-up – a crutch, a fishing hoop net, fishing reels, a dildo, a lot of knives, bottles, tons of plastic garbage, a used condom and an assortment of fishing weights, to name a few.

So now here comes the debriefing…

Partying in the parking lot is the Divevets’ forte.

We exchanged diving stories and corrupted newly indoctrinated divers as Cyber The Attack Dog puts his ear to the ground, listening for approaching police cars.

Another great day of diving for public service!