Nobody cared where we went next – well, there was no argument, at least.

We decided to try a spot, in the direction of heading back to the harbor.

Someone got seasick and decided to chum the water with a stomach full of barf.

Instructor John had limited and decided that he was done diving; Jim decided that two huge lobsters, plus a third, was enough for him and decided to keep John company.

Logged SCUBA Dive #391

Southern California Buddy Diving/Solo Diving

Secret Location: 46 72 6f 6d 20 74 68 65 20 6c 61 73 74 20 73 70 6f 74 2c 20 4e 2f 45 20 61 62 6f 75 74 20 31 30 30 20 79 61 72 64 73 2e, Palos Verdes, CA

In With: 2600 psi
Out With: 1200 psi
Max depth: 35 feet
Waves: 3 – 5 foot chop
Visibility: 15 feet plus
Water Temperature: 67 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 20 minutes

I thought like a lobster – “Where would I be if I needed to eat?”

My psychic ability lead me to three more lobsters within the first ten minutes of the dive.

I had limited for the night, so I just headed slowly back for the boat, making sure I got my “20 minutes” in.

My three lobsters for this dive.

Crazy Ivan made it back with one bug.

We made a slow ride back to the harbor and docked at about 3:30 am.

My entire catch for the night.

The Lobster Police rolled up on us…

“California Department of Fish and Game, everyone freeze!”

Just kidding, they were actually very nice and cordial.

They checked our bags and fishing licences, in addition to giving Crazy Ivan a hard time for only catching two.

They told us that they’ve ticketed a lot of people for bringing up shorts this morning.

Their advise – if you think a lobster is probably legal, it probably isn’t.

We stopped by Dive N Surf, where they are back at doing their all night Lobster Mobster event.

I didn’t sign up this year – they won’t fill my tanks, so I really have no reason to frequent the place on a regular basis.

I did order a Lobster Mobster T-shirt, but I didn’t see anyone that I recognized; the crowd was pretty thin.

I totaled 12 pounds of lobster.

We are planning to go out over the next few weeks, depending on the weather, surf and health of the Captain.

What an excellent start to this season!

There were thunder storms earlier Friday; it seemed that might have driven people away from “Opening Night” as there were not that many people on the water.

I write “Opening Night” because technically, it’s Opening Morning.

There was no moon – which is good.

We took Instructor John’s mighty 14 foot Zodiac – loaded with himself, Jim, Crazy Ivan, me, eight tanks and our gear – to one of our secret lobster locations.

There wasn’t much room.

The boat rode low in the water and riding over the swells made the non-macho sea sick.

We jumped in the water at midnight.

I had a nightmare earlier in the week that I had gotten skunked on opening night; I was about to find out if that dream was a premonition.

Logged SCUBA Dive #390

Southern California Buddy Diving/Solo Diving

Secret Location: 4e 65 61 72 20 74 68 65 20 67 61 74 65 73 20 6f 66 20 4d 61 72 2c 20 74 68 65 72 65 20 69 73 20 61 20 68 6f 75 73 65 20 77 69 74 68 20 66 6f 75 72 20 6f 72 20 6d 6f 72 65 20 63 68 69 6d 6e 65 79 73 2e, Palos Verdes, CA

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 800 psi
Max depth: 35 feet
Waves: 3 – 5 foot chop
Visibility: 15 feet plus
Water Temperature: 67 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 48 minutes

The boat was anchored in 30 feet of water; I submerged to check the anchor line – SCORE!

My first bug, with no problems!

I swam shallower, but the visibility started to suck at 15 feet, I turned around, went over a reef and saw more lobsters a few feet apart.

I pinned the bigger one, measured it, bagged it and looked over…

“Holy shit! That other bug is still there,” I thought.

I moved in and missed a secure grip, it wiggled out of my hand and hit me in the face while fleeing.

I surfaced to get a return heading, submerged, and came across my next two fairly easy.

Yeah, there were a lot of short lobsters, but I didn’t even bother going after bugs that “look like they might be legal size.”

I made a short return trip to the boat, swimming under the thick kelp.

I need to start cage fighting again, as I am so out of shape, I had a hard time climbing back in to the boat.

Jim caught three, two were monsters.

And so the season starts – my first four bugs for the 2011 season.

Instructor John limited (7) on this dive and Crazy Ivan caught one.

We moved to a different location for our second dive.