The technical divers were coming back to the boat as Joe and I were jumping off for our second dive.

Logged SCUBA Dive #409

Notable Event: Went into mandatory decompression

Dove with Joe R.

The Palawan Wreck, Redondo Beach, CA

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 900 psi
Max depth: 126 feet
Waves: Slightly choppy
Visibility: Up to 40 feet
Water Temperature: 65 degrees, colder at depth
Air Temperature: 75 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 25 minutes or so, including deco

Joe descended, and so did I.

The technical divers were still on their deco stop coming up on the anchor chain.

I descended and sort of got twisted around; I saw divers, but not the anchor chain.

I actually surfaced to find the chain and tried again – I think Joe came up to make sure everything was OK, and all was good.

We spent about 10 minutes at the wreck; again Joe had to remind me to get back.

I would have been a lot more careful if I had been solo diving, but I relied on Joe to tell me when to leave.

By the time I got back to the anchor line, my computer was screaming that I had gone into deco – not very smart on my part.

If I needed to make an emergency swimming ascent to the surface, I might be really fucked up by the time I got to the surface.

I stopped at 50 feet for five minutes, hanging on to the anchor line, watching my Nitrogen levels decrease.

I slowly went up, stopping every 15 feet or so for a few minutes; at fifteen feet I stopped until Joe gave the thumbs up.

Joe told me on the surface, “Don’t get used to going into deco.”

Traditional debriefing on the boat, spilled over into the parking lot of King Harbor.

One of the divers is a famous video editor named Neno; I had given Professional Debriefer Paul his contact info, but Paul never called, potentially missing out on a very good video editing gig.

We also talked about someone’s brother who gets laid more than anyone else.

His secret?

He doesn’t drink, has a good job and plays the numbers game, not concentrating on any chick who gives him any resistance.

“He doesn’t drink, so he looks very healthy and doesn’t act like an asshole,” I was told.

Oh yeah, and his good job?

He’s a sperm and egg broker.

Also, another thing that was brought up was when Neno mentioned to me, the first time that I met him several months ago, he said that he was a big fan of my blog.

Well, apparently I did not show very much appreciation to him initially, but I do have one thing to explain…

I have met a lot of people personally through this blog, and all of them have been cool; however, about once every two months I do get some kind of a correspondence that could be considered a “death threat” – usually from psychos that think lobster hunting is cruel or nut jobs that.. just don’t like me.

Well, “If everyone likes you,” you are doing something wrong in life.

So, fuck the the haters.

But thanks for reading my blog!

If you ever meet me and I seem sort of unappreciative for you reading my blog, I don’t mean to be – I just want to make sure you aren’t the guy that emailed me last week, telling me he wants to cut my nuts off.

I made another lame ass video that condenses today’s events:

To view this video on YouTube, click here.

One of my favorite local wreck dives!

The Palawan never has disappointed me; when I was offered a spot on the Island Diver to do two dives on this wreck, I had to think- I’m saving for my Albania trip which is only two weeks away.

A Palawan trip will simply lead to less beer being drunk on my vacation.

Realizing that I won’t need cable television while I’m gone, I decided to dive the Palawan and give up TV for a bit.

As usual, it was nothing more than a “sausage fest…”

All the divers, minus Joe R.

Four divers were going to do one long technical dive, me and two others were going to do two recreational limit dives.

I buddied up with Joe R. and another diver – a Palawan virgin; his first time.

We made a quick and uneventful trip to the Palawan.

The three of us descended down the anchor line.

I had a hard time equalizing, my ears really were hurting; if I wasn’t so macho, I may have called the dive.

Joe and the other diver had reached the bottom at 120 feet while I was still at 60.

By the time I got to the bottom, Joe and the other diver had come back to the anchor line; Joe gave me the “up” signal.

All three of us made a slow ascent to the surface.

The other diver basically said, “Deep is not for me, I started to hyperventilate…”

At least he knew at the beginning, instead of letting panic accumulate.

He went back to the boat, Joe and I continued the dive.

Logged SCUBA Dive #408

Dove with Joe R.

The Palawan Wreck, Redondo Beach, CA

In With: 3000 psi
Out With: 900 psi
Max depth: 126 feet
Waves: Slightly choppy
Visibility: Up to 40 feet
Water Temperature: 65 degrees, colder at depth
Air Temperature: 75 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 20 minutes or so

We made it to the end of the anchor and swam 25 feet North East, to where we found the bow of the Palawan wreck.

A short glimpse of the colorful bow…

Five minutes later, Joe signaled to start back to the anchor line; I looked at my dive computer – shit!

I was really close to going into deco.

Thanks Joe!

We made it back to the anchor line as the technical divers were coming down.

We did an hour and ten minute surface interval.

The other diver explained that deep wasn’t for him, and that he actually had some anxiety leading up to the dive.

I thanked him for knowing his limits and avoiding what could have snowballed into a tragedy.

I also found out during the surface interval that a fellow diver, red haired Dominic, was involved in an accident and is currently in a medically induced coma.

He was helping the victim of an auto accident when an asshole motorcyclist, who was driving in between cars, ran over him.

I bought my dive computer from Dominic; I am not religious, and only pray when I need something, but he will certainly be in my prayers for a speedy recovery.