February 2, 2014*

We slowly chugged from the Eureka Oil Rig to the Ellen and Ellie Oil Rigs.

We were to dive Ellen after an hour surface interval.

I was one of the first divers over board; I jumped off, into the water and popped back up very buoyant.

I felt around my waist… Fuck, I couldn’t feel my weight belt. I yelled to the Dive Master, that I forgot my belt.

“Where is it, and what does it look like?” the D.M. yelled.

“It’s in the middle of the boat… black weight belt with the frayed edges!”

How could I have forgotten my weight belt?

I wasn’t that rushed.

I made a second feel around my waist, but a little higher… fuck, I was wearing it.

I tried yelling to the Dive Master, but he didn’t hear me.

Four minutes later, he came back empty handed…

I yelled, “You’re going to hate me even more, but yeah, I am wearing it!”

I believe he said a few words of relief, but I couldn’t really hear what he was saying; he waved at me to swim under the rig.

Bringing whole scallops on the boat, and now having him look for a weight belt that I was wearing… yeah, I should tip him at least an asshole fee.

I swam under the rig; the swells were big enough to where you could hit your head on one of the supports if you weren’t being careful.

I submerged.

Logged SCUBA Dive #461

Solo Diving/SoCal Buddy Diving

Ellen Oil Rig
Between Catalina and San Pedro, CA, USA

In With: 2800 psi
Out With: 600 psi
Max depth: 111 feet
Waves: Slightly choppy
Visibility: 40 to 60 feet!
Water Temperature: 59 degrees
Air Temperature: 69 degrees
Total Bottom Time: About 22 minutes

This was my first time diving the Ellen Oil Rig, but this rig seems bigger than Eureka rig.

Scallop hunting was over, so now it was camera time…

A seal bomber us for a bit.

Looking up from 50 feet.

It was a nice, 20 minute dive or so.

I made it back to the boat without problems.

I tipped the crew extra for being kind of a pain in the ass and enjoyed some beer and tequila on the short ride back.

*Posting has been delayed due to the Super Bowl, the Super Bowl Party and the needed recovery from the events.

February 2, 2014*

It’s Super Bowl Sunday, and I have the same opportunity as I did last year – Go on the Pacific Star for two SCUBA dives under the oil rigs and be back by the game.

This was suppose to be a divevets function, but I only knew a handful of people.

Either I’m losing touch with the group, or there are a lot of new members recently.

Just like last year, we had to go through an extensive background security check to be anywhere close to the oil rigs.

The first dive I planned to collect some scallops for a Super Bowl party and test my camera housing for leaks – I replaced the gasket and re-greased the housing.

I did take the housing on a test dive, but only to 40 feet – this is the ultimate test.

We got a short briefing on the dives and dive procedures, including a bit about scallop gathering – “We are going to ask you to cut the meat out of the shell, don’t bring the whole thing up – you’ll have 50 unneeded pounds of shell with you.”

The San Pedro Light House.

The Eureka Oil Rig.

After the short ride out, it was time to dive.

The rigs are in 600 feet of water, so the boat has to drop and pickup without anchoring.

I jumped over and swam underneath the rig before submerging.

Logged SCUBA Dive #460

Solo Diving/SoCal Buddy Diving

Eureka Oil Rig
Between Catalina and San Pedro, CA, USA

In With: 2900 psi
Out With: 500 psi
Max depth: 101 feet
Waves: Slightly choppy
Visibility: 40 to 60 feet!
Water Temperature: 59 degrees
Air Temperature: 67 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 24 minutes

The water was choppy, but as soon as I went under, it calmed down – visibility was excellent!

I would say 50 to 60 feet of visibility – perfect for spotting scallops, that are literally all over the columns under the rig.

I found a big ass scallop at 60 feet, took my knife out and jabbed it into the scallop to dig the meat out.

The scallop closed, I twisted it, and my knife broke in half!

Well shit!

They asked me to cut the meat out before coming back to the boat – that’s like when the cops ask you if they can search your car.

It’s not mandatory.

OK, I might be a little heavy, but what they hell, I started prying the scallops off, whole, and putting them in my lobster bag.

After 20 minutes, I had a heavy bag full of scallops.

I reached the surface and gave the OK sign about 20 times to the Dive Master who was waving a hard hat at me – I found out later he was trying to return a hard hat that one of the workmen on the rig had dropped.

The boat picked me up, and the Dive Master was not very happy to see whole scallops coming up on the boat – he sort of bitched me out.

The King of Scallops

My broken dive knife.

I checked my camera housing – and it didn’t leak!

Stay tuned for the second dive post, with underwater pictures of the Ellen Oil Rig.

*Posting has been delayed due to the Super Bowl, the Super Bowl Party and the needed recovery from the events.