Logged Dive #316

Secret Location: 53 6f 6d 65 77 68 65 72 65 20 6e 65 61 72 20 74 68 65 20 66 61 72 6d 20 74 68 61 74 20 6f 6e 6c 79 20 72 61 69 73 65 73 20 70 69 70 65 73 2e, Redondo Beach, CA

Solo Diving/SoCal Buddy Diving

In With: 2900 psi
Out With: 700 psi
Max depth: 90 feet
Waves: Pretty flat
Visibility: 20 feet
Temperature: Getting Pretty Cold!
Total Bottom Time: About 20 minutes

Having secretly bribed a boat captain for these GPS coordinates, Instructor John and I took the mighty zodiac to check out a secret deep lobster hunting spot off of Redondo Beach.

It took us 15 minutes to get to the approximate spot and 20 minutes trolling around to find the exact spot; life was easier after Instructor John figured out he was accidentally in reverse for a while.

We dropped anchor in 85 feet of water; I briefed him on where it gets really deep, really fast.

But, I also said, “We are here at the exact coordinates according to your GPS, but we won’t really know if we’re here until we descend.”

We both submerged at the same time, but I had to take my time equalizing; by the time I made it to the ocean floor at 85 feet, John had already taken off to the East, I went West.

I looked at my computer and it was off.

I turned it back on and it wouldn’t turn on; maybe the batteries?

OK, back to “time approximation” and using the dive tables.

The ground looked familiar as far as the contour, but I never ran across some of the landmark pipes and concrete boxes; if we weren’t at the exact spot, we were close.

I saw one short lobster in 85 feet of water; other than that, it was a pretty bland and uneventful dive.

There was no current, the swells were flat and the visibility was good; I surfaced pretty close to the zodiac and boarded empty handed.

I spotted John in the distance making a long surface swim back.

Once he climbed on board, he said, “My computer is screwed up, it still thinks I’m at 15 feet.”

Two computers broken on the same dive?

Is this some sort of “Dive Computer Burmuda Triangle?”

Instructor John caught three lobsters in 110 feet of water – at least that’s what his screwed up computer told him; I would guess he didn’t get deeper than 90, maybe 100.

We pulled anchor and tried another secret spot off of Palos Verdes.