It has been raining for days and it’s suppose to continue for the next six, with another storm hitting us next weekend.

Not to disappoint any poor child that might get gypped out of a present due to the rain, the toy drive was not cancelled.

As far as the diving part, it looked grim from Thursday.

I don’t mind diving a day after a light rain, but assuming conditions were pristine, everyone would literally be diving in shit.

Three days of having everything that’s on the roads and in the storm drains wash out into the ocean does not make for a healthy dive.

Never the less, apparently two divers braved the poopy water.

So, my diving compatriots huddled under two awnings, collecting toys, drinking coffee, mimosa’s and hot cider, while talking about a variety of subjects.

I hadn’t seen a few divers for a while, and met a couple new ones.

With no kids around, and not wanting to wait for the Firemen (who were never called anyway), it was decided that Dive N Surf would deliver the countless thousands of dollars worth of toys to the Fire Station.

Everything was wrapped up with little fanfare.

For those who want to know what we missed out on, you can read about a previous year’s Christmas Tree Dive here.

So, how has lobster season been treating everyone?

Not very many divers seem to be enthusiastic about the current lobster season.

With little exception, divers around here just haven’t been catching many – one or two per trip, if that; and there haven’t been many trips.

Crazy Ivan told me he paid $300 for a two night, three day lobster dive off the upper channel islands only to get completely skunked.

After the storms clear, weather wise and domestically speaking, I’ll try lobster hunting again.

December 12, 2010 | 6:01 pm

A Palmdale man died Sunday afternoon after failing to surface from a recreational dive off the coast of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.

The victim was diving in the Flat Rock area 100 yards off the coast from a private boat with two friends when he failed to surface, said Capt. Abby Balderas with the L.A. County Lifeguards in Redondo. Redondo Beach Harbor Patrol and L.A. Country Lifeguards launched a search and found the unresponsive diver about noon.

A Coast Guard helicopter took the diver and a Los Angeles County paramedic to a hyperbaric chamber at Two Harbors, Catalina Island, where the diver was declared dead sometime after 1 p.m., said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Ana Thorsson.

The L.A. County coroner’s office identified the victim as 58-year old Steven Dinsdale of Palmdale.

“The conditions were perfect for diving and lots of people were out there,” said Balderas. “It was just an unfortunate dive accident.”

–Jason Felch

The original article from The Los Angeles Times can be found here.

From the Daily Breeze:

Diver Rescued Off PVE Dies

From news services
Posted: 12/13/2010 07:01:49 AM PST
Updated: 12/13/2010 07:26:46 PM PST

A diver who stopped breathing in the ocean off Palos Verdes Estates died after being flown to Catalina Island for emergency treatment.

Steven Dinsdale, 58, of Palmdale failed to surface from a dive Sunday near Flat Rock, on the northwestern side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. The Redondo Beach Harbor Patrol began searching for him, and the Coast Guard sent a boat crew.

Dinsdale was found unconscious in the water and rushed to nearby Redondo Beach King Harbor. There, he was loaded into a Coast Guard helicopter for the 30-mile flight to Two Harbors, where he died while undergoing emergency treatment.

The original article from The Daily Breeze can be found here.