Long Point (aka The Old Marineland), Palos Verdes, California

Solo Diving, So Cal Buddy Diving

In With: 2200 psi
Out With: 700 psi
Max depth: About 50 feet
Waves: Small swells, but with a few predictable surprises
Visibility: 20-25 feet
Water Temperature: 64 degrees
Total Bottom Time: About 35 minutes

I arrived at Long Point about 30 minutes late; I was able to park in the last remaining illegal spot in the tiny lot.

The parking lot was jammed with divers – regulars and new comers.

Reverend Al said that he was going to try The Point; I didn’t check conditions for myself, but nobody was holding beers in their hands, so I geared up and followed Reverend Al and his group to the boulder entrance.

WARNING: Boulder entries are potentially dangerous and should be reserved exclusively for macho divers.

I made it out with no problem.

We waited for everyone else to make it out.

I looked underwater to preview the visibility…

…it looked spectacular!

I had used my tank previously to clean my regulator, so I went diving with a short filled tank.

I told reverend Al that I was going to follow the group to the Pinnacle, and then take off on my own after five minutes.

We descended; I had a hard time equalizing, but managed to follow the group down with the great visibility.

The Pinnacle – Underwater architecture at its best.

I hung out around the Pinnacle for maybe 10 minutes.

There were a lot of fish here!

A diver at Long Point with a deco bottle?

He later told us, he wants to practice carrying it.

If he needs practice carrying gear back up the hill, he can carry mine!

I broke away from the group and started towards the cove for an exit.

There was some weird kind of nudibrach that I had never seen before – it looked like a bleached Spanish Shawl.

Another Sun Star!

Just think, two years ago, I had never seen one; now they’re all over the place!

An abundance of kelp is returning to Long Point.

I was running low on air and did a surface swim of about 100 yards to the cove.

I used about 200 psi of air looking for a lost fin from last week – no luck.

Juan Twenty was nice enough to be the unofficial Dive Master upon exit, while Cyber the attack dog kept watch.

After another macho walk up the switchback trail, the divers heavily debriefed with an assortment of domestic and imported beers.

Another perfect day of diving at the Old Marineland!

In talking with Juan Twenty at the SCUBA Show, I received reports of five foot vis and crappy conditions at Old Marineland on Saturday.

We were planning another barbecue today, but I ran a little late and just brought my outdoor stove and hot dogs.

My brother was waiting for me when I arrived; he’s not certified, but fits in with the dive groupies and is looking for subject matter that he can use for a commercial contest.

Conditions looked crappy – “green” as we call it; it looked like it went all the way to The Point…

Even though three divers (including a really hot chick!) geared up for a SCUBA dive, most of the regulars stayed dry and called the dive; I took the hint.

We grabbed some beers and headed down to sit at the beach.

No diving for me, but another perfect day!

Fog rolled in for a bit and the conditions looked like they were getting worse.

The abandoned and loose fishing net that’s been trying to wash itself back out to sea to once again become a marine hazard, was secured with rope by Dive Bum Don and Max Bottomtime.

These nets are lost by commercial fishermen and they end up floating around the ocean, endlessly trapping and drowning seals, sea lions, dolphins and other marine life.

My brother and I hadn’t been in Pigeon Shit cave together since our teenage years of sneaking in to Marineland.

We call it Pigeon Shit cave because that’s what we would be covered with after leaving the cave back in the day.

The entrance to Pigeon Shit cave.

The cave goes several dozen yards back; but all the debris that’s washed in from storms forces you to crawl after a certain point.

The cave was damp with water drops falling from the ceiling.

The divers returned; one sacrificed a fin to the ocean gods.

Reports were “about eight feet vis” with water temperature around 60 degrees.

Maybe I should have gone diving – but too many times I’ve gone in, only to wonder later why I didn’t call the dive.

We cooked hot dogs in the parking lot – only a few stayed for the hot dogs (aka “Death Sticks”); I’ve gotten them too used to Korean ribs, rice and kim chi.

A new diver to Divevets introduced himself – Drew.

The parking lot “party” fizzled out fairly early, leaving me and my brother to reminisce about growing up in the poor part of Palos Verdes and working at Old Marineland more than 20 years ago.