<\/p>\nLogged SCUBA Dive #370<\/p>\n
Diving with Not So New Chris (Yes, he made it back from Afghanistan!)<\/p>\n
In With: 3100 psi
\nOut With: 800 psi
\nMax depth: 40 feet
\nWaves: Pretty flat, with some swells in the surf zone
\nVisibility: 10-15 feet
\nWater Temperature: About 58 degrees
\nTotal Bottom Time: About 42 minutes<\/p>\n
With lobster season fast approaching and with me being dry for several months, I had to get back into my old routine, regardless of the fact that psycho bitch is still squatting on my couch.<\/p>\n
My spare air still leaked, despite my lame attempt to repair it.<\/p>\n
I broke out my spare regulator, as my primary one still leaked.<\/p>\n
My tank was bone dry – I swore I filled both tanks, but maybe my blue tank leaks?<\/p>\n
It’s been sitting for a few weeks.<\/p>\n
Not getting out of diving that easily, Reverend Al loaned my his steel 100; I took five pounds off my weight belt to compensate, hoping I wasn’t overweight.<\/p>\n
I also forgot to switch my compass out from my old regulator, so my plan was to just follow Not So New Chris.<\/p>\n
Everyone else in our group went off The Point; Chris and I headed off the cove to do 120 reef.<\/p>\n
We made and easy entry and were soon met by a teenage female that was out for a swim; she was wearing what looked like a painted on bikini.<\/p>\n
“Aren’t you cold?” I asked.<\/p>\n
“I surf a lot, so I’m used to the cold,” she answered.<\/p>\n
Chris and I continued our surface swim before submerging in 20 feet of water to head for the reef.<\/p>\n
This dive was several firsts for me – first dive with a steel tank, first dive with my “emergency” regulator, first dive this month and the first dive in a long time without my spare air.<\/p>\n
I figured I could do an emergency swimming ascent from 40 feet without my spare air, and that was the main reason I chose to dive 120 reef.<\/p>\n
I pretty much just followed Chris around, since he was the man with the compass.<\/p>\n
I decided to leave my camera on shore, since I already had a lot to be concerned with on this dive.<\/p>\n
We went and hung out around the small arch that is in 35 feet of water.<\/p>\n
I kept starting to float up – my inflator hose was sticking on, so my BCD jacket was slowly, but continuously, inflating.<\/p>\n
I detached the hose, and decided to inflate my BCD manually once I broke the surface.<\/p>\n
Other than the minor things that I just mentioned, it was an enjoyable and non-dramatic dive.<\/p>\n
Chris brought us back to the cove, and after a short surface swim and a slight wait for some waves, we made an uneventful exit.<\/p>\n
The Island Diver was anchored off The Cove – some guys were diving doubles off the boat.<\/p>\n
The walk back was less torturous than I thought it would be.<\/p>\n
Two really hot girls in bikinis commented to Chris and I that, “This is a long walk on such a hot day to carry all that gear up to the parking lot.”<\/p>\n
“We are macho, and we can handle it,” I said.<\/p>\n
Reverend Al and his group made it back shortly after us.<\/p>\n
They had a nice dive, but had to fight one hell of a current on the way back.<\/p>\n
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It’s good to be back!<\/p>\n
We debriefed as tradition has always warranted, and talked about wreck diving and lobster hunting.<\/p>\n
We were honored to have the Mayor Of Old Marineland – Max Bottomtime – pay us a visit – he and Mary apparently found an old German U-boat from World War I that was sunk by the US Navy off of San Pedro in 1921.<\/p>\n
Now, as far as Lobster season goes, Reverend Al has told me that Dive N Surf will not be open all night for their Lobster Mobster event, like they have been for the last 30 something years.<\/p>\n
They open at 7 AM, opening morning, and hand out free T-shirts for $5 to those who previously registered and brought in a legal lobster.<\/p>\n
I will be skipping this event this year.<\/p>\n
Marineland Employee Reunion<\/strong><\/p>\n Having worked at Marineland in our youth, Professional Debriefer Paul and I went to the Marineland Employee Reunion yesterday at Terranea Resort.<\/p>\n We didn’t meet anyone that we worked with – they were all extremely old ex-employees from the 1950s and 1960s; we sort of didn’t fit in, but we did have fun walking through Marineland Memory Lane:<\/p>\n Baja Reef Literature.<\/p>\n Marineland Tickets.<\/p>\n Display pictures.<\/p>\n This was me, on August 13, 2006, standing on top of what was left of the foundation of the Dime Toss; that is where I worked as a teenager.<\/p>\n Here’s the same spot, as best as we can figure, today.<\/p>\n At 1 PM, The Marine Mammal Care Center released two injured seals that were nursed back to health.<\/p>\n
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