<\/p>\nThis is my first Pagan dive in many years.<\/p>\n
So, what is a Pagan Dive?<\/p>\n
It is an excuse for anyone who dives, but doesn’t have anything to do on Christmas morning.<\/p>\n
In this case, it’s our regularly scheduled Sunday Services dive, just disguised as the Pagan Dive.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I got to the dive site a little early and Mirek and I scoped the conditions out.<\/p>\n
They looked fine, except for a few breaking waves at shore.<\/p>\n
At 9 AM, the rest of the group showed up, minus Donna the Hot Biker Chick, who had a scheduled appearance this morning.<\/p>\n
After Reverend Al checked The Point, he decided to be safe and enter off The Cove – the waves were picking up.<\/p>\n
Our group made an uneventful entrance.<\/p>\n
Logged SCUBA Dive #398<\/p>\n
Sort of Dove with TwinDuct, Dennis G., Richard The Brit, Reverend Al and Son
\nTerranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA USA<\/p>\n
In With: 3000 psi
\nOut With: 1500 psi
\nMax depth: 42 feet
\nWaves: Choppy and the shore line with a few surprises
\nVisibility: 8 feet of shit
\nWater Temperature: 57 degrees
\nAir Temperature: 74 degrees
\nTotal Bottom Time: 23 minutes<\/p>\n
This is my first beach dive with my new camera – I was a little nervous that it would get lost or smashed on entry or exit, even though I had it on a leash.<\/p>\n
We kicked out through the silt in The Cove, and it looked like it would clear a little.<\/p>\n
We all dropped at the tip of the finger, outside Pigeon Shit cave.<\/p>\n
Visibility sucked!<\/p>\n
I tried following the group, but was messing around with my camera and lost them in the silt soup fairly early in the dive.<\/p>\n
I trolled around, but decided to head back in after 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
TwinDuct and Richard The Brit were already on shore.<\/p>\n
The waves were picking up, but I thought I waited long enough.<\/p>\n
I took my fins off – a wave pushed me towards shore – I stood up and began walking – then another wave hit.<\/p>\n
No problems, until the wave started to recede and I lost my footing.<\/p>\n
I fell, and another wave came in and I got tossed, losing a fin in the process as I reached for my camera that had gotten scraped against the rocks, along with everything else.<\/p>\n
I also had an audience watching me from shore – luckily PDP with his video camera was not there, nor any other diver. <\/p>\n
I regained my footing and made it to the dry rocks.<\/p>\n
I looked back and thought, “Well, this is the first time I ever lost a fin in almost 400 dives, 280 of them beach dives.”<\/p>\n
The tips are starting to crack, so I guess this is God telling me to get a newer pair of fins.<\/p>\n
I looked back at the surf zone – a big wave crashed against the shore, and as it receded, there was my lost fin, stranded in a formation of rocks!<\/p>\n
I quickly launched a successful rescue operation before the next wave came in.<\/p>\n
Now on to the debrief…<\/p>\n
Richard the Brit brought some kind of flaming cake – flam-bay (something like that) that was a bitch to light.<\/p>\n
Mirek brought some Tequila; I asked him, “I thought Poles drank Vodka, not Tequila?”<\/p>\n
“We are closer to Mexico here,” Mirek said.<\/p>\n
I broke out the ghetto grill for barbecued hot dogs and pineapple.<\/p>\n
This is the last time we’re using the ghetto grill, before replacing it – the rusted grill has one huge flame in the middle, with no heat around it.<\/p>\n
Yet another fun day of diving and debriefing has all been captured again with the following video.<\/p>\n
It is in 3D – if you don’t have the glasses or hate 3D, you can turn the 3D off using the controls at the lower right.<\/p>\n
If you have anaglyphic glasses, you can chose the color settings using the 3D icon, also.<\/p>\n