Rainer
Contributor
Sounds like people had a great trip. That's fantastic!
DWADD 2011 Thursday, June 2nd
- Thread starter Teamcasa
- Start date
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Sure wish I could've have been there . . . but the next best thing --
Where's a good place to go for dinner Friday night, in the vicinity of the Long Beach Convention Center?
Post DWADD dinner:
We had a great meal at Gladstone overlooking the water and the lighthouse Gladstone's: Home
We can also recommend Bubba Gumps, Yardhouse (thousands of beers on tap) Yard House , Cafe Sevilla for authenic Spanish paella Spanish Tapas Restaurant in Long Beach CA, Holiday Party Restaurant, Live Flamenco Show Parker's Lighthouse for the view/ambiance, Rock Bottom Brewery micro brewery is a perenial favorite Long Beach | Rock Bottom
Lots of great choices in the area.
Did Pete dive Casino Point? Here's the proof positive!
Conditions began as the best I've seen in almost two weeks but by Noon the winds and waves had returned and we all (well, almost all) wisely chose BEER and food instead.
Conditions began as the best I've seen in almost two weeks but by Noon the winds and waves had returned and we all (well, almost all) wisely chose BEER and food instead.
Diving yesterday was a BLAST. The company was even BETTER!
Elena, Aunt Martha and I arrived for the incredibly quick ride out to Santa Catalina Island only to find a number of other ScubaBoarders there already. We scored two of the front tables and had some lively and fun discussion before we arrived. Once on there, Dave (TeamCasa) exerted his leadership and quickly arranged for our bags to be brought out to the point while we had a blast walking the half mile or so. We stopped at Scuba Luv where Elena and I picked up weights and tanks. The guy was terrific and we were out in no time and heading down the Via Casino to the point. This was my third time here on the island and I had yet to accomplish a real dive. It looked like a great day to reverse my past history here!
Once at the point, we settled in an area just by the steps down to the water. There were some surprises like Elena's tank valve leaking through the handle when turned on (she missed the first dive). However, I was finally able to swim with kelp. We dropped to see a shell of a sailboat and turned right. Huge Sea Hares were everywhere as were lobster (I counted 7). There were also a lot of whelks, whelk eggs and turban snails. Calico bass and Garibaldi were very abundant and learning to dive in kelp was FUN. I am not sure how long I was down, but I had fun.
Our second dive we turned left (north???). We came to a cool platform where we saw a timid octopus trying to hide from us. Unfortunately, there was a BUNCH of condensation on my lens so the early pics have a "soft focus" effect (unintended). I only saw one lobster this time, but I also saw a cool triangular shaped conch. The vis was exceptionally bad and while many of us were blaming Dr Bill, the reality was that the rays were feeding in the sand and stirring up quite a bit of silt. I wonder if we should call them "roto-tillers"??? The seas had really picked up by the end of the dive and I was smashed into the railing twice. My shoulder is still tender this morning. Still, we had a great group of divers and no one was injured. In fact, two die hards went back in as the rest of us headed to the restaurant just by the casino.
The harbor patrol was hoisting a "Small Craft Warning" sign as we were loading up on the "Jet Cat" to head back to Long Beach. Dave, Marion, Elena, Aunt Martha, Rich and myself stopped at Gladstone's for dinner after we got back on land. YUM! I have to admit that I checked on a few things when we got home, took a shower and CRASHED for the night. Heck, Elena's still sleeping as I try to get back on track and ready for the Scuba Show Tomorrow.
Elena, Aunt Martha and I arrived for the incredibly quick ride out to Santa Catalina Island only to find a number of other ScubaBoarders there already. We scored two of the front tables and had some lively and fun discussion before we arrived. Once on there, Dave (TeamCasa) exerted his leadership and quickly arranged for our bags to be brought out to the point while we had a blast walking the half mile or so. We stopped at Scuba Luv where Elena and I picked up weights and tanks. The guy was terrific and we were out in no time and heading down the Via Casino to the point. This was my third time here on the island and I had yet to accomplish a real dive. It looked like a great day to reverse my past history here!
Once at the point, we settled in an area just by the steps down to the water. There were some surprises like Elena's tank valve leaking through the handle when turned on (she missed the first dive). However, I was finally able to swim with kelp. We dropped to see a shell of a sailboat and turned right. Huge Sea Hares were everywhere as were lobster (I counted 7). There were also a lot of whelks, whelk eggs and turban snails. Calico bass and Garibaldi were very abundant and learning to dive in kelp was FUN. I am not sure how long I was down, but I had fun.
Our second dive we turned left (north???). We came to a cool platform where we saw a timid octopus trying to hide from us. Unfortunately, there was a BUNCH of condensation on my lens so the early pics have a "soft focus" effect (unintended). I only saw one lobster this time, but I also saw a cool triangular shaped conch. The vis was exceptionally bad and while many of us were blaming Dr Bill, the reality was that the rays were feeding in the sand and stirring up quite a bit of silt. I wonder if we should call them "roto-tillers"???
The seas had really picked up by the end of the dive and I was smashed into the railing twice. My shoulder is still tender this morning. Still, we had a great group of divers and no one was injured. In fact, two die hards went back in as the rest of us headed to the restaurant just by the casino. The harbor patrol was hoisting a "Small Craft Warning" sign as we were loading up on the "Jet Cat" to head back to Long Beach. Dave, Marion, Elena, Aunt Martha, Rich and myself stopped at Gladstone's for dinner after we got back on land. YUM! I have to admit that I checked on a few things when we got home, took a shower and CRASHED for the night. Heck, Elena's still sleeping as I try to get back on track and ready for the Scuba Show Tomorrow.
Damn, I'm jealous as all hell!!!!
Dave, Marian, Dr. Bill, Pete and Elena all in one trip...damn, I missed out on a good time.
Dave, Marian, Dr. Bill, Pete and Elena all in one trip...damn, I missed out on a good time.
Leejnd
Contributor
What a fantastic day! And I got to dive with Pete (NetDoc) and Dr. Bill together! WOOHOO! This was a huge day for me - with my recent back surgery, the only way I can get underwater is with a lot of help. I dislike having to ask for help (being the independent rebel sort), but as it turned out, I didn't even HAVE to ask! Between Dennis carting my steel tank on his shoulder onto and off the ferry (and this is while wearing his own tank on his back), and Paul, Dennis, Rich and assorted others carrying my gear to the bottom of the steps and helping me get it on so all I had to do was roll backwards, it was like I had my own dive sherpa team! Getting out was a bit more challenging - the first time went well, as I doffed the gear on the bottom step and my sherpa team 
pulled it off me and carried it up. The second time was more challenging - the surge had picked up and I was getting bashed around a bit, so I had to actually stand up with the gear on. Fortunately help was right there, pulling it off me so I didn't have to walk with it on. I was pleasantly surprised to realize that my back is stronger than I thought, and everything went swimmingly.
I cannot think of enough words to thank all my sherpa team for helping this temporarily disabled diver! And it just says so much about the type of people who are divers.
As for the dives themselves - WOW! Unbelievable vis (for SoCal anyway) on the first dive - here's a few shots. While the vis was good, there were still lots of big particulates in the water. (Plus I'm shooting with only one strobe, so I couldn't keep the backscatter out...oh, enough with the excuses, I am just not much of a photographer!) Also I apologize for the horribly overexposed shot of Pete - I only included it because it's one of the best underwater smiles I've ever seen that's not on a scallop!
Dr. Bill - feel free to chime in with some fishie ID for my photos!
I'm glad I skipped the third dive - that lunch at the outdoor cafe at Casino Point was totally worth missing it (and with the increased surf I would have had a helluva time getting out of the water). The important thing for me is that I now know that I CAN dive, even at this early stage in my recovery!
It was great day, and I'm thrilled to have been a part of it.
pulled it off me and carried it up. The second time was more challenging - the surge had picked up and I was getting bashed around a bit, so I had to actually stand up with the gear on. Fortunately help was right there, pulling it off me so I didn't have to walk with it on. I was pleasantly surprised to realize that my back is stronger than I thought, and everything went swimmingly.I cannot think of enough words to thank all my sherpa team for helping this temporarily disabled diver! And it just says so much about the type of people who are divers.
As for the dives themselves - WOW! Unbelievable vis (for SoCal anyway) on the first dive - here's a few shots. While the vis was good, there were still lots of big particulates in the water. (Plus I'm shooting with only one strobe, so I couldn't keep the backscatter out...oh, enough with the excuses, I am just not much of a photographer!)
Also I apologize for the horribly overexposed shot of Pete - I only included it because it's one of the best underwater smiles I've ever seen that's not on a scallop!
Dr. Bill - feel free to chime in with some fishie ID for my photos!
I'm glad I skipped the third dive - that lunch at the outdoor cafe at Casino Point was totally worth missing it (and with the increased surf I would have had a helluva time getting out of the water). The important thing for me is that I now know that I CAN dive, even at this early stage in my recovery!
It was great day, and I'm thrilled to have been a part of it.
You know LeeAnn,
Wen I had my first Achilles tendon surgery, I was told to NOT dive. Luckily, my hearing is quite selective and I was in the water within the month and did not go to the Physical Terrorist (therapist) they assigned to me. Lo and behold, it was the first time that the good doctor had encountered absolutely NO atrophy after such a debilitating surgery. The next year when I actually broke the other Achilles Tendon, after the surgery he told me to just go dive carefully as I had done the year before. To his amazement, the results were similar. Diving is an amazing physical therapy.
Wen I had my first Achilles tendon surgery, I was told to NOT dive. Luckily, my hearing is quite selective and I was in the water within the month and did not go to the Physical Terrorist (therapist) they assigned to me. Lo and behold, it was the first time that the good doctor had encountered absolutely NO atrophy after such a debilitating surgery. The next year when I actually broke the other Achilles Tendon, after the surgery he told me to just go dive carefully as I had done the year before. To his amazement, the results were similar. Diving is an amazing physical therapy.
Gee, Pete... if my doctor told me NOT to dive, I'd seek a second opinion, then a third, after that a fourth and so on until I found one doctor who would say diving was great therapy!
Now that you've experienced Catalina's dive park at its worst (bat ray season, see this week's column posted on SB), you'll have to come back when conditions are really good (although I really liked your idea of touring Florida with you and Elena. Can you set me up with an "inappropriate" dive buddy? Tee hee).
Now that you've experienced Catalina's dive park at its worst (bat ray season, see this week's column posted on SB), you'll have to come back when conditions are really good (although I really liked your idea of touring Florida with you and Elena. Can you set me up with an "inappropriate" dive buddy? Tee hee).
My wife and I got there late in the morning (having to work sucks compared to diving), barely making it in time to catch the 10 AM Catalina Express from Long Beach, then put together our new Dive Rite rigs for the first time. We finally got in the water a little after noon, but did get to meet NetDoc and Dr Bill on the way to the steps as the wind was picking up (thanks for the advice on heading to the south/east side - much better viz). By the time we got out from our first dive, most of the divers had already disappeared. We got into the water a bit after 2 PM for our second dive, and by then the wind had died down considerably and we had a great dive in the park. When we got out, we were the only divers left, and two other guys were just arriving and starting to set up. Conditions definitely got better later in the day. As we were having dinner and drinks, the wind was gone and the water actually looked flat in Avalon , but a lot of people on the last boat back to Long Beach were tossing their cookies 
All in all a great day of diving
Sorry we didn't get to meet any of the others there - I think our timing put us out of sync with everyone else, and most departed by the time we got back up after our first dive. Hopefully next time. And we'll have to buy Dr Bill a round the next time we're in Avalon
, but a lot of people on the last boat back to Long Beach were tossing their cookies All in all a great day of divingSorry we didn't get to meet any of the others there - I think our timing put us out of sync with everyone else, and most departed by the time we got back up after our first dive. Hopefully next time. And we'll have to buy Dr Bill a round the next time we're in Avalon
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