HBDiveGirl
Contributor
- Messages
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Ook-Ook! Time to Monkey dive the Big One: The Pinnacles at Marineland Point.
Friday, July 4, 2008. 54 minutes underwater. 54fsw max depth. 61F at the surface, 55F below the thermoclines. Buddy: Mo2vation.
As soon as Ken and I started test-flying the new DeepSeaSupply Monkey Diving rig (see gear photos at Ken's thread, HERE) we knew we wanted to take them to our favorite SoCal Shore dive: The Point at Old Marineland in Palos Verdes.
The huge craggy boulders at the point preclude actually entering there with scooters, although we've dived it often with drysuits and HP130s and Ken's deathstar camera rig.
The lighter approach of Monkey-diving makes it theoretically possible to enter at Bowling Ball beach with the 39-lb X-scooters. (...Yeah, it's called "Cobble Beach", but the stones are big and roll like bowling balls!)
From there, it's usually a 20-minute surface kick out to The Point.
We envisioned motoring there on X-cruise control (triggers locked down) and having lots of playtime on those beautiful pinnacles.... If we could manage the transport of the gear over the 3/4 mile soft, narrow, bumpy clifftop path, and then down the broader, firmer dirt road to the sea. And if we could safely get all the gear over the wet, slippery bowling balls and into the sea.
It worked like a charm.
IT IS COMPLETELY DO-ABLE AND COMPLETELY WORTH IT! We loaded the rolling cart with two scooters and two al80 tanks, plus some small gear. Wearing the wetsuits, weight belts and the BP/MonkeyWing rig (with some stuff clipped on) we coaxed the cart along the soft, bumpy, narrow clifftop path. The wider dirt road leading down was easy.
The surf was tiny, almost smooth, and entry with the Monkey rig and scooter was brainlessly easy. We started for the point with snorkels on the surface, but it was slow. Motoring at 10fsw was faster and easy on the gas supply. It still took about 9 minutes to get to the point.
We descended into a snowstorm of particulates and very poor visibility: 5-7 feet most of the time, all the way down to 55fsw.
But We Had Scooters and Blazing HIDs and It Was A Blast!!! The pinnacles are covered with gorgeous life and so much fun to fly around. We found 1,000's of hermissendas and a several other nudis. All the filter-feeders were fully extended, enjoying all the food in the water: Gorgonians, feather duster worms, cucumbers, anemones.... the whole colorful "flower garden" of radially symmetrical beauties. Shiny Chestnut cowries were out grazing in the dim light. A horde of large barracuda missile'd between Ken and me in the murky blueness.
Finally!!! Scooters at Marineland!!
The motorized return to Cobble Beach was easy, even against the stiff current that had developed. We skirted the lush, thick, mature kelp forest that has filled the shallows of this cove (from about 35fsw.)
We really cranked up the fun through this shadowed space at full speed, hootin' and hollering as we banked off the current and FLEW downstream with thrilling acceleration.
The exit was straightforward in the minimal surf. It's tough for me to walk out with the side-slung tank on my left and the X-scooter on my right, but I did it... upright. Ken made it look easy as he scooped up the scoot with both arms and stomped out of the sea.
We broke down the gear, smiles all around, and reloaded the cart for the uphill trip.
And it was fine. Two strong buddies working together and we were soon cracking open ice-cold SoBe's in the empty parking lot.
Thousands of thanks to my extraordinary buddy, Mo2vation. Your unflagging energy, strength, composure, and love of fun makes every dive one-of-a-kind. The best kind. Extraordinary.
Happy Independence Day!
~~~~
Claudette
Friday, July 4, 2008. 54 minutes underwater. 54fsw max depth. 61F at the surface, 55F below the thermoclines. Buddy: Mo2vation.
As soon as Ken and I started test-flying the new DeepSeaSupply Monkey Diving rig (see gear photos at Ken's thread, HERE) we knew we wanted to take them to our favorite SoCal Shore dive: The Point at Old Marineland in Palos Verdes.
The huge craggy boulders at the point preclude actually entering there with scooters, although we've dived it often with drysuits and HP130s and Ken's deathstar camera rig.
The lighter approach of Monkey-diving makes it theoretically possible to enter at Bowling Ball beach with the 39-lb X-scooters. (...Yeah, it's called "Cobble Beach", but the stones are big and roll like bowling balls!)
From there, it's usually a 20-minute surface kick out to The Point.
We envisioned motoring there on X-cruise control (triggers locked down) and having lots of playtime on those beautiful pinnacles.... If we could manage the transport of the gear over the 3/4 mile soft, narrow, bumpy clifftop path, and then down the broader, firmer dirt road to the sea. And if we could safely get all the gear over the wet, slippery bowling balls and into the sea.
It worked like a charm.
IT IS COMPLETELY DO-ABLE AND COMPLETELY WORTH IT! We loaded the rolling cart with two scooters and two al80 tanks, plus some small gear. Wearing the wetsuits, weight belts and the BP/MonkeyWing rig (with some stuff clipped on) we coaxed the cart along the soft, bumpy, narrow clifftop path. The wider dirt road leading down was easy.
The surf was tiny, almost smooth, and entry with the Monkey rig and scooter was brainlessly easy. We started for the point with snorkels on the surface, but it was slow. Motoring at 10fsw was faster and easy on the gas supply. It still took about 9 minutes to get to the point.
We descended into a snowstorm of particulates and very poor visibility: 5-7 feet most of the time, all the way down to 55fsw.
But We Had Scooters and Blazing HIDs and It Was A Blast!!! The pinnacles are covered with gorgeous life and so much fun to fly around. We found 1,000's of hermissendas and a several other nudis. All the filter-feeders were fully extended, enjoying all the food in the water: Gorgonians, feather duster worms, cucumbers, anemones.... the whole colorful "flower garden" of radially symmetrical beauties. Shiny Chestnut cowries were out grazing in the dim light. A horde of large barracuda missile'd between Ken and me in the murky blueness.
Finally!!! Scooters at Marineland!!
The motorized return to Cobble Beach was easy, even against the stiff current that had developed. We skirted the lush, thick, mature kelp forest that has filled the shallows of this cove (from about 35fsw.)
We really cranked up the fun through this shadowed space at full speed, hootin' and hollering as we banked off the current and FLEW downstream with thrilling acceleration.
The exit was straightforward in the minimal surf. It's tough for me to walk out with the side-slung tank on my left and the X-scooter on my right, but I did it... upright. Ken made it look easy as he scooped up the scoot with both arms and stomped out of the sea.
We broke down the gear, smiles all around, and reloaded the cart for the uphill trip.
And it was fine. Two strong buddies working together and we were soon cracking open ice-cold SoBe's in the empty parking lot.
Thousands of thanks to my extraordinary buddy, Mo2vation. Your unflagging energy, strength, composure, and love of fun makes every dive one-of-a-kind. The best kind. Extraordinary.
Happy Independence Day!
~~~~
Claudette
-N
