Wrinkles DEC 04 Dive DISCUSSION

[pasley]

Malibu does have lots of great diving. That said, here are the challenges:

1. Malibu Divers is the only dive shop in town and it is not a fast rabbit nor do they have a lot of whips to fill multiple tanks at once.
2. Malibu Divers is not close to any of the dive sites and in fact is on the opposite end of town from most of the Malibu dive spots.
3. Majority of Malibu diving is at the bottom of a trail, some goat trails, but most maintained to varying degrees. The walk down to the dive sites is, for most divers, not one to encourage multiple dives.
4. Non state or county park dive sites offer very limited parking on the side of the road and no place to cook or congregate.
5. Only Point Dume, and Leo Carrillo offer flat walks to the dive site and facilities. Neither have grassy areas, only parking lot and sand. Escondido creek and Coral beach are fairly flat, but offer only on PCH parking.

Possible Sites discussed below.
Point Dume
Pro: Offers two great dives:

1. Dive the canyon for a deep dive 80-100+ feet.
2. Dive the Pinicales if the current is not strong. Note advance dive site due to currents and long 540 yard swim. Currents are normally North to South so you swim back against a current.
3. Ample parking and winter rates are in effect so if you are there before 08:00 a.m. it is reasonable at $2.50 or so. After that it is $7.00 for the day.
4. Bathrooms available on site.
5. Flat walk from parking lot to beach.

Con:

1. May be rented out for movie shoots or other funtions which occupy the proposed dive site, camp area.
2. No grass, just sand and parking lot.
3. Very long surface swim for Pinnacles dive and is an Advanced dive.
4. Park closes at sunset.
5. Malibu Divers is a 15-20 minute or so drive each way from here through Malibu.

Leo Carrillo
Pro:

1. Very Ample parking for $10.00.
2. Bathrooms available on site
3. There are at least 3 good dives here (Leo Carrillo, Leo Carrillo South aka sequint point and Leo Carrillo North) if you work the entire park. But the park is so long you would want to dive from one spot to the next.
4. You can park on PCH for free and walk into the park if you like. It would be a bit of a pain to do so with all the food and gear. But for one dive it is possible at South and North Leo Carrillo.

Con:

1. No grassy area near the water. There are grassy areas in the park but that is a ways from the beach, as in take the car.
2. Located near the Ventura County line making it a long drive for air fills estimated at 30-45 minutes each way.

El Matador, Nicholas Canyon and Staircase:
Pro:

1. Small Parking lots with early bird rates. Parking from $2.00 -$8.00 depending upon time of arrival. Stair case is $2.00 all day long.
2. Small on site picnic areas. Grass, well, there could be some, but it is mostly dirt.
3. Potties on site
4. Good diving

Con:

1. Long walk down road or wide maintained trail and or stairs (stairs and maintained trail for Staircase) to dive site. Not conducive for more than one dive for most divers due to the hike. I would do two, but not three.
2. Long commute to Malibu for air fills. Staircase is in Ventura County just past Leo Carrillo. The other sites are closer.

Redondo Beach Vets Park:
Pro:

1. Parking available by meters only.
2. Grassy area for BBQ
3. Short flight of stairs to beach
4. Dive Shop not far away (Sports Chalet and Independents)
5. Restaurants on the pier
6. Dive spot: The Canyon, Topaz Jetty (a long city block but doable walk from Vets.)

Con

1. Dive is the Submarine Canyon and so is deep (80-100+), sand bottom so like La Jolla Canyon but not quite as interesting in the day time.
2. Parking lot even in winter can fill up.
3. Popular local dive spot and teaching spot.

Suggestions and other comments?

What if we skip the BBQ for the deep winter months and just meet for two or so dives and maybe a restaurant after?

Open for brief discussion. Your thoughts and suggestions?

 

[wrinkles]

I was thinking that maybe we could get a group site at Leo. If we get a group site we can park cars there and set up the BBQ there. We then can carpool to Pt. Dume for a couple dives then go back to the camp site for a BBQ. This way we dont have to pay for parking for every car...Then after the BBQ maybe we can dive Leo and hit the kelp beds and maybe do a night dive there....A big fire and scary diving sotries at night would be fun at a camp site..

Leo also has tide pools for those with kids so its a nice family place...

Just a thought....

 

[scottfiji]

Melvin, that's a great overview....

FYI, Leo has barbecues, I'm not sure where, but I've read it on a couple of web sites.

Also, I've always parked for free at Leo, I always thought it was a shorter walk from the highway than from the paid parking, but I could be wrong, I've never tried the paid parking. If people want to park for free they can also drop off stuff and then park their car.

I've timed it before at 20 minutes driving from Leo to the dive shop, but that's without traffic.

There are also picnic tables at Malibu bluffs park, near pepperdine, but no walkable diving there.

Point dume is 10 minutes from Leo. Like Ana said, we could car pool there from Leo for 1 or 2 dives.

The dives at Leo are also excellent, if the conditions are calm. The dives I have done are from lifeguard station #1 (Leo south) and lifeguard station #3 (sequit point), they are both great, cover completely different areas, and for me were short walks from the highway.

I think a barbecue is an integral part of the wrinkles dive, it makes everything more social...

I know the owner of Malibu divers fairly well, I could perhaps ask him about a group rental rate for tanks, helping to alleviate the need for fills, but there is no guarantee for that.

Scott

 

[headhunter]

Great info, Melvin!

I really like the sound of Ana's concept. We could just make sure that we all bring really warm clothes to change into after diving.

I think they actually have a campground there don't they?

If we were going to make an evening of it, I'd even bring my tent and sleeping bag and camp over night. That would make Saturday a better day for most, I would imagine. Then, since we're already there, some of us could continue diving on Sunday!

It'll be fun!

Christian

 

[headhunter]

Melvin, that's a great overview....

FYI, Leo has barbecues, I'm not sure where, but I've read it on a couple of web sites.

Also, I've always parked for free at Leo, I always thought it was a shorter walk from the highway than from the paid parking, but I could be wrong, I've never tried the paid parking. If people want to park for free they can also drop off stuff and then park their car.

I've timed it before at 20 minutes driving from Leo to the dive shop, but that's without traffic.

There are also picnic tables at Malibu bluffs park, near pepperdine, but no walkable diving there.

Point dume is 10 minutes from Leo. Like Ana said, we could car pool there from Leo for 1 or 2 dives.

The dives at Leo are also excellent, if the conditions are calm. The dives I have done are from lifeguard station #1 (Leo south) and lifeguard station #3 (sequit point), they are both great, cover completely different areas, and for me were short walks from the highway.

I think a barbecue is an integral part of the wrinkles dive, it makes everything more social...

I know the owner of Malibu divers fairly well, I could perhaps ask him about a group rental rate for tanks, helping to alleviate the need for fills, but there is no guarantee for that.

Scott

If someone has a truck, we could haul all of the tanks in one trip with one vehicle and make a couple of trips in a day. We could make sure who ever hauls the tanks does not pay for air that day.

Malibu Divers would probably be able to tell us how many tanks per hour they are capable of filling. We could just stagger time dives in "teams" to allow the timing with Malibu Divers to work out.

I agree that the BBQ helps with the social aspect of the day.

Christian

 

[divinman]

After the the long day of diving and then the long drive home, I really didn't want to get up for work this morning. I vote for Saturday Wrinkle Dives!!


Terry

 

[Dive California]

After the the long day of diving and then the long drive home, I really didn't want to get up for work this morning. I vote for Saturday Wrinkle Dives!!

that seems fair...Saturday?

 

[Roughwaterjohn]

After the the long day of diving and then the long drive home, I really didn't want to get up for work this morning. I vote for Saturday Wrinkle Dives!!


Terry

I concur with what dat feller done spoke so eloquent-like. I votes fur Saturdays also. Dem 'larms going off at dem dad-gum infernal hours after a nite of div'n 'an revelry is 'nuff to make me swat dat big 'ol 'larm off'n me shelf and toss it into that 'ol tin tub jethro is always using to wash da hairs off'n his big'ol toes wiff.

John-Boy
(remember, to see a full set of teeth, ya'll need to take a picture of the whole family)

 

[pasley]

Also, I've always parked for free at Leo, I always thought it was a shorter walk from the highway than from the paid parking, but I could be wrong, I've never tried the paid parking. ...Scott

It depends onwhre you are diving at Leo. Leo is a very very long park along the coast. If you are diving South Leo or Sequit Point, then parking on the street is closer than the parking lot. If you are diving just Leo or Leo North (a portion of which is visiblie on the left of the photo at the website below), then the parking lot is right there on the sand.

http://www.geocities.com/sandeaters/sites/sp.htm

Leo does offer camping but the camp sites are on the other side of PCH. I don't know the cost of group rates or other items. I will call and inquire in the mornging.

 

[headhunter]

After the the long day of diving and then the long drive home, I really didn't want to get up for work this morning. I vote for Saturday Wrinkle Dives!!


Terry

I like Saturdays because most people don't feel like they've got to leave because they have to get up in the morning. This makes the after dive festivities last longer.

I understand that some people work on Sundays, so it's nice to have a Sunday Wrinkles event from time to time, so that they can be included. Having worked weekends for many years in the past, I know what it's like not to be able to do anything with most groups of people who do things on weekends. Of course, with enough notice, I bet these people could also take a Sunday off once every 3 months too.

Christian