Date: 9/26/2004
Dive Location: Malaga Cove - Palos Verdes
Time: 9:28 AM
Bottom Time: 36:20 min
Max Depth: 34
Vis: 10-15
Wave height: 1-2 foot
Temp at depth: 64
Surface Temp: 68 Suunto Degrees
Tide information: Close to high
Comments: Me and my buddy met up with hermosadive Roland and a group of his buddies. After checking the conditions from the gazebo, Roland and the gang decided to head down to Marineland. My buddy and I decided to stay and give Malaga a try. So we suited up, then hiked down to the rocky entry right near the storm drain near the club. Surf was only 1-2 feet, and tide was somewhere near high, so the entry was pretty smooth. We kicked out until the visibility started to improve, lined up with the west end of the building at the club, and dropped down into 5-10 ft. visibility. We turned to a heading of about 260, toward Haggerty's, and soon were over a sand bottom. Visibility began to improve to around 10-15 feet, which was a nice surprise. I turned more towards shore hoping to hit some more reef. After a bit we found the reef, and my buddy yanked on me to show me a 3 ft. horn shark. We hovered above it, and for the first time I understood why they are called horn sharks. They've got, like, horns. After a check of air, my buddy was running at only 1000psi, so I turned and headed back east. Saw lots of seniorita fish, some blue banded gobys, and schools of anchovies (?). We then rode the surge thru the thick kelp beds, and I headed towards the shallows so we could do a running safety stop since he was using a lot of air. He wasn't enjoying the kelp, so he thumbed the dive. I should have told him before the dive that it thins out after a bit....
Anyway, we ascended to find that we had a VERY long surface swim back to the club. And that his tank had apparently gotten hooked by some kelp on the way up and came loose. I turned him around, strapped it in, and we headed back. The exit was pretty easy, since I landed at the same spot that Pasley and I landed when we dove there a few weeks ago (right in front of the pool at the club). It has more gravel and small stones that you can walk on, compared to the large slippery rocks to the east. We had planned on a second dive, but after the long swim back my buddy decided he'd had enough exercise for the day. So I spent the rest of the time with Myrna and the kids, trying to squeeze some boogie board rides from the small waves.
All in all, it was a surprisingly good dive, considering we didn't have high expectations going in. Also, a lesson learned: while maneuvering thru the kelp I reached around to unhook some kelp from my flipper strap, and later realized I held my breath while I was straining to reach my fin :11: . And with full lungs I started to ascend. Probably not a good idea. Next time: breathe while doing stuff like that. Also, I need to buckle my fin straps so they don't dangle and catch kelp.