Safe Abalone Diving

by Bruce Watkins

Each spring Northern California divers look forward to the beginning of abalone season with the exuberance of children waiting for Santa Claus. With good reason since abalone are one of the tastiest shellfish that you will ever harvest in California and they are still very abundant. Although diving, in general, and abalone diving, specifically, are very safe activities, a small number of abalone divers seem to get hurt each year. The three biggest safety issues in abalone diving are big seas, kelp, and alcohol.

Most injuries occur when divers ... Read More

Our local dive club cancelled the dive this weekend due above storm level swells and wind conditions. This is not a weekend to be in the water. The gale force driven wind waves alone...Some idiot will get in the water though.

PZZ540-012215-
POINT ARENA TO POINT REYES TO 10 NM-
854 AM PDT FRI APR 1 2011

...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM PDT THIS EVENING
THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING...
...GALE WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE
SATURDAY NIGHT...

TODAY
NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.
W SWELL 7 TO 9 FT AT 17 SECONDS.

TONIGHT
NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.
W SWELL 9 TO 11 FT AT 17 SECONDS. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN.

SAT
NW WINDS 20 TO 25 KT...INCREASING TO 25 TO 35 KT IN THE
AFTERNOON. COMBINED SEAS 10 TO 14 FT DOMINANT PERIOD 15 SECONDS.
SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS.

SAT NIGHT
NW WINDS 25 TO 35 KT. COMBINED SEAS 12 TO 15 FT.

SUN
NW WINDS 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 4 TO 8 FT.
W SWELL 7 TO 9 FT.

CaliforniaDivingNews:

With good reason since abalone are one of the tastiest shellfish that you will ever harvest in California and they are still very abundant.

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Remember humans all but wiped out the Southern California populations of Abalone and that is why we have strict regulations on the North Coast making sure there will be abalone available for future generations to enjoy.

Peter_C:

Our local dive club cancelled the dive this weekend due above storm level swells and wind conditions…

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At the moment, it is sloppy up here, but not ghastly… yet. Definitely building towards snotty. My hopes were dashed yet again as the water was turning from dark brown (rain swelled rivers) to skim milk. Bummer. Seems like we didn’t get many nice days last year until May.

I fully expect to be reading about a fatality in Monday's paper. I hope that I won't, but . . . .


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I wonder sometimes about the write-ups on abalone diving and safety if not related to a public agency such as CA DFG, CA State Parks, or a local county or city agency north of the Golden Gate.

Sometimes the advice may not be the best if in a newspaper or on internet. I guess it depends on whoever does the final edit.

cmburch:

I wonder sometimes about the write-ups on abalone diving and safety if not related to a public agency such as CA DFG, CA State Parks, or a local county or city agency north of the Golden Gate.

Sometimes the advice may not be the best if in a newspaper or on internet. I guess it depends on whoever does the final edit.

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IMHO, the critical issue is the "go / no go" decision made at the water's edge. No article, pronouncement or i'net posting can adequately cover that topic. Too few people make the safe call at that point, usually in direct proportion to the time it took to get to the dive site.

Hence, what us locals call the "Sacramento Syndrome." On days where we decide to stay dry and drive back to homes, divers from the Central Valley and other distant locales often suit up and dive. Sure, most survive. But not all.


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