Avalon Stories

Avalon stories.
Over the 41 years I have been diving in socal I have done a lot of diving in Avalon(Avalon doesn't always suck). Most were working dives with Advance classes . I had some fun and some not so fun times there. And of course there are lots of war stories.
Here are a couple:
A student and I were waiting for the Express boat at the mole (standing in line with all of our gear in the hot sun). We were watching as the smaller Express boat roared into the harbor (a little hot) and cut off a black zodiac, leaving the zodiac rolling in the expresses wake. The express docked and tied up and let off its passengers. As we watched the Black Zodiac tied to the end of the dock and the two guy got off (one big guy and one short guy). They walk over to the Express boat and were talking and gesturing to the captain of the Express (who was a big guy). A few seconds later the short guy from the black Zodiac throw a punch and the Express captain was down and out. The big guy from the Zodiac grab the short guy (who was trying give the Express boat captain a few good kicks while he was down) and they both went up the ramp and headed for town (I'm sure to the Marlin Club). The Police came and a little later the guys from the Black Zodiac came to get their boat and were arrested.
The next month the same student and I were eating ice cream sitting at the taxis station in down town Avalon. We watched as a guy in a red shirt was walking down the walk way. We saw another guy come running up behind him and try to punch him in the head. I don't know what red shirt did but his attacker soon was laying face down on the bricks . Then two other guys attacked red shirt and in a few second they too were laying on the bricks. Red shirt turned and walked away. We both looked at each other in disbelief (did we really see that). "Wow", my student said "is Avalon like this every weekend" "No" I said "Avalon has stunt men come over every weekend and stage this for the tourist".
One of the best parts of my Advance class weekends was the last dive (when I got to dive by myself, no looking over your shoulder, no swimming backwards, no students(no stress). I used to go down the hill towards the Valiant and I always found something. This day I found a nice new anchor with about 10 foot of chain and some rope. I tied the chain and rope around the anchor and started back up the hill. I had to walk up the hill on my fin tips all the way from about 80 ft., when I got to about 15 feet I inflated my BC and just had my head out of the water. I got it up on the rocks (no stair then) and up to the wall. I had a Hippo bag then(which was a big bag for the time) I put my new anchor and chain in the bag and packed all the gear around it. We were on the smaller Express boat ( they had the conveyer belt system for the baggage) I was carrying my bag and dropped it by the baggage while waiting in line(I was going to carry the bag on the boat and stick it under the seats in the back of the boat). Before I could stop him one of the crew grab the bag and tried to lift it on the conveyer. He drop it and said "what do you have in here an anchor". "No" I said "it's just heavy because of all the wet gear, I'll carry and put it under the seats". I weighted the anchor and chain when I got home and it weighted a little over 55 lbs.

it's kind of a roudy place later at night too. quite entertaining. didn't wrigley sell the island for a buck? one dollar. pretty cool place!

You seem to have a bone to pick with the town I've lived in for most of the last 42 years, based on this and your other thread. I think I'd greatly prefer the safety of living in Avalon to being over there on "The Big Island." Many of the fights that get started here are between drunken visitors.

H2Ocean... "Wrigley" never sold the island. He, his wife and his sister gave 88% of it away to the non-profit Catalina Conservancy. However, the Wrigley family retains 11% of the island through their ownership of stock in the Santa Catalina Island Company. Having worked with many members of the Wrigley family dating back to Philip in the 1970s, I think they've done a lot of great things for the island... and for the public.

Yes, he does seem a bit cranky. The dive park is just fine and Avalon is a neat little town.

I first started going to Avalon as a kid back in the late 60's, early 70's, usually by seaplane. It was a 15-20 minute flight from Long Beach airport, landed right in the water off pebbly beach and I'm guessing it was about 12 bucks each way? Anyway, I would go with my whole family (youngest of 5!) and Dad would rent one of the wooden boats off the pier and take the boys out diving. Well, he and my oldest brothers went diving, and they would make me snorkel on the surface waiting for them on open water! Hated it til I got certified a few years later (at the old Diver's Corner in Downey, if anyone goes that far back!) I remember full gunney sacks full of 10"+ abalone, amazing to think of a species decimated in an area in such a short period of time.
I have great memories of staying at the Pavillion, eating taffy, hanging out at the arcade....not much to do back then but get in the water though, really.
I still love going back and diving the park (especially on a private boat moored in the harbor, and a dinghy to get you to the casino dock!) It always ends up a lot more expensive than what I'd planned, but it's a helluva getaway so close to home. Just seeing the water turn that deep blue, halfway across the channel from the mainland, it always gets me...!

If my memory is clear, I think the one-way tickets on the seaplanes were just $5.43 when I first arrived on the island in 1969. The difference in price between them and the boat fare (about $3.25 then I think) and the quick hop over to the mainland vs the long (and often uncomfortable) boat ride, made it my first choice at least until the larger red-and-white boats run by Catalina Cruises entered the picture.

There ya go, about 12 bucks round trip......! What a thrill it was, to make that landing on the water. They held what, about 12 people Doc?

I think it may have been 9 (including the passenger in the co-pilot's seat). Later another airline flew Grumman Mallards which carried nearly double that. In the seven years I lived on the island while the great white steamer SS Catalina ran (1969-76), I never once took it (much too long a trip). Regret that now.

I was a passenger on the Great White Steamer on several occasions--It is an experience that will live forever in my memory

The Great White Steamer is no more...It was sold several times, ended up way out in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico harbor where it sat for a number of years, slowly and not too graciously falling apart.

About 5 years ago a salvage company purchased it and totally dismanteled it--

It it no more..

SDM

I'm not from SoCal originally, but it's wonderful to hear stories from those folks that lived here all their lives. The island seems to play a key role in so many people's youths and spurns some truly memorable feelings. I have heard countless stories about the impact of the school and BSA camping trips to the island.

I moved here back in the early 90s and the island certainly captured my attention well before I ended up in California. My uncle told a wonderful story of being stationed in SoCal during the 1970s before he shipped overseas. He dove in Catalina and saw his first shark - resulting in his last dive. Scared him to death! But he loved staying in Avalon and would catch a boat over whenever he could. I hadn't been in SoCal but a few months when we decided to do a camping/kayaking/hiking trip. We were lucky enough to go at the same time the leopard sharks were breeding. My son was about 9 years old and still talks about the experience. It was pretty amazing to have a huge group of sharks swimming underneath your kayak.

All my memories of Catalina are great. Flying over and grabbing a bison burger, diving, or just exploring the island. It's hard to believe it's only 28 or so miles away since, in many ways, it is a world apart. I guess it's all in what you want and what you make of it.