Tim R Alcoser JR
Contributor
***Click on images for bigger pictures
…it was a moonswept night. Minus the moon and the night, on a Thursday morning. It had been nearly 3 weeks since my last dive, and I was going through diving withdrawals. I popped another reeses’s pieces in mouth and surfed over to scubaboards.com and sent a distress signal out to anyone who would want to go diving. I left the options way open, between 3 days and 3 locations. Dive boats, beach Diving, or Catalina Express to Casino Point.
A strange and mysterious man who goes by the code name, HT, bravely answered the call to buddy up with such a green horn, and we began to plan out where we would go. HT preferred dive boats, while I secretly hoped they would all be full so we could go to Casino Point. Turns out, they were. So we made the decision to board the 0615 hours Catalina Express to Avalon.
HT suggested I rent gear on the island for convenience. Since it was a fairly long walk. After some deliberations, I ended up renting my gear at Sports Chalet where I could get a really could deal with a $10.00 off Action Pass for rentals. Adding to the fact that rentals at the dive site were actually kinda expensive, I decided to forgo the convenience and save about $40.00 by dragging my heavy gear around (minus the $8.00 transport from the Avalon Dock to the Casino Point Dive Park. HT ended up doing the same. Not wanting to spend the money on a really good diving bag, I ended up using my cheap, $30.00 Jeep Wal Mart bought bag to store most of my gear, and it worked out perfectly. Not that I will ever do that again, out of continued deterioration to the bag, it worked out just fine for the day.
I didn’t know who HT was yet, and I waited by the doors to the Catalina Express for him to arrive. When it got about 10 minutes to departure time, I wondered if he was going to show up, and decided to buy my ticket and go onboard. I got onboard the ship and texted him my location, wondering if he was going to make it. Little did I know, HT was there the entire time, and we didn’t know what either of us looked like yet. HT approached me secret agent style and confirmed my identity. He mentioned to stay warm below decks, but there was simply something I had to do.
Looking for HT to arrive.
Almost to open sea.
[video=facebook;10150868587318549]http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150868587318549&set=p.10150868587318 549&type=2&theater[/video]
Video traveling out to open sea.
I was tipped off over facebook that the USS Iowa Battleship was being towed towards and into the Port of Los Angeles, and was rewarded for enduring the cold and wind by a view of this magnificent ship out at sea. Well worth it! I believe they are turning it into a museum in the Port of LA, and can’t wait until it is open. It's kinda hard to see from this photo and my dumb iPhone camera zoomed all the way in + shaking Catalina Express, but it's there.
I was also hoping for maybe some whale or dolphin action, but didn’t see nothing more. If I was a dolphin, I probably wouldn't come near this crazy ship at Warp 2 either.
My only goal for the day was to see a Sea Lion. Or “JAWS!!!!!!!”…but mostly a sea lion. I also spotted a man I know as Joe, from my local Sport’s Chalet, and said hi. He was taking a whole fleet of new divers on their first open water dives today.
The best thing about this morning’s dive was the simple fact that the ocean was calm and quiet. This, coupled with the fact that we were one of the first groups to arrive early in the morning, followed up with some excellent diving conditions. While getting our gear ready, and attempting to fill up air in the BCD, I came to the realization that it was not filling up with air. Careful inspection by HT determined that an o-ring was missing from one of the screw on dump valves, and we came to the realization that the BCD, with its integrated 32 lbs, would be nothing but dead weight for the rest of the dive trip.
With that, I walked over to the air fill station and rented a BCD and weight belt. After setting up our gear, we jumped in to the water, which was about 57 degrees according to our dive computers. Our first dive went well, and visibility was excellent. I would estimate it at least 40-50 feet in the shallows, and a little less in the deeper areas, on this fine morning.
I also was made aware by HT of a Sea Lion, swimming through the enchanted kelp forest like a torpedo out of a u-boat, and would have missed it if he hadn’t alerted me to it in the first place. What an experience that was. We dove at 9:10 AM to a maximum debt of 51 feet, average of 30 feet for 33 minutes. I went from 2900 PSI to 400.
When I surfaced, I noticed a strong sense of vertigo. I felt dizzy and a little sick to my stomach. I knew it wasn’t sea-sickness because I never get sea sick (ever, and that’s coming from an Aquarius, mind you). I was actually glad to step out of the water for a bit and the surface interval helped, although I wasn’t sure how long or how many dives I would be able to complete at this stage.
While filling up between Dives 1 and 2, a high value black limo that could only be described as Yamaha Golf Cart arrived. Between bright paparazzi flashes and young girls screaming, I caught a glimpse of the man, the myth , the legend that stepped out of the vehicle, wearing a HARVARD sweater and towering 5 feet 15 inches with rugged good looks. His equipment looked like it had been through Vietnam, and was worn enough to probably be that old. I knew I had perceived this man’s image from a previous journey long ago…across the internet on Scubaboards.com, and and quietly muttered to HT “Is that…Dr. Bill”?
HT confirmed it was indeed Dr. Bill, and we walked over to say hi. I said very little. And by that, I mean nothing at all. Didn’t even get an autograph.
At 10:58, we dove in for our second dive of the day. I felt better and was ready to go. On this dive, we didn’t come across “JAWS”, but something much better. A Giant Black Sea Bass! I would later be informed by Dr. Bill that it took him hundreds of dives before he ever saw one, and here I was on dive 9. The bass was probably about 6 feet long and probably could have eaten my head for desert, but he was in a good mood today, and swam on his way, disappearing through the kelp and the milky white/green distance. We dove at 10:58 AM to a maximum debt of 65 feet, average of 31 feet for 37 minutes. I went from 3200 PSI to 500.
On the 2nd Dive, Dr. Bill was standing near the entrance, prepping his equipment for a day of diving and photography. After taking off our gear and sending our tanks for refills, we chatted up with Dr. Bill. I remember asking him what “Dive Dry with Dr. Bill meant” and he replied that it meant you could go diving from the comfort of your Laz-Z-Boy chair by watching his videos. Made sense. I didn’t ask for an autograph, but I did get a picture taken with him. He informed me that since he was a celebrity, I could sell my picture for 2 cents. Dr. Bill is really humble!
After chatting with Dr. Bill, me and HT went over to the Casino Dock Café. I wasn’t that hungry believe it or not, so I simply ordered a Double bacon Cheeseburger and a Gatorade. HT munched down on the same, plus a hot dog. The burgers were yummy to the tummy.
After eating, we returned to grab our tanks, and started on our 3rd dive. By now the park was becoming increasing packed, with both students, and experts like Dr. Bill. The waves also increased, and the Marine Layer was finally defeated by the victorious Sun Ray forces. We dove in and noticed visibility had gone down quite a bit, I’d say down to 25 feet. The tide also was going down, which made jumping into the water from the stairs, literally a jump, front body first to avoid the rocks just below.
We had kept away from the large expanse of the right side of the park (from where you walk in) and decided to explore here. One thing is for sure, we found very few, if any, divers in this area and it seems the classes prefer to hang a left at the stairs when instructing. This area is really neat, abundant in sea life and includes thick kelp forests, and mini cliffs and cracks filled with lobsters, among other cool stuff. On this dive, a Garibaldi assaulted my finger tips, as I unknowingly strayed far too close for comforts to its nest. Luckily I was wearing gloves that were longer than my fingertips, and I sustained no damage. Calls to the Bikini Bottom Police Department to file an assault police report went unanswered, which is good now that I think of it, because I was probably trespassing anyways. We dove at 1:15 PM to a maximum debt of 55 feet, average of 30 feet for 35 minutes. I went from 3200 PSI to 600.
After Dive 3, HT took a nap on the bench and I chatted with Dr. Bill for a bit as he took some surface interval time from his dives. Me and HT decided on a 4th and final dive, and hoped to spot one of the many wrecks within the boundry of the Dive Park. So we jumped and went on the hunt.
On this dive, HT led me down to 79 feet, which is the farthest down I’ve been yet, in search of one of the wrecks. Sadly, we came out empty handed, but I was glad I got some deeper water experience. The water remained fairly limited in visibility, and I’d estimate 25 feet, and even less in deeper water. We dove at 3:01 PM to a maximum debt of 79 feet, average of 41 feet for 31 minutes. I went from 3200 PSI to 800.
After surfacing, we packed up our gear. Dr. Bill had done the same and was ready to head out. I said goodbye and mentioned I was glad to have finally met him (and by finally, I mean I only knew of his existence for about 1 month from the Scubaboards). Dr. Bill is a cool, and highly knowledgeable individual, and it was great to chat him up for awhile. If his website is up to date so far, this would probably be about Dive #2,340 for him.
We sent our gear back on the Catalina Transport and Storage truck and walked over to the Spring Break area that is Descanso Beach. After looking around, we headed into town for some Ice Cream. Since Catalina Transport and Storage only took cash, and all I had was credit cards, HT paid my share, so I treated him out to ice cream at the Ellis Island Deli. We debated what a good mini business it would be to buy an apartment and rent it out to tourists, and how we could raise the price of our apartment by adding a golf cart to the rental.
We finally headed home on the 6:00 PM Catalina Express and I fell asleep on the top deck, only to constantly be re-awaked throughout the entire trip to a group of heavily drunk people shouting and playing some kind of weird game. They didn’t take the hint to people staring at them throughout the journey either.
After docking, me and HT parted and I went home to a delicious meal of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup (you know, the kind with the milk added, not water).
I retested my broken Sports Chalet BCD only to find out that it actually was now filling up with air! Ugh, so much for getting a refund on my rental now. How was I going to prove that it wasn’t working at the dive park now? I generally don’t make a big stink out of issue like this, especially when I don’t have absolute proof, so I let it slide this time.
Time to hot tub it up!
I went to bed at about 11:00 PM and woke up at 3:00 PM. YIKES! Can you believe that??? HT had dove the previous day, and was headed for a dive boat for diving today. That man is a machine! I can’t believe how tired I was and how long I slept! If it was anything else but being obliterated by diving, I’d probably go to the doctor’s office for fear of a medical condition, lol.
No further information to report.
…it was a moonswept night. Minus the moon and the night, on a Thursday morning. It had been nearly 3 weeks since my last dive, and I was going through diving withdrawals. I popped another reeses’s pieces in mouth and surfed over to scubaboards.com and sent a distress signal out to anyone who would want to go diving. I left the options way open, between 3 days and 3 locations. Dive boats, beach Diving, or Catalina Express to Casino Point.
A strange and mysterious man who goes by the code name, HT, bravely answered the call to buddy up with such a green horn, and we began to plan out where we would go. HT preferred dive boats, while I secretly hoped they would all be full so we could go to Casino Point. Turns out, they were. So we made the decision to board the 0615 hours Catalina Express to Avalon.
HT suggested I rent gear on the island for convenience. Since it was a fairly long walk. After some deliberations, I ended up renting my gear at Sports Chalet where I could get a really could deal with a $10.00 off Action Pass for rentals. Adding to the fact that rentals at the dive site were actually kinda expensive, I decided to forgo the convenience and save about $40.00 by dragging my heavy gear around (minus the $8.00 transport from the Avalon Dock to the Casino Point Dive Park. HT ended up doing the same. Not wanting to spend the money on a really good diving bag, I ended up using my cheap, $30.00 Jeep Wal Mart bought bag to store most of my gear, and it worked out perfectly. Not that I will ever do that again, out of continued deterioration to the bag, it worked out just fine for the day.
I didn’t know who HT was yet, and I waited by the doors to the Catalina Express for him to arrive. When it got about 10 minutes to departure time, I wondered if he was going to show up, and decided to buy my ticket and go onboard. I got onboard the ship and texted him my location, wondering if he was going to make it. Little did I know, HT was there the entire time, and we didn’t know what either of us looked like yet. HT approached me secret agent style and confirmed my identity. He mentioned to stay warm below decks, but there was simply something I had to do.
Looking for HT to arrive.
Almost to open sea.
[video=facebook;10150868587318549]http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150868587318549&set=p.10150868587318 549&type=2&theater[/video]
Video traveling out to open sea.
I was tipped off over facebook that the USS Iowa Battleship was being towed towards and into the Port of Los Angeles, and was rewarded for enduring the cold and wind by a view of this magnificent ship out at sea. Well worth it! I believe they are turning it into a museum in the Port of LA, and can’t wait until it is open. It's kinda hard to see from this photo and my dumb iPhone camera zoomed all the way in + shaking Catalina Express, but it's there.
I was also hoping for maybe some whale or dolphin action, but didn’t see nothing more. If I was a dolphin, I probably wouldn't come near this crazy ship at Warp 2 either.
My only goal for the day was to see a Sea Lion. Or “JAWS!!!!!!!”…but mostly a sea lion. I also spotted a man I know as Joe, from my local Sport’s Chalet, and said hi. He was taking a whole fleet of new divers on their first open water dives today.
The best thing about this morning’s dive was the simple fact that the ocean was calm and quiet. This, coupled with the fact that we were one of the first groups to arrive early in the morning, followed up with some excellent diving conditions. While getting our gear ready, and attempting to fill up air in the BCD, I came to the realization that it was not filling up with air. Careful inspection by HT determined that an o-ring was missing from one of the screw on dump valves, and we came to the realization that the BCD, with its integrated 32 lbs, would be nothing but dead weight for the rest of the dive trip.
With that, I walked over to the air fill station and rented a BCD and weight belt. After setting up our gear, we jumped in to the water, which was about 57 degrees according to our dive computers. Our first dive went well, and visibility was excellent. I would estimate it at least 40-50 feet in the shallows, and a little less in the deeper areas, on this fine morning.
I also was made aware by HT of a Sea Lion, swimming through the enchanted kelp forest like a torpedo out of a u-boat, and would have missed it if he hadn’t alerted me to it in the first place. What an experience that was. We dove at 9:10 AM to a maximum debt of 51 feet, average of 30 feet for 33 minutes. I went from 2900 PSI to 400.
When I surfaced, I noticed a strong sense of vertigo. I felt dizzy and a little sick to my stomach. I knew it wasn’t sea-sickness because I never get sea sick (ever, and that’s coming from an Aquarius, mind you). I was actually glad to step out of the water for a bit and the surface interval helped, although I wasn’t sure how long or how many dives I would be able to complete at this stage.
While filling up between Dives 1 and 2, a high value black limo that could only be described as Yamaha Golf Cart arrived. Between bright paparazzi flashes and young girls screaming, I caught a glimpse of the man, the myth , the legend that stepped out of the vehicle, wearing a HARVARD sweater and towering 5 feet 15 inches with rugged good looks. His equipment looked like it had been through Vietnam, and was worn enough to probably be that old. I knew I had perceived this man’s image from a previous journey long ago…across the internet on Scubaboards.com, and and quietly muttered to HT “Is that…Dr. Bill”?
HT confirmed it was indeed Dr. Bill, and we walked over to say hi. I said very little. And by that, I mean nothing at all. Didn’t even get an autograph.
At 10:58, we dove in for our second dive of the day. I felt better and was ready to go. On this dive, we didn’t come across “JAWS”, but something much better. A Giant Black Sea Bass! I would later be informed by Dr. Bill that it took him hundreds of dives before he ever saw one, and here I was on dive 9. The bass was probably about 6 feet long and probably could have eaten my head for desert, but he was in a good mood today, and swam on his way, disappearing through the kelp and the milky white/green distance. We dove at 10:58 AM to a maximum debt of 65 feet, average of 31 feet for 37 minutes. I went from 3200 PSI to 500.
On the 2nd Dive, Dr. Bill was standing near the entrance, prepping his equipment for a day of diving and photography. After taking off our gear and sending our tanks for refills, we chatted up with Dr. Bill. I remember asking him what “Dive Dry with Dr. Bill meant” and he replied that it meant you could go diving from the comfort of your Laz-Z-Boy chair by watching his videos. Made sense. I didn’t ask for an autograph, but I did get a picture taken with him. He informed me that since he was a celebrity, I could sell my picture for 2 cents. Dr. Bill is really humble!
After chatting with Dr. Bill, me and HT went over to the Casino Dock Café. I wasn’t that hungry believe it or not, so I simply ordered a Double bacon Cheeseburger and a Gatorade. HT munched down on the same, plus a hot dog. The burgers were yummy to the tummy.
After eating, we returned to grab our tanks, and started on our 3rd dive. By now the park was becoming increasing packed, with both students, and experts like Dr. Bill. The waves also increased, and the Marine Layer was finally defeated by the victorious Sun Ray forces. We dove in and noticed visibility had gone down quite a bit, I’d say down to 25 feet. The tide also was going down, which made jumping into the water from the stairs, literally a jump, front body first to avoid the rocks just below.
We had kept away from the large expanse of the right side of the park (from where you walk in) and decided to explore here. One thing is for sure, we found very few, if any, divers in this area and it seems the classes prefer to hang a left at the stairs when instructing. This area is really neat, abundant in sea life and includes thick kelp forests, and mini cliffs and cracks filled with lobsters, among other cool stuff. On this dive, a Garibaldi assaulted my finger tips, as I unknowingly strayed far too close for comforts to its nest. Luckily I was wearing gloves that were longer than my fingertips, and I sustained no damage. Calls to the Bikini Bottom Police Department to file an assault police report went unanswered, which is good now that I think of it, because I was probably trespassing anyways. We dove at 1:15 PM to a maximum debt of 55 feet, average of 30 feet for 35 minutes. I went from 3200 PSI to 600.
After Dive 3, HT took a nap on the bench and I chatted with Dr. Bill for a bit as he took some surface interval time from his dives. Me and HT decided on a 4th and final dive, and hoped to spot one of the many wrecks within the boundry of the Dive Park. So we jumped and went on the hunt.
On this dive, HT led me down to 79 feet, which is the farthest down I’ve been yet, in search of one of the wrecks. Sadly, we came out empty handed, but I was glad I got some deeper water experience. The water remained fairly limited in visibility, and I’d estimate 25 feet, and even less in deeper water. We dove at 3:01 PM to a maximum debt of 79 feet, average of 41 feet for 31 minutes. I went from 3200 PSI to 800.
After surfacing, we packed up our gear. Dr. Bill had done the same and was ready to head out. I said goodbye and mentioned I was glad to have finally met him (and by finally, I mean I only knew of his existence for about 1 month from the Scubaboards). Dr. Bill is a cool, and highly knowledgeable individual, and it was great to chat him up for awhile. If his website is up to date so far, this would probably be about Dive #2,340 for him.
We sent our gear back on the Catalina Transport and Storage truck and walked over to the Spring Break area that is Descanso Beach. After looking around, we headed into town for some Ice Cream. Since Catalina Transport and Storage only took cash, and all I had was credit cards, HT paid my share, so I treated him out to ice cream at the Ellis Island Deli. We debated what a good mini business it would be to buy an apartment and rent it out to tourists, and how we could raise the price of our apartment by adding a golf cart to the rental.
We finally headed home on the 6:00 PM Catalina Express and I fell asleep on the top deck, only to constantly be re-awaked throughout the entire trip to a group of heavily drunk people shouting and playing some kind of weird game. They didn’t take the hint to people staring at them throughout the journey either.
After docking, me and HT parted and I went home to a delicious meal of Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and Tomato Soup (you know, the kind with the milk added, not water).
I retested my broken Sports Chalet BCD only to find out that it actually was now filling up with air! Ugh, so much for getting a refund on my rental now. How was I going to prove that it wasn’t working at the dive park now? I generally don’t make a big stink out of issue like this, especially when I don’t have absolute proof, so I let it slide this time.
Time to hot tub it up!
I went to bed at about 11:00 PM and woke up at 3:00 PM. YIKES! Can you believe that??? HT had dove the previous day, and was headed for a dive boat for diving today. That man is a machine! I can’t believe how tired I was and how long I slept! If it was anything else but being obliterated by diving, I’d probably go to the doctor’s office for fear of a medical condition, lol.
No further information to report.
Last edited:
