Max Bottom Time,
Congratulations on researching, writing and publishing your long overdue dive guide book for Palos Verde. You put a heck of a lot into it but it is the Southern California diver and the underwater world who will get even more from your monumental efforts.
In the very early 1970s (Good gosh! 40 years ago!) I was a co-author along with Mr. Ron Merker (Dr.Bill's Basic (& only?)SCUBA Instructor) for the Orange County section of "Diving West." I am surprised and honored after all these many good and great years that a there is a modern diver who owned and used it as a dive guide
"Diving West" was unique in that it relied on experienced knowledgeable divers for their expertise and input on a specific area of the California coast- Ours was and still is Orange County; we included all the popular locations but there were some we did not disclose. Much to my surprise and I suspect also Ron's they apparently remain unknown and have not been dove to this day. I am relived that we did not disclose some of the locations, most were just too deep and dangerous for today's casual recreational diver.That is except one-- "Miller's Reef" off Moss street. I made a mistake of chatting with Dale Schlecker and made an off hand comment about Millers Reef- He proceeded in publishing it's location in CDN and later his guide book. The reef became for a short while "The OC dive spot, the grand central station of Laguna Beach diving." .So a word of warning keep the secret spots to your self and off the printed page.
In the first edition of Diving West encluded a very abreviated version of my popular article "Keep'en Kreepers." It was a step by step method of preserving marine life using common household items-now a lost art.
Diving West was unique in another way...It was the second dive guide published in the US. The first dive guide was way back in 1957; "Skin divers and spearfishermans guide to American waters" by the late Hilbert Schench and Henry Kendall.
Once again I congratulate you on your long overdue book,and wish you well in your future endeavors
SDM