Secret Garden of Neptune's Cove

Skin Dive#:019
Fri July 04, 08
Neptune's Cove: tidepool
Purpose: have fun during poor conditions
Tide: High @ 12:00 pm
Entry: large, pool-like tide pool @ 2:00 pm
Distance: n/a
Gear: 5/3 suit, mask, snorkel, boots, gloves
Temp: Air 75 F?/Water 62 F?
Enviroment: sunny, marine layer, 2-3 ft breaks to fill the pool
Visibilty: 25 ft
Conditions Synopsis: good
Sights: topsmelt, grunion, opaleye, surf perch, scorpionfish, sea hares, urchins, ochre stars
Exit: same @ 3:30 pm

Time to date: 13 hrs 15 min
Total time this dive: 1 hr 30 min
Total time: 14 hrs 45 min

Special Notes: Today for independance day I wanted to squeeze in a dive so I drove around the coast and noticed all coves were rather violent with breaks. The visibility at the coves was extremely poor from the tops looking down. This bummed me out and I then remembered how much fun tide-pool diving can be. So I thought hard and drove over to the secluded Neptune's Cove in Palos Verdes. I parked and hopped the rail that says, "Unstable Cliffs. Do not climb over. Do Not Even Think About It!". Once by the trail looking down I saw the usual fishermen standing on rocks with waves breaking at there legs, spraying high. This is the fishing spot where a 21 year old man went missing during winter. His friend was knocked into the water and the 21 year old jumped in, saved him, but was violently hit by a break that took him under never to be seen again. Numerous searches revealed no signs of the man. This tragic story did not fase me as I would not be near the waves. I would be in the water pool behind the rocks that get pounded by the surf. Here in the pool, there are many, many fish. The water level in dependant on tides, so it was about 0 ft - 4ft deep at the time of entry. I geared up. I had on the usual gear minus weights and fins. I dropped down into the water about 6 inches deep and barely floated. I stood up. I waled further into the pool. I found an area where I could float and pulled my self around with one glove. The place was like a garden, filled with bright green algae and colorful growths like flowers. Urchins looked like poppy's with there brilliant purples. Small crabs looked large inches under my mask. I went deeper. I sucke din my belly not to get pierced by urchins or unmoving scorpian fish or several sizes. Then, the water opened up to four foot deep and several families of opaleye were grazing on the floor. The visibility here was extremely serence. Probably the most beautiful scenerey I have seen thus far. Fish began to follow me. Scorpion fish would sometimes move away from my shadow and turn colors to match their new position. Sea hares were everywhere. I spent the next hour casually moving along checking out every posssible fish house and familarizing my self with grazing colonies of Opaleyes. I felt like I found a secret garden.