Skin Dive#:021
Sun July 06, 08
Neptune's Cove: tidepool
Purpose: have fun during poor conditions
Tide: High @ 1:00 pm
Entry: large, pool-like tide pool @ 1:00 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: 10 -20 ft
Conditions Synopsis: good
Sights: topsmelt, grunion, opaleye, surf perch, scorpionfish, sea hares, urchins, ochre stars,
Exit: same @ 2:00 pm
Time to date: 15 hrs 45 min
Total time this dive: 1 hr
Total time: 16 hrs 45 min
Special Notes: This would be my third day in a row tide-pool diving at the Secret Garden of Neptune's Cove. The secret garden is about double the size of an olympic pool, about 4-5 ft deep at the deepest and gets filled up by breaks at high tide. The water is rather cold from a drop off right next to the pool. The drop off is a popular fishing hole. The pool drains on one side into the ocean, creating a mild current pulling into that drainage.
On my way down the extremely unstabble trail I noticed some guys with masks and snorkels. I climbed over rocks to them. One was trying to coax his dog into the pool. I told them that there is a good rock ridge to walk on then flop into four feet of water. They snapped back, "We know. We've been swimming here for thirty years!". I knew I should learn some stuff from these guys. I put on my wetsuit, boots and gloves while they had on just trunks and shoes. I flopped in after them. The older man admired my westsuit and told me to go help the fisherman on the other end of the pool who had dropped something in. I slithered up to the fisherman and I noticed that they either found their object or gave up. We chatted breifly and then I saw their object in the shallow pool - a pack a soggy cigarettes on the bottom. I scurried over to the deeper end, sucking in my belly to not get poked by urchins or the unbearbale scorpion fish. The younger of the two men who was probably the son, forty, was standing on the small platform, aka boulder with a red brick in his hand. "I'm going to crack open some urchins. Go down and watch the fish eat.", he siad to me. We went under and he smashed some purple urchins and pink flesh floated around. Soon lots and lots of fish were fighting for the meat! It was a frenzy. We held onto some boulders so the we wouldnt get slowly sucked out the drain, today's tide was high. There had to be fifty plus fish in the frenzy area. Some watching, some eating. Even pairs of scorpion fish were in on the party. Later I took liberty to smash some urchins with the brick and admire the beautiful lunch time myself. Maybe that's why the fish here are so friendly... no one really gets in the water here, but when they do, the fish get fed? I swam around and the dad and son got out of the chilly pool. Tiny waves formed in the pool as the breaks peaked up and into the pool over the walls. I held on. Bubbles filled the water and vis went from 20 to zero then cleared up again.
When I got out the older man talked my leg off. He said the place was better when the whale vertebrae and scapula was exposed in the nearby rock as a fossil until some one stole it. He pointed to some rubble. He explained that the fresh rocks that fell own in the last ten years might have some new fossils to be found. He then said the pool gets it's spider web appearance from the now plugged up hot water vents. It made sense. The pool is unusual. From the top of the cliff it looks like either a spider web or an amplitheatre. The ridges fan out from the corner, radiating as you can imagine the once flowing spring of water flowing from the depths of the earth. He talked about the hole, the abyss right under the fisherman on the dangerous rocks over to the right. He said his friend owns a record for deep hole fishing in that spot. The man talked more almost enjoying himself more than trying to educate me. He was a happy old man with japanese features and little pot belly. He liked the sound of his own voice and I listened. He kept repeating how he is so haooy the place is accessible once again, explaing that during the housing development of the area, all access was blocked off. Later in the parking lot he told me to go to the area between Hagertty's and Rat's at absolute low tide to see a hole, another serene spot for similar diving as this pool. I thanked him and I drove home with fish in my eyes and plans to find the other hole.
July 07, 2008
Friends At the Secret Garden of Neptune's cove
Skin Dive#:020
Sat July 05, 08
Neptune's Cove: tidepool
Purpose: have fun with friends during poor conditions
Tide: High @ 12:30 pm
Entry: large, pool-like tide pool @ 1:00 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: 20 ft
Conditions Synopsis: good
Sights: topsmelt, grunion, opaleye, surf perch, scorpionfish, sea hares, urchins, ochre stars, nudibranch, sun star
Exit: same @ 2:00 pm
Time to date: 14 hrs 45 min
Total time this dive: 1 hr
Total time: 15 hrs 45 min
Special Notes: Yesterday was my first time experiencing the secret garden at Neptune's Cove. It was serene so I wanted to share it with my visiting friends Jessica and Dave. We drove over to the cove right after high tide so the pool would be filled. I prepped Dave on the Scorpion fish and we walked along a small rock ridge into the pool and flopped into four feet of crystal clear water. I pointed at a baby scorpion fish and then at a larger scorpion fish. I told him not to touch them. He was wearing a spring suit so i told him to watch his knees on the many urchins. Yesterday while here I accidentally put my hand on one of the devils and the tiny points broke off into my palm. It didn't really hurt but startled me. Thankfully it was only three pokes, not too deep. We swam around I and i showed him different areas of the pool and we went our seperate ways to voyeur on the many animals. I spotted a black nudibranch with flourescent yellow and purple-blue spots. It was awesome. I've never seen one and I was able to now look at it in crystal clear water in front of my nose. I met up with dave by the diving platform, aka boulder. I motioned for him to look at something. It was a giant sun star slowly climbing up a rock garden. The sun shone trhough the shallow water in golden patches. I swam around some more. I watched baby surf perch graze in green fields. A mother opale escorted here babies into a further pool. I found a rock ridge with fifty curious fish mesmorized bu my pale garden gloves. I tried to poke the noses of curious top smelt. Some fish in the large pool were nig enough to hunt. But I would never hunt in such a peaceful garden. Dave got out after the chill got to him and I took breaks for hydrating. Jessica had fun in the shallow areas of the tide pools playing with the crabs. I had another awesome time in the fish village.
Additional notes: A group of young teenagers came flopping down the dangerous trail druing our tide pool diving. The boys were gregarious and their lone female counterpart trailed quietly in her skimpy swimsuit. The grouped climbed dangerous vantage points where waves almost knocked them down. They didn't keep an eye on the sets the came over the pool's walls. One boy had a snorkel and mask in hand. The grouped walked over to the edge of the pool near the cove's mouth and peered ino the violent waves. then two boys doffed thier trunks and jumped casually into the extreme sea with their boxers. I was impressed. It was quite stupid, they spent about twenty minutes fighting the currents and it seemed that they would swim into the nearby cove for a dangerous exit. But, eventually managed to exit where they leaped into the chaos. They must've done it before. No one was scratched. I kept thinking about the extremely poor visibilty. kelp and chaos they worked with. Maybe they did it just to impress the girl in the bikini!
Sat July 05, 08
Neptune's Cove: tidepool
Purpose: have fun with friends during poor conditions
Tide: High @ 12:30 pm
Entry: large, pool-like tide pool @ 1:00 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: 20 ft
Conditions Synopsis: good
Sights: topsmelt, grunion, opaleye, surf perch, scorpionfish, sea hares, urchins, ochre stars, nudibranch, sun star
Exit: same @ 2:00 pm
Time to date: 14 hrs 45 min
Total time this dive: 1 hr
Total time: 15 hrs 45 min
Special Notes: Yesterday was my first time experiencing the secret garden at Neptune's Cove. It was serene so I wanted to share it with my visiting friends Jessica and Dave. We drove over to the cove right after high tide so the pool would be filled. I prepped Dave on the Scorpion fish and we walked along a small rock ridge into the pool and flopped into four feet of crystal clear water. I pointed at a baby scorpion fish and then at a larger scorpion fish. I told him not to touch them. He was wearing a spring suit so i told him to watch his knees on the many urchins. Yesterday while here I accidentally put my hand on one of the devils and the tiny points broke off into my palm. It didn't really hurt but startled me. Thankfully it was only three pokes, not too deep. We swam around I and i showed him different areas of the pool and we went our seperate ways to voyeur on the many animals. I spotted a black nudibranch with flourescent yellow and purple-blue spots. It was awesome. I've never seen one and I was able to now look at it in crystal clear water in front of my nose. I met up with dave by the diving platform, aka boulder. I motioned for him to look at something. It was a giant sun star slowly climbing up a rock garden. The sun shone trhough the shallow water in golden patches. I swam around some more. I watched baby surf perch graze in green fields. A mother opale escorted here babies into a further pool. I found a rock ridge with fifty curious fish mesmorized bu my pale garden gloves. I tried to poke the noses of curious top smelt. Some fish in the large pool were nig enough to hunt. But I would never hunt in such a peaceful garden. Dave got out after the chill got to him and I took breaks for hydrating. Jessica had fun in the shallow areas of the tide pools playing with the crabs. I had another awesome time in the fish village.
Additional notes: A group of young teenagers came flopping down the dangerous trail druing our tide pool diving. The boys were gregarious and their lone female counterpart trailed quietly in her skimpy swimsuit. The grouped climbed dangerous vantage points where waves almost knocked them down. They didn't keep an eye on the sets the came over the pool's walls. One boy had a snorkel and mask in hand. The grouped walked over to the edge of the pool near the cove's mouth and peered ino the violent waves. then two boys doffed thier trunks and jumped casually into the extreme sea with their boxers. I was impressed. It was quite stupid, they spent about twenty minutes fighting the currents and it seemed that they would swim into the nearby cove for a dangerous exit. But, eventually managed to exit where they leaped into the chaos. They must've done it before. No one was scratched. I kept thinking about the extremely poor visibilty. kelp and chaos they worked with. Maybe they did it just to impress the girl in the bikini!
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.
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.
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