4/20/2008 - Amazing Day At Marineland

Non dive report, but a great day to be at Marineland. Merry and I received a message from Divebum Don that the waves had picked up overnight. I unpacked the dive gear and loaded the Bottomtime Buggy for a day of rock hauling. There is a rock that we found last year and have devised various schemes to retrieve it. The easiest way would have been to dig the rock out of its semi-permanent location in the rocky shoreline near the outfall pipe between the Point and Cobble Beach, somehow roll it downhill into the water and float it with liftbags while I swam it to the cove. The conditions prevented us from getting in the water so I lowered the Bottomtime buggy over the cliff and pulled it along the rocks to the pipe. Thank goodness for knobby tires.

I lifted the 116 pound megarock into the wagon and Merry and I trudged our way back to a steep trail at the midway point to the cove. Getting the wagon back up the cliff was hard, but nothing compared to the rock.

I managed to get it near the base of the cliff with a lot of effort. Don and Drysuit Greg decided to go up the hill for a tarp and come-along for the rest of the lift. While they were gone I moved it a foot here, a foot there. Before I knew it I had it ten feet from the top of the trail. Don showed up and manhandled it with me the rest of the way.

It was almost as hard getting it up the trail in the wagon, but it is now at home, waiting to join its rightful place in Merry's rock garden. Every rock we have came from our local dive sites, mostly Marineland. I hope removing so many rocks made the entries and exits there easier. :)

While Merry and I were draggin' wagon over the rocks, Don, Greg and Cyber the Wonder Beach Dog went spelunking in Whaler's Cave.

The recent storms have cleaned out the cave of homeless debris and the net, which was deposited on the beach a few months ago. Don called this week and said it was removed, likely by the construction crew while they were working on the lower part ot the land. When we got there this morning we were surprised to find that the power of the ocean works both ways. It was being pushed back up into the cave! I saw a brass thru-hull on it and thought that some California Wreck Divers may want to haul the net out for us.

After high tide I went to the cave thinking I could haul the newly freed net off the beach and onto Terranea property but when I got there I was shocked to find that it was gone. The ocean had swallowed it up once again. Later in the day, Don saw it coming back onto the beach. Just as I went to take a few more pictures, the ocean pulled it offshore and it disappeared. I have a feeling it won't be the last time we see this net.

We ended the day with Chef Don cooking sausage and elk that Merry's friend brought down from Montana. Despite the ocean not allowing us in, it was an amazing day at Marineland, well worth the effort.