12/9/2005 - Return To Redondo

Last week I went to Redondo with hopes of adding to the Monument, a diver-created artificial reef of small stature. It consists of cinder blocks, an old scuba tank and a small traffic cone. I had a rusty 95 that wanted to become a new home to some wayward octopus and my buddy Jeff had a guitar that was no longer in service, considering the lack of a neck and various holes punched through it. We must have missed the monument due to the very poor visibility made possible by the heavy surf we had to fight through to get in the water. We swam for a few hundred yards until we were ready to give up. After struggling to tow the 95 under one arm and watching Jeff tow the guitar behind him with a jonline, tangling his feet and me several times, we decided to make our own monument rather than carry that junk through the surf again.

Last night Jeff and I were joined by Claudette and Ross. The conditions couldn't have been any different. The water lapped against the shore and the visibility was so nice that we didn't have to do the Stingray Shuffle on our way out. We could see the rays in the sand moving out of our way, even without our lights. We split into two teams so that Ross could get in some practice time with me. He hadn't worn his doubles in a long time due to foot surgery and wanted someone with lots of experience with doubles alongside.

We dropped into the canyon and found a solitary squid right away. Anticipation was high for viewing the beginnings of a major squid run. As nature usually does, we were let down again. We found a total of two squid. It was good to see them again. We have a Full Moon next week, so maybe the squid were just patiently waiting in the depths.

Octopus were everywhere, in every conceivable hiding place.

There were the usual Sarcastic Fringeheads and other bottom dwelling critters. While Ross was trying to keep up with a little Batray, a jelly floated just over his head.

After getting accustomed to diving the doubles as well as his drysuit again Ross indicated he was ready to make the slow ascent back toward the beach. Along the way, we came upon...The Monument! I finally got to see it after five unsuccessful searches. Each brick seemed to house an octopus, each one larger than the previous one I saw. One quick look around and a picture of the sticker on the old tank for my friends at Pacific Wilderness, my LDS, and we moved to higher ground. More baby Batrays awaited us all the way into three feet of water. We enjoyed them so much that we had to walk back into deeper water just to remove our fins. It never ceases to amaze me how much conditions can vary at one site. I've had some of my worst dives in Redondo Canyon, and a few of my best. Last night's dive was one of the better ones.