Posted by Ken Kurtis on June 11, 2001 at 11:42:22:
In Reply to: malaga cove... posted by kelphead on June 11, 2001 at 10:51:56:
One of my absolute personal favorite places to dive.
Don't know what the conditions will be (I've dove it in one foot of vis and fifty foot of vis) but I can tell you that Saturday at Veteran's Park/Redondo we had 72º on the surface, probably 65º on the shallow (pre-Canyon) bottom, 55º in the Canyon, with 10-foot vis in the shallows and 20-25' in the Canyon. Malaga is a bit more protected so you might have better conditions.
Check the tide tables in the LA Times (weather page on the back of section B) and try to dive around high tide. Easier entry and generally (but not always) better vis.
Lovely shallow reef (hard to get deeper than 25') and just about EVERYTHING you'll want to see in SoCal diving lives there. Keep an eye out for good-sized Sheep crabs and octopus. Also angle sharks and shovel-nosed guitarfish in the sand.
Park in the school lot, take the far side path down to the beach area, hang a left (180º) at the bottom of the path, cross the drainage ditch, and set up by the corner of the swim club wall. Go straight out from there (remember the rocks are slippery), drop down in 10' of water, continue straight out until you hit the first sandy edge, and then turn left and follow the edge of the reef. Meander around and have a good time.
The walk down the hill isn't too bad but the walk up can be a killer. If you're not in good shape, do it in stages or even two trips. And be careful of overheating, especially on the way down (less likely on the way up since you'll be wet but not impossible if it's a hot day).
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, Ca.