Posted by Jon on November 19, 2004 at 13:10:11:
A few of the usual suspects headed out to Escondido Creek in Malibu last night. It was a fairly unremarkable dive in spite of the good vis (no sign of the local BSB). Unfortunately, one team member was separated from one of his Jet Fins on the entry.
I decided to visit the beach on the way to work this morning for some freediving and to look for the errant fin.... unfortunately, no luck on the fin.
However, I did find an errant puffer fish ailing in the surf. I tried to send it on its way a few times, but it was clearly in distress -- from the recent drop in water temps I imagine -- and kept getting washed back toward shore.
I found a kid's bucket on the beach, scooped it up and headed down toward Long Beach in hopes of turning it over to the Aquarium of the Pacific. I called Ken Kurtis on the way and he got me in touch with the head aquarist, who met me at the back gate and took the fish to a warm-water holding tank.
They promised to keep me posted on its progress and I'll pass on any updates here.