The dive day on 7/2/05 at white point in Palos Verde’s was great. White point is a park/beach with a rocky shore. My dive buddy and I were first timers at this location and we did not know where to dive. We decided to gear up and drop in at the northern end of the park. Lucky for us a father and son team, Mark and Matthew, spotted us and came over and told us to go back to the south end….. How cool is that! Thanks Guys! That was a bit of a walk over to us too!

White point is known for sulphur vents that produce heat and lots of white stuff, hence the name. We spoke with Mark and Matthew about the dive conditions and were told the conditions here, today, only occuronce in a while.... 25ft vis. Lucky twice before we were suited up, gotta like this. I mentioned the rocky beach B4, you need thick soles on your booties or it’s a painful walk …. Ouch! Slippery rocks will make sure you pay attention on entry and exit as well.

On our first dive, we were greeted by and escorted by a number of calico bass, blacksmiths, and a legion of white sea bass (All short), The bottom alternated between rocky and sandy, which is great because you get different critters in each environment. Out in the sand we found a huge halibut. We later found out from hunters back on shore, the halibut are in to spawn…… and get speared. I remember also, a tip from Elaine J. about clouds of sand possibly being bat rays and swam toward one and found just that. A granddaddy of a bat ray laying in the sand. We watched for a bit and finally ‘Big Daddy’ took off but came back for three fly by’s before going on his way. Back in the rocks, we spotted a very nice octopus. Funny, we never saw a vent.

Second dive, we never saw anything but vents! Everywhere we turned, vents and more vents. Sort of looked like Christmas down there and everything was flocked. I think I saw a sea cucumber pulling a tiny sleigh….. We checked the vents to feel any heat and did notice some. You could taste the sulphur as well.

Both dives were different but very nice. There were broad smiles from all back on shore. When I returned my tanks to the dive shop, I was told the red tide was at other spots……. Lucky again! I’m off to buy a lotto ticket.

• How cool Max Bottomtime 15:46:53 07/06/05 (0)