Club Beach Dive Report
Moss Street, Laguna Beach
April 6, 2002

Report:  By Mike Doyon

The cove at Moss Street reminded of an old tune my grandmother used to sing, that went something like “When the sun comes up, the tide goes out, the divers gather ‘round and they all begin to shout . . .”. Well, okay I made up the part about the divers, but when the sun came up, the tide was definitely out, and at Moss Street that means “Rocky Entry”.
Had we started the dive at 7:00 am, the entry would have been easy. We started around 9:00 am however, and it took a bit of advanced navigation to clear the surf line.

Joining in the fun were former SCDCIE member Nick Pente ( a faithful newsletter reader) and his dive buddy Steve Blessing. Nick and Steve were the first and only divers joining us in the water on this beautiful day, so they had the ocean all to themselves for their entire dive. Steve  decided this was the right time to try out his new dry suit, and was a bit puzzled by the added weight in his left leg at the end of the dive. A seal somewhere isn’t working as designed, and he dumped out about a gallon of ocean.

Club member Gary Cornell took up lookout duty for a while, and actually directed the rescue of a lost dive fin. Gary gets the Eagle Eye award, as he directed me through the surf to retrieve the fin. It’s a TUSA fin, and you can claim it the local dive shop in Laguna Beach if you think it might be yours.
Your Dive Master was there with two Dive Master candidates, and while Nick and Steve were playing, David Ballard and Chris Hartzel were making depth and distance measurements as part of their dive site mapping project, a requirement in the PADI Dive Master course.

When the official club dive ended, it was my turn to play (teaching SCUBA diving is the best job in the world), so Dave, Chris, and I headed out for their second dive. They got to show me their skills in the ocean, and I got to see some really wonderful terrain. The sandy bottom at Moss Street is rolling and sculpted rather than flat, and the reefs to the East of the entry point are full of life, with plenty of overhangs and crevices to poke around in.

Moss Street is a great little dive site. Check it out, but get there at high tide.

Mike Doyon