Tag Archives: abalone diving

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Layered sky above, swaying life below. With the surge from each passing wave, all things not fixed move first to and then fro.

Getting ready for a dive by Roger Rude

Feet up, head down, two kicks and I begin my flight to the bottom in a state of totally alert relaxation.

I glide through the columns of kelp, over rippling sea grass in a crevice, I descend. Around me a menagerie of colorful life forms, fish cleverly camouflaged seem to appear magically. I pass through a silvery wall of small fish as they part around me.

Abalone diver in kelp by Ken Bailey (Small)

To the task at hand - a quest - light on I peer in cracks and holes, illuminating the mysteries they conceal. In the back of one cave an Abalone clings to the ceiling, a large one worth measuring. As it senses my presence it clamps down on its rock perch.

I slide the ten inch gauge around it, feeling the surge of water from a wave above press me into the hole as I measure the shell - just shy of the mark. Nine and seven/eighths of an inch spell reprieve for this Abalone. I'll leave him for another year.

Forty-five seconds have passed and my body reminds me I'm terrestrial; it is time to return for air. As I fly upwards I look at that layered sky above, under the undulating reflective surface of the sea, pressures change, efforts cease as I cross the buoyancy barrier and float to the surface.

As I draw my first breath, I can feel the surge of oxygen infusing every cell in my body. Resting there, I'm in a meditative state, eyes watching the world below, my soul being rejuvenated. I am where I should be, where I need to be.  By Roger Rude.

Roger Rude with a 10.05 Abalone by Jack Likins (Large)

Here is a photo of Roger on a day that he did find a ten inch Abalone - this one measured 10.05 inches, a trophy Abalone.

Thanks to Ken Bailey for the underwater photo - to see much more of Ken's wonderful underwater photography, here is his website: http://www.seadreams.org/

Thanks to Jack Likins for the photo of Roger. And a big thank you to Roger for the photo of the early morning ocean and for this beautiful essay.

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Here you will see Nick, Matt and Hunter Lum after a recent dive for red treasure. Matt is an avid diver. It appears his sons have taken after him in this regard.

Nick, Matt and Hunter Lum after a successful Abalone dive by Jack Likins (Large)

Jack Likins took this photo. He wrote, “My friend, Matt Lum, came from Santa Barbara with his family and a couple of friends and spent the week diving for abalone.”

Roger Rude expressed what it feels like to be in the ocean this past week. He wrote, “Returning to the sea today to refresh my soul in its salty embrace, to fly and soar above the sea floor, to know my place in the universe.”

The beautiful Pacific Ocean, it calls to us with its summertime murmuring. In constant motion, it is home to many wonders, some of which we know well and some yet to be discovered. It’s a place of mystery, a place of danger, and of wonder. We should strive to never take it for granted.

Thanks to Jack for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

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Roger Rude with big abalone

This is what it is like to dive for Abalone off the Mendonoma Coast as told by Roger Rude.

"I was just finishing up a spectacular dive in a new area for me along The Sea Ranch. I had been in the 46.8 degree water for 2½ hours, having a hard time making myself leave such a splendid magical place. The visibility in the water was near 30 feet, which is remarkable for this coastline. In my quest for a trophy-sized abalone of more than 10 inches I had measured at least a dozen that were a fraction of an inch short.

"It didn’t matter to me as I was mesmerized by the beauty of the sea. Purple sea urchins occupied every available nook or hole in the rocks. Red, orange and blue star fish were on their slow patrol looking for food. Blue rock fish darted around me. Algae of every color intermingled with sea grass and kelp. Light danced off of everything refracted by the ever undulating surface. The sounds of sea life popping and clicking beneath the surface provided the soundtrack. “Beautiful” falls far short as a description of what I was experiencing.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA                            Photo by Ken Bailey
"Alas, reality began to force its way back into my awareness. I was cold, tired, and my muscles were beginning to rebel at the constant exertion, warning me with the first hints of cramping. Reluctantly, I head toward our exit point in the rocks, a place where deep water touches a shallow rock ledge where I can wait for the right wave to lift me up and out of the sea.

"As I swim, I continue to marvel at the sights below me, though tired I occasionally stop to lower my abalone iron, on the end of a float line, to measure a large abalone on the bottom 20 feet away, while I am still on the surface. Rare conditions indeed.
"When I reach my exit point, I begin to stow all of my gear back in the dive bag on my dive board. While I am doing this, a small form, about the size of a cat, appears next to me and begins to climb up on my board. Startled at first, I recognize it is a baby harbor seal. I sit motionless and watch as it climbs half way up, looks around with curiosity and slides back into the water. I watch it under water as it comes over to explore me. I see mom about 15 feet away, keeping her eye on her pup but not appearing alarmed. The pup nuzzles me, and I cannot resist gently stroking the top of its head. After a few moments, the pup rejoins its mother as if excited to report what it had discovered.

"Enchanted by the encounter I forget the camera in my dive bag.
Leaving them as they watch me, I catch my wave onto my ledge and climb out of the water, not unlike a seal, lying in a spot sheltered from the wind to warm myself in the sun. When I look up, a mother whale and her calf surface just off shore, so close as if to say 'are you sure you want to get out now?'

"I love the sea and all that it encompasses. This is why I abalone dive. Occasionally I take one and feed family and friends, but that is secondary. It is the experience, an experience I can only liken to spiritual."

I thank Roger for telling his story so we can vicariously experience what is like to dive when conditions are so wonderful. And thanks to him for allowing me to share his photos with you here.

Abalone season opens up August 1st.

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Earth Day saw the last of a  recent series of small storms. The last one brought another beautiful rainbow, as vibrant as can be. Peggy Berryhill got this photo from Gualala Point Regional Park.

Beautiful Rainbow on Earth Day by Peggy Berryhill

This  view spot is on the way into the park. It is a favorite of many of us for taking photos of the Gualala River and the Pacific Ocean. How fortunate for us that Peggy was there at the exact moment this rainbow appeared.

The Gualala River closed Sunday night and has since filled up. I will share some photos of that soon. It's a perfect time to go kayaking on the river.

Now we are having a heat wave. With no wind the ocean looks like a lake. Locals went diving for abalone today and tomorrow looks ideal too.

Thanks to Peggy for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

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Jack Likins tells this story. He wrote, “I had the honor of taking what might be the oldest living quartet of current abalone divers diving on Tuesday. We dove at one of the public beaches at The Sea Ranch where everyone could easily get to the ocean and into the water – sometimes the hardest part of an abalone dive. The conditions were calm and the visibility was eight to ten feet.
“Each of these divers was able to find and take his/her limit of three abalones on the hour-long dive. What’s even more amazing is that each one of them got at least one abalone over nine inches. The divers are Don Stupfel [85] of Timber cove, Lee Walton [78] and Susan Walton [72] of Morgan Hill, and Gary Rose [77] from Gualala. I just hope I can do what they are doing when I am their ages.”

What a foursome! I hope they continue to break the rules of what a senior citizen is suppose to be able to accomplish. Thanks to Jack for allowing me to share his photo and story here.