Tag Archives: Roger Rude

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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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Ten-inch abalones aren't uncommon for Jack Likins. Usually he ONLY takes an abalone that is ten inches or more. So you know he is a incredible diver. Most divers' dream is to find a ten incher. Recently Jack was diving off the northern Sonoma Coast with his friend and fellow diver, Roger Rude. Look what he found.

Jack's abalone measured 11 1/16 inches. He photographed the heavy shell, which shows the 11 inch gauge. That gauge doesn't get used often, that's for sure. Jack said, "I'm stoked!"

Thanks to Jack and Roger for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

To see a photo of Jack with a limit of three ten-inch abalones, here's the link: http://www.mendonomasightings.com/2013/05/21/why-abalone-divers-die-in-their-hunt-for-red-treasure/. Also found on this link is Jack's important article about why abalone divers die in their hunt for red treasure.

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Two Days - five ten inch abalone!

Here is Jack's story.
"With the end of abalone season fast approaching, we finally got some good diving conditions. Roger Rude and I got into the water at one of our less usually dive-able spots on The Sea Ranch. There was a bit of NW swell and the tide was very low so the entry and exit over mussel and algae-covered rocks was a little hairy, but we managed to make it in and out without too much trouble. We had about fifteen feet of visibility underwater and a slight south breeze.

"Roger and I are in the process of making a 'How to' video on abalone diving and had a goal for this dive of filming the take of a ten-inch abalone underwater. Over the two day period, three hours each day in the water, we found five ten-inchers. A couple of them were too far back in cracks to film and with two of them we were so tired at the end of our dive that it was all we could do to get the abalone, let alone set up and film it at 25 feet deep. But we did manage to get some good video of a couple of the ten-inch abalones that we will be using in our upcoming film.

"Five ten-inchers might seem like a lot of large abalone for two people for two days, and it is, but it is rare that we can do this. I have made over 30 dives this season and only taken 19 abalone of my total quota of 24 in a season. There were many dives where I didn't take a single abalone. I see thousands of them because there is a healthy, thriving population along the Sea Ranch coast. They are well protected by the elements of nature and the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife laws that limit numbers, sizes, locations and equipment used for the take of abalone.

"According to a study by Marine Biologists at the Bodega Bay Marine lab, abalones are like humans with regard to reproduction. After they reach their prime - three to ten years old - they begin to decline in their reproductive capabilities. Abalones over ten inches are likely between ten and fifty years old and, depending on their environment, will begin to actually lose shell size.

"We, as abalone divers, are very concerned about the health of abalone along our coast and want our sport to be available for our grandkids. For that reason we do whatever we can to understand and protect the species. The greatest threats to this irreplaceable resource are the reintroduction of Sea Otters and poaching...in that order.

"At TSR we are particularly lucky to have so many people who understand and want to protect the marine environment. I encourage all who watch the ocean to know and understand the laws about abalone diving so that when you see someone poaching, you can report them. It happens, even at TSR, more often than most people realize. Report poachers at 1-888-DFG-CALTIP."