Abalone preparation

    let me sum up the abalone experience for you warm water divers:


    1. wake up early, maybe 6am


    2. drive for 2 hours north.


    3. find a nice spot and hike down about 1/2 mile and about 300-400 foot cliff in full dive costume.


    4. get in 48-52 degree water while avoiding getting pounded by surge.


    5. find abs as quick as possible, maybe 1/2 hour or you'll freeze your nuts off (unless you are the trolphy hunter type).


    6. fill out ab card while your fingers are numb.


    7. hike back up the cliff (~`~`~`~` i'm tired just thinking about it).


    8. get dressed on a cold, windy, foggy bluff. ~`~`~`~` it's cold.


    9. drive back.


    10. clean abs.


    11. cook abs.


    12. eat abs, mmmmmmmmmm.


    13. clean the ~`~`~`~`ing mess in the kitchen.

    14. asleap by 9pm.


    that was fun, i'll do it again soon.

    steve veros


    in loving memory of paolo

    Quote from Dan

    :laughing: well written Steve. Much respect to the Cali ab divers.


    Why do you have to drive 2 hours north?


    Probably because he lives 2 hours South of the area where take is legal and productive. For me it would be about six hours. I hear they are tasty but I don't need any snail that bad. There are abs all along CA but there is no take allowed in Southern CA.

    Quote from Dan

    :laughing: well written Steve. Much respect to the Cali ab divers.


    Why do you have to drive 2 hours north?


    Depending upon the point of departure. The time for us (living in SLO) to travel is around 13 hours round trip. As the regs state the diver may only have three abalone in their posession i.e. vehicle, refrigerator, etc. that is a stiff price to pay for a limit of abs. Now, if they were all 10+ inchers, the haul would be incrementally greater.;)


    The abalone shown in the hyperlink is on the small side. He should have given that one another five years to grow.

    Steve is just being a drama queen... :D




    Most of us make a day (or weekend) of it.
    Amazing scenery... from dramatic seaside cliffs to redwood forest canopies...
    Great local breweries (including http://www.russianriverbrewing.com/ & http://www.avbc.com/)
    One of most prolific ocean supermarkets in the world...


    Diving is cold, but a treat. The entire kelp forest is alive in every sense of the word. The sheer biomass is astounding. In addition to a wide range of tasty fish, we have a plethora of edibles... including rock scallops, sea urchins, clams, seaweeds, abalone, dungeness crabs, etc. On shore, beds of mussels line the rocky outcroppings. Literally a stone's throw from the coast, one can forage for an awe-inspiring assortment of mycological madness.. including the highly desirable chanterelles & porcinis.



    Like life... diving here is ultimately what you make of it.


    If you think it's a chore... it is.


    If you open yourself to the ocean... every dive can be amazing!
    New places found... new species seen... new behaviors noticed... new things learned... new beers tasted... new friends made... new recipes... new adventures... new perspectives... soul renewed. :)


    Shhhhh



    If its a multi day trip, don't forget about putting on that freezing cold, wet wetsuit! Its the thing I dread the most..

    Long Beach Neptune


    USCG 50GT


    nicely written harold, can i have some of your happy meds?;)

    steve veros


    in loving memory of paolo

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member to leave a comment.

Register a new account
Sign in now