Ab diving on the Northern California Coast

[Dans 68]

I know that the members here like to know what is going on with each other. And as I also know that they like pictures even more I thought I'd share one of my Memorial Day activities.    My dive buddy Jim and I got to the Sonoma Coast about 8:30 am and left at 11:00 am with a limit of red abalone. The day was foggy, with a mild on-shore breeze, and the water a bit choppy with a southerly current. As it was a minus tide and the visibility was about 15-ft the actual diving was fantastic.    We kicked out (about 150 yards) to a normally covered wash rock (that I don't normally dive on as the currents and wave action normally make it too dangerous) and spent about 45 minutes diving for our limits. We dove about 20-ft deep through clear, cold water (too early in the year for a lot of kelp) to pop the tasty morsels off of the rocks. After a 3-hour drive home I cleaned them, sliced them, breaded them (the Mrs. helped here  ), cooked them (deep fried in peanut oil for 15 seconds) and served them with sliced lemons, a green salad,  garlic bread and a nice wine. All nine dinner guests ate all that they could. 

The below photos show yours truly at the dive site, and the abs in my driveway getting ready for the knife.

I've been ab diving for over 30 years so if you have any questions just ask.     

Dan

Oh, by the way, the ab was delicious! 

[Brock Samson]

  and here I thought ya' left a "r" out of the topic title,.. i was thinking Who's Abe and Abe is driving what?.. 

  I don't know I've ever had Ab...  next time call me..  are the three in the first pic conjoined triplets?.

[ChgrSteve67]

Does it taste like chicken?

I have not been diving since my trip to Alaska.

[Dans 68]

Does it taste like chicken?...

Are you serious?    You have never indulged, have you? There is a reason it sells, if you can find it, for almost $100/lb. It is also known as "Sirloin of the Sea". 

...I have not been diving since my trip to Alaska.

Just tell me you did not eat the sunflower star you were holding.... 

Dan

[ChgrSteve67]

No and No

[PocketThunder]

i had to look it up. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_abalone

[tricky lugnuts]

Ever seen any Great White sharks out there?

I'd love to do what you're out there doing, but I'd be too (irrationally) damn scared of sharks. Plus, that water is freaking cold. Brrr! Awesome though!

[moparstuart]

  so do you grind up the shell and put it in your car paint ?  

[PocketThunder]

 so do you grind up the shell and put it in your car paint ?  

They're hanging from the license plates like truck nuts... 

[Dans 68]

Ever seen any Great White sharks out there?...

No. If I did I'd be the second ever recorded case of someone walking on water.    The Whites are pretty much "contained" in the Great White (or red) Triangle, which encompasses Ano Nuevo State Park, the Farallon Islands off of San Francisco and Tomales Bay. Lots of juicy sea lions and elephant seals in these areas for the Whites.

...I'd love to do what you're out there doing, but I'd be too (irrationally) damn scared of sharks. Plus, that water is freaking cold. Brrr! Awesome though!

You just put it in the back of your mind. It is a lot more likely getting into a deadly car crash while driving to the dive site than getting munched on by a shark. A wetsuit covers the cold issue (please excuse the pun   ).

...so do you grind up the shell and put it in your car paint ?  

Nope. They just adorn my backyard fence perimeter (a few hundred or so). If you do grind on them be careful. http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive/199911/msg00401.htm

 so do you grind up the shell and put it in your car paint ?  

They're hanging from the license plates like truck nuts...  

They are a little too big for that.  

Dan

[moparstuart]

 wow so if you wet sand your pearl paint job  it's toxic 

[Dans 68]

wow so if you wet sand your pearl paint job  it's toxic 

If the pearl is abalone, pretty much yes....    Use a good respirator.

Dan

[moparstuart]

wow so if you wet sand your pearl paint job  it's toxic 

If the pearl is abalone, pretty much yes....    Use a good respirator.

Dan

I would think unless your one of those old school crazy ( Huffers)  painters , you would have on a respirator .  My buddy had his 70 roadrunner painted dark blue in the late 80's with crushed abalone in it , sometimes it looked purple .  I dont think that painter ever wore a mask .

[Darkman]

Nices Abs 

A three pack on your chest?

Do you have bag and size limits and specific seasons?

Just remember when it comes to sharks, you don't have to be faster than the shark, just faster than your fellow divers!

[Dans 68]

...Do you have bag and size limits and specific seasons?...

Three in possession (and not just three per day  ), 24 total for the calender year. 7-inches long minimum at the shells longest measurement. The season is open from April to November, with a July closure for little abs to be made.  

Dan

[Darkman]

with a July closure for little abs to be made. 

Dan

Well I guess they need their privacy too 

[PocketThunder]

with a July closure for little abs to be made. 

Dan

Well I guess they need their privacy too 

Sounds like the mating season in my house, once a year!         

[chargergirl]

I have never had an ab...never even seen one live...that's wild.

[RECHRGD]

After completing a commercial diving school in 1969, I was all set to go to the gulf and make a fortune diving for the oil companies.  Two days before my departure all off shore drilling and pumping was stopped due to an oil spill off of Santa Barbara (sound familiar?).  I then hooked up with some commercial ab divers and spent two weeks diving off the S.B. channel islands at between 30' and 120' depths.  Plenty of sharks and many hours in the water produced thousands of pounds of abs.  When I contacted the owner of the boats to see how much my cut was, I was informed that most of the abs were dead upon arrival.  He offered to loan me $10.00.    That was the end of my diving career, but a big lesson learned about business dealings.  Bob