Abalone Lunacy.......

So check this out from the Press Democrat (excerpts):

Little more than an hour after abalone season began Thursday morning, a San Francisco man was rescued after being swept out to sea along the Mendocino Coast.

“The water’s terrible. It’s rough and there’s zero visibility,” said Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department Chief Danny Hervilla

The San Francisco man had been with a group of about 20 others who ignored stormy ocean conditions to hunt for abalone south of Mendocino on the first day of the season, which began at daybreak, Hervilla said. Some were rock picking and others, including the man who was rescued, were diving, he said.

The diver, whose identity was not available, was swept out to sea, probably by a rip current, at about 8 a.m.

A member of the volunteer Mendocino Abalone Watch was observing the group and went for help. There is no cell phone reception in that area, so he flagged down a passerby who then called for assistance.

Mendocino fire department rescuers were having difficulty launching jet skis into the choppy water, but the man drifted far enough offshore for a Coast Guard boat to pull him aboard, Hervilla said.

The man had been swept more than a half mile from the shore, said Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Gabriel Tate, who was driving the 47-foot motorized life boat.

Here's the best part:

Tate said he was surprised anyone would dive for abalone in such bad weather.

“We were kind of shocked,” he said.

The others at the shore when the victim was swept away apparently weren’t fazed. They continued their hunt for the popular mollusk, Hervilla said.

"Yeah, it's a shame Joe washed away, but as long as we're here..............."

The complete article: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20100401/ARTICLES/100409971?p=2&tc=pg

Unbelievable! They risk their life for what, a snail?

damn city slickers...

seriously, though. 

Well they were going to need something to eat after the funeral.

well the report I got from my friend, who went out on the opener @ VD,  said it was for the skilled water person only. he managed to get his mollusks and get out, but he did get to watch a inlander ( from Sac) get beaten back by the shore pound, not once but twice before he had enough. Sometimes people don't realize how lucky they are when mother nature doesn't let them out into the playground for their own good, as witnessed by the swept out diver..... 

I'll stick to tidepools when the ocean's not ready for diving...  There will always be idiots - they should send the guy a bill. 

Big swells and large egos can be a deadly combination. Common sense is priceless on days like these.

i witnessed a rescue at timber cove today , rough out there!

..... Common sense is priceless on days like these.

When a person can successfully sue a company for spilling hot coffee on themselves, and lawnmowers need warnings to keep your body out of the cutting zone....
It seems that sense is anything but "common" - should we relabel it as "uncommon" sense?

Each Ab season there at least a few times where my dive partner and I get to the salt and decide NOT to go in and we're OK with that-
it's good to live to dive another day

Too many good weather days sprinkeled through the season for diving in bad weather.  If you take three, you can only go 8 times during the year.  Thanks Dave, good candidate for the Darwin awards......

My family seriously considered diving that weekend and getting a campsite. There were two novice divers in my group so I made the executive descision to stay on top of the water and dig clams with Sailfish and Daviator for the low tide. It is a long season and you can only get 24, might as well wait for better days. I dont wanna come down with a case of "Sacaramento Syndrome"