Great dives, Ryan! Well told.
For five years I had an interesting night shift: in from 6-10pm, and leave when I was done. Sometimes I only worked a couple of hours!
To get home, I drove past 20 miles on Pacific Coast Highway, right past 4 of the most flawless waves on the coast (Malibu is considered a perfect wave), and even more dive spots. I found that I could get some great hunting when I got in the water about 3-4am, and hunted 'till dawn, sometimes I would just lay there, look up at the stars, or down at the bioluminescent creatures below. I found that I could get Malibu 1st point all to myself on most nights (50-100 head counts are considered normal in the daytime there during a swell, and they are Los Angelenos: they surf just like they drive!
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Ryan, For night diving I would recommend a light (maybe a small UK q40 - 4AA cell, & attach somewhere for backup), a compass, and a knife. (IMHO)
re: A dive buddy and I lost the shore in some fog one night last season at Pt. Dume, while hunting lobster - we were 50ft from the sand, the surf was non-existent and the fog refracted and muffled sound, so our ears were unreliable indicators. Also, there were no lights or visible landmarks around this spot to identify land. But with a light and a compass; we swam back to shore on a 0º heading. No Problem!
Be safe, Have fun!
Rick
