I Dove at Venice Beach, Florida over the weekend (actually the locals call the section we were on Alhambra Beach) with dozens of other Scubaboard members. It was probably the largest collection of divers I have seen and at one time it looked like the Spanish Armada (if the Spaniards had used dive flags) had invaded Alhambra Beach.

Of course it wasn't the 10 feet of visibility or the gentle attentions of the various small fish (they like to nibble your ears) that draw the divers to Alhambra, it is the vast quantity of fossilized sharks teeth, stingray barbs and other fossils that litter the bottom about 50-100 yards out in the bed of a prehistoric river.

It is my theory that the area was a prehistoric shark breeding ground, when sharks breed the male grabs the female by a fin and then uses that leverage to do the deed. In the process of shark passion, the male breaks off dozens of teeth. In some modern shark breeding areas the teeth litter the bottom like snow after the season is over.

Anyway the depth runs only to about 20 feet so you get huge bottom times (an hour plus with a 80 CF aluminum tank, with my doubles I got 2 hours and 15 minutes and still came up with 1100 PSI!). On my first couple of dives I didn't do so well, I only found a couple of dozen teeth. Of course I was trying to manage a dive flag, a scooter and a collection bag that was way too large. On my final dive I left the scooter, used a small bag and just took my time, I got 100 teeth.

When I was a boy growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska, my chum Alfred and I used to enjoy looking for fossils in the gravel of the playground at recess, we found crinoids, clams and occasionally a nodule of iron pyrite (fools gold) it was slow and required patience I am surprised I exhibited at that age. I should have remembered that lesson of patience on my first couple of dives at Alhambra and I would have done much better in my tooth collection.

A couple of folks found the holy grail of shark tooth collection, a Megaladon tooth, one was palm sized. Unfortunately I didn't find one of the large teeth, but I am happy with the ones I found.   I guess I will need to come back to find a meg tooth....