Star Fish on Balboa Pier

Lisa and I were standing on Balboa Pier looking over the sides when all of a sudden Lisa calls me over to the side of the pier she was standing on. She was very excited about what she saw, I figured she was a naked man as there were scuba divers working on the pylons under the pier, and they were just stripping down with a towel around their waist to change clothes.

No, no. no, nothing as mundane as that, but starfish! Right on the pylons! Glued there! What an amazing find, and she was sure that is why the divers were workingon the pier, to rescue the pylons from the ferocious starfish and their wayward destruction!

Well, with all the commotion, one of the divers (dressed in only a small towel and hiding behind the door of his truck) asked Lisa if she liked she starfish. She didn't know how to reply, and after a brief moment, she gushed..."oh yes, I LOVE Starfish! The diver proceeded to tell Lisa that he can get a starfish from under the pier for her. She was ecstatic! She could hardly contain her excitement and then after the diver committed, she told him she would like two starfish for her two children. He told her, that would be great, and then proceeded to talk to his divers in the water and sent a bucket down for them to pry some of the starfish from the pylons.

It took a few minutes to coordinate the effort, during which time Trevor shared some of his fries with the now dressed diver. There was talking between the surface diver and the below surface diver, and the Home Depot bucket was tied to a rope and thrown over the side of the pier. Anticipation grew, all present held their breath, and waited and watched.

Soon a masked head and gloved hands appeared below the pier and the extraction started. One starfish after the other were removed from the pylon and dropped in the bucket.

The diver on the pier told us this was a heck of a way for a company that charges $600 an hour to be working, filling a bucket with starfish, but he was happy to do it. (At least I think he was happy when he first offered, but after the extensive effort involved, he may have been regretting his original offer.

Finally, the bucket starts to appear as the diver on the pier and another deck hand started hoisting the bucket up and over the railing.

The bucket finally surfaced and with a final heave ho, it was laid to rest on the pier.
The contents were emptied out for all to see, and admire.


There they were, a huddle of 6 starfish. One of them had 6 legs, and another was missing most of one leg, he looked a man with a very little head and very long arms and legs. (Bottom left of picture)
The diver explained the anatomy of the starfish to Lydia and Trevor and told them that because the starfish does not have a brain, they can not feel pain. (Really?) The diver told Lisa to take what she wanted, and it was decided that Kib would like a starfish and mom wanted the one with 6 legs, so we bundled all of them up in my jacket and headed off the pier.

The rest of the story will remain untold for those with sensitive feelings, but the starfish are beautiful and a great reminder of the trip we took to the beach with grandma.