Farnsworth Trip Report - Short Video

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Rainer

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Jen and I were up around 3:30 am to make it down to San Pedro by 4:45 am. An early morning departure under starry skies on the Sea Bass would have us to Farnsworth shortly after sun up. The ride was bumpy (4-5' swell), but we eventually made our goal. The Magician was already there, so we anchored on the pinnacle further away from the island.

Dive 1 - Farnsworth
Jen and I splash into lovely blue water. With visions of epic visibility in our heads, we soon descend into snotty water. The anchor has missed the pinnacle and continues to the sea floor below in 125'. Jen ties off onto the anchor in 100' and we scooter until we find some structure, where we tie off the reel. Visibility is <10'. A real shame, as this pinnacle is gorgeous. The purple hydrocoral is abundant, large schools of blacksmith circle about, and the walls are just covered in various nudis. Unlike the area we explored on our Farnsworth trip back in August (Farnsworth Bank - DIR Charter - Trip Report ), this spot has lots of little canyons to work around. After 30 minutes at 100', we head up. A short video (which makes conditions seem better than they were) from the first dive:

[vimeo]16607373[/vimeo]

Dive 1b - Farnsworth
Given the poor conditions on the first dive (half the boat didn't make it to the pinnacle), we decided to head closer to the island in search of cleaner/clearer water. Unfortunately, the anchor was stuck in 125'. I borrowed Quintin's doubles (with 18/45) and Charles' deco bottle, and Ken and I went to free it. While it took longer than we'd hoped, eventually we got it cleared and shot up on a lift bag. Managed to see an Electric Torpedo Ray before we began our ascent and deco.

Dive 2 - Eagle Rock
We motored over to Eagle Rock for our second dive. This is like a shallower version of Ship Rock, but with less kelp and many more gorgonia. This time, Jen, Vincent, and I teamed up for a nice scooter dive. Jen led, and did a great job touring us about. We did just short of an hour. Visibility was a bit better here, but it wasn't great (<15') and we had to deal with strong currents the entire time (spare some pity for those kicking this site!).

Dive 3 - Eagle Nest
After a nice lunch, we headed toward the front side of the island, where we jumped in for a nice drift dive. Nicole and I teamed up for this one and soon found ourselves slowly gliding along at 60'. Visibility was much improved (a dark 30'). This area reminds me of the kelp to the east at Casino Point. Very pretty. Lots of blacksmith, garibaldi, and sheephead. Even managed to find a few morays and three abalone. Somehow all the teams basically ended up in the same area, at which point we popped SMBs, and ascended to find the boat right there waiting for us.

Just as we'd left, we returned to the dock under the stars. Long day. In all, a challenging day of diving, but time well spent with wonderful, fun divers. All capped off with a really nice dinner once back on shore.
 
Great video, even in the low vis conditions!
I know the Farnsworth is a deep and difficult dive. You guys are definitely tech divers. Is the trip worth it and safe for a new diver or should you have a certain number of dives under your belt before attempting a trip there?
Get Wet!
 
The boat was mostly recreational divers. Granted, all were relatively experienced, but only five of us had any "tech" training.

That said, I would be hesitant to recommend Farnsworth to anyone not comfortable diving in currents / surge, at depths around 100', and unsure about their ability to navigate back to the anchor line. It's a beautiful dive site for sure, but it does warrant some good work up experience. For me, it's more a "pinnacle" dive than a cut your teeth dive. :)

Great video, even in the low vis conditions!
I know the Farnsworth is a deep and difficult dive. You guys are definitely tech divers. Is the trip worth it and safe for a new diver or should you have a certain number of dives under your belt before attempting a trip there?
Get Wet!
 
Was this yesterday 7 NOV 10?

My buddy just called & bragged that Farnsworth condition was just about perfect yesterday. 64-F at 90-ft. He said that the surface was like glass, no current and 60+ft visibility. He went out with the Great Escape and said that they jumped in just as dawn broke.

They did four dives: Farnsworth, Whale Rock, Black Rock and Parson's Landing. He said they were all sweet dives except for the end at Parson's Landing where the current came up rather heavily by end of dive and they were in such thick kelps that some newbies were freaking out a bit.
 
Beautiful! I've been dying to get out to Farnsworth, but haven't had the chance yet. I heard all about this trip yesterday - Steve, my GUE Fundies instructor, was on the boat. Now I'm even MORE jealous! :D
 
It was a fun trip, just not the easiest adventure.

Steve and Charles were below us on the ascent off the first dive, so I got a brief shot of them in the posted video.

Hope your class is going well, LeeAnne!

Beautiful! I've been dying to get out to Farnsworth, but haven't had the chance yet. I heard all about this trip yesterday - Steve, my GUE Fundies instructor, was on the boat. Now I'm even MORE jealous! :D
 
It's going fantastic! I'll post an update in my...um..."kool-aid" thread when I get a moment. :)
 
Great video, even in the low vis conditions!
I know the Farnsworth is a deep and difficult dive. You guys are definitely tech divers. Is the trip worth it and safe for a new diver or should you have a certain number of dives under your belt before attempting a trip there?
Get Wet!

I'm somewhere in the mid 200's with my dives so not very much experience in the large scheme of things. Due to a major drop in vis and a very strong current our dive turned into one of my most challenging dives to date. Everything went ok in the end but it could have possibly become quite ugly. It'd probably be in your best interest to not rush out there right away, it'll always be there for a later date!

I really enjoyed the last dive of the day. I managed to find 6 (SIX) shark eggs strewn along the reef as well as a eel. We were also buzzed by a sea lion. Drift dives are always a treat at the end of the day, plus I got to do a post fundies fun dive with Steve M. How can I beat that?
 
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