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Well Charlie and I were planning to shore dive Buchannon's reef but with both of us feeling lazy and some moderate swell hitting the point entry, we opted for 120 reef. Visibility was inconsistent but still quite diveable "range between 10-20ft". Immediately after descending we encountered a huge sheephead. Other highlights were a Navanax "which I didn't see until reviewing my pictures", a couple octopi, and various schooling fish. Our plan was to get deep and navigate along the outer kelp beds. This led us through some interesting structures which we weren't used to seeing. Here's some highlight pictures:
Chica and I had big plans for ML this weekend. The swell models combined with the tides do not look real pretty.
I'll probably roll down there Friday or Saturday AM to take a peek, but I'm not real optimistic. I never read the swell charts - but they do lot look pretty.
Not happy.
Isn't it funny how some of us chew on our Reg mouthpieces sideways? Love it.
Its not often you see an octo with its eyes that wide open (well, one was wide open)
Sometimes you catch the right moment.
Merry and I were just at Marineland and it was as flat as could be. Claudette was showing the site to another diver. I told Merry we should have brought our dive gear rather than running shoes. We also saw two Blue whales and four or five Gray whales cruising south. We'll be diving the point tomorrow morning. All predictions are calling for heavy surf Friday and Saturday, then calming down by Sunday.
I'll probably roll down there Friday or Saturday AM to take a peek, but I'm not real optimistic. I never read the swell charts - but they do not look pretty.
Its not often you see an octo with its eyes that wide open (well, one was wide open)
I agree. After looking at the majority of the swell forecasts I don't believe we'll be doing any shore diving this Thanksgiving weekend. I was thinking about hopping on a boat or heading to Casino Point but with the holiday crowds and mediocre conditions, I don't think it would be worth the effort.
That Octo had such a great attitude. He didn't come out of his den, but he let me flash him a bunch of times and at no point seemed scared or panicked. A lot of times when I've encountered Octopi they tend to retreat really quickly out of view. This guy just hung out and seemed just as amazed to see me as I was of seeing him.
There was some moderate swell off the point, a little bit of milk in the cove and some foam on top of the garden @ 10:30 this morning. I believe that was right at low tide so that could explain why the conditions were worse then when u got there. The LOLA nearshore forecast is showing the next swell pulse hitting our coves starting in the afternoon but I'm confident the early hours should bring decent conditions.
Beautiful shot. Octopi's eyes seem to show a high level of thought and emotion that very few non-mammalian marine species exhibit. I cringe every time I read the various cephalopod ingredients in a lot of frozen sea food medleys. Its been years since I've eaten any ocean derived products "besides kelp & salt", but I still feel bad when I think of all those Octopus Nigiri's/salads I've consumed. I know, I know... I'm a pussy, but I can't help myself
There was a great show on PBS once about the intelligence of octopus. They put one in a mason jar and it learned how to open the lid and get out immediately. They had another in an aquarium who would crawl out of his tank at night, crawl into another aquarium with crabs in it, then go back to his own aquarium with dinner.
Seeing as Charlie and I shore dive Neptune's south west pinnacles, the effort needed to reach Buchannon's from a Long Point entry is not that bad at all. Then again, that's just on paper and not from actual experience "Wednesday would have been our first attempt".
I have this map for reference: http://www.rossoverstreet.org/scuba/GIS/Old%20Marineland%20Divers%20Map%20Rev14.jpg
The plan was to enter at the point and then make our way around towards Pt.Vicente. After reaching the half way point to the Beautiful pinnacle area "listed on the map above" we would then start to surface swim out away from shore. Not knowing how close we were to Buchannon's, the idea was to just drop down after a decent swim and then take a heading directly out hoping to find it.
Any tips on finding Buchannon's, relative headings, shore identifiers, etc. etc. would be much appreciated.
The Santa Monica Baykeepers planted kelp last year which you can see from the trail between Pt. Vicente Fishing Access and Nelson's. It looks like the kelp extends out to maybe 35-40 feet at Buchanan's. The best diving there is in 60-80 feet, so it's still quite a ways offshore. The pinnacles out there are tall, craggy, filled with tunnels and even a few swim-throughs. Rockfish are the dominant fish species there and the nudibranch populations makes the rest of Marineland look like Vet's. You'll be blown away by the amount of life. There are also a ton of abandoned anchors at Buchanan's because of the rock formations. These anchors came from the numerous boats fishing the spot.
The main hazards are boat traffic, current and the half mile plus swim. It can be done, but it's a long way to swim away from the protection of the shoreline into boat traffic. A float and flag would be a good idea, but then you end up dragging that around for an hour or so.
Also, once Charlie gets his drysuit he may not want to enter/exit at the point any more.
Seeing as Charlie and I shore dive Neptune's south west pinnacles, the effort needed to reach Buchannon's from a Long Point entry is not that bad at all.
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