Here's a report a wrote up for Diver.net. Good to see you guys and hope to see you again!
North Coast Bash Report
I just got back late last night from Eric Sedletzky's annual North Coast extravaganza. Wow -- what a weekend!
We arrived at the Ocean Cove campsite on Thursday just in time to meet Eric as he was returning from a dive with three abs under his arm.
After setting up the tent, I brought out some bugs that had been in my freezer since the end of lobster season. I wanted to make some lobster taquitos, but I didn't have a recipe so I decided to improvise - how hard could it be? They came out nicely and were a perfect appetizer for the steaks, ribs and baked potatoes that followed.
We took Eric's boat out on Friday with the intention of doing some dives up the coast but the south swell made for some uncomfortable boating. We turned around and got beat up as we headed back to the shelter of the cove. We attempted to make a dive inside the cove but technical difficulties on the surface forced us to abort before we got wet. We compensated with a good beach dive during which Eric snagged a lingcod and I identified some new leaks in my drysuit.
That evening, the campsite filled up with some familiar faces and many new ones. One of the new guys, Jack, was everybody's good buddy thanks to his home-made gourmet pizza cooked on a Weber grill -- yum!
On Saturday, the ocean was virtually flat calm and four of us took off on Eric's boat to check out a very promising site a few miles north of the campsite. The visibility was outstanding for the North Coast -- better than 20 feet in places -- and the topography was unreal. The site was littered with house-sized boulders and the spaces between them and beneath them were like a rabbit's warren of canyons and caves. Some of the boulders were breaking the surface and the jumbled structure extended down well past 70 feet. Every surface was smothered in growth and the water column was filled with huge schools of rockfish.
Eric shot a nice vermillion and found a crevice that was loaded with an entire limit of scallops. It was such a nice spot we decided to dive it twice just for fun.
Back at the campsite, I launched a borrowed kayak and went on a tour of the cove with the kids. Later, I went back out on the 'yak to freedive for some abs just before sunset. The cove was absolutely stacked with abs and I got a limit in no time.
The feast on Saturday night was truly epic with more seafood than you could shake a speargun at. From breaded abalone and sauteed scallops to a couple of kinds of fresh ceviche, as well as more ribs and steaks, everybody contributed something to the feast.
After packing up the site on Sunday, I made another quick run out into the cove for some abs to bring home.
I'll post some pics once I have a chance to download the camera.
Thanks again Eric for putting it all together!
A few memorable quotes from the weekend:
"That's the longest tongue I've ever seen." (One woman to another down at the boat ramp).
"I'm getting a bulk pack of duct tape to take care of both you guys."
"Good night, buddy. I'm going to have to turn out the lights now."
"I don't know where I am."
"You're camping."
