Peter_C
Contributor
Ryan, Keith, and I got a late start leaving Santa Rosa a few minutes before 8:30 am on purpose. Traffic can be horrible and often leaving a little later means less traffic. We still hit many slow spots on the way down. We arrived at Monterey, just in time for lunch. Had lunch at the Breakwater Deli and then prepped the boat, put the gear in, suited up, and headed out. First dive was Ballbuster. Long time ago Monterey Express had tried to anchor there and couldnt get their anchor to set, so I never got a chance to dive it before. Today we were not going to be let down. The wind chop made for a little bit of a rough ride on the way out and I kept the speed at around 16 mph. Since I really didnt know what I was looking for on the sonar we made numerous passes until we determined where the pinnacle was and then dropped the new hooker.
Dropping into the ocean there were plenty of small jellies, and of course the obligatory sea nettles around us. Once on the bottom we found vis to be a nice 30 with a very slight touch of current if you really paid attention and no surge. We did two laps then started working our way up. The life was amazing and made the drive down worth it. We eventually had to leave the underwater world as Keith had sucked down an HP130, Ryan was working pretty good on his HP120 and I had used a fair amount of nitrox myself. We started our safety stops at 40. Our 20 safety stop was lengthened for time by a couple of minutes just to play it safe. Then after a minute at 10 we slowly ascended to the surface.
Once we were all back on the boat we hung out for a little bit and noticed it had calmed down substantially. The wind chop was pretty much gone, but now the large swells were more noticeable. They had a long interval so it was smooth just hanging out on the ocean. After chillin for a while we headed back into the bay and choose the Barge since neither Keith nor I had dove there and it would be a good place to practice some drills. Keith and Ryan swapped out their tanks as I sat the outboard and watched. Sea lions would swim by checking us out and the birds made their passes too.
We geared back up and dropped down finding the anchor right on the barge so we moved it off to the side out into the sand. Here we began our drills. Just happens the first one is going to be Peter is out of argon drill, and has a nasty squeeze going on. Once that issue is resolved we line up, get our buoyancy spot on and I start a valve drill. I found with rebuilt tank valves and new gloves they went much smoother. Once completed Ryan does a valve drill. Then we work with Keith on his trim and kicks. Some nice improvements were seen today. After the drills we start touring the barge with Ryan leading this dive. Vis is only about 15'-20'. He takes us around it and off into the sand for a little exploring. After a while we are starting to get a little chilled, because the freezing cold water is 57 degrees there Brrrr. Really I should have added more air to my suit, not sure what the others excuses are. Well maybe Ryan had one since his gloves have holes in the finger tips. Time for a new pair buddy. After completing 3 safety stops we surface to find the sky is turning pink, and the wind has all but died completely. When trying to pull the hook Ryan struggles and says he can not feel the chain coming off the bottom, and the rope will not budge. We drive over it in different directions trying to free the rope to no avail. Since the Coast Guard had just passed us as the sun is setting and I have no lights for my boat, I quickly start to re-don my gear. In that time a young playful sea lion comes by and is jumping all around the boat within a few feet of us. At one point it jumped between my outboard and the rear tube which was less than a foot from me. Now I am thinking this little guy is going to come out of nowhere and scare the crap out of me as I jump off to go down and free the anchor. I turn my HID back on as it is now dark down below. In fact I probably could not see what I was doing without the light. Turns out the anchor rope had drifted into the barge and gotten trapped between a board. One quick yank and it was free and on its way to the surface. I quickly reboarded and we headed off for the docks. We changed, stowed our gear, then pulled the boat and headed off to find dinner. Due to parking we decided to eat at All American Burger which was okay food, and most importantly not greasy. The ride home was uneventful, but long, and we arrived home a few minutes after 11:00 pm.
Slumber land is now calling
Dropping into the ocean there were plenty of small jellies, and of course the obligatory sea nettles around us. Once on the bottom we found vis to be a nice 30 with a very slight touch of current if you really paid attention and no surge. We did two laps then started working our way up. The life was amazing and made the drive down worth it. We eventually had to leave the underwater world as Keith had sucked down an HP130, Ryan was working pretty good on his HP120 and I had used a fair amount of nitrox myself. We started our safety stops at 40. Our 20 safety stop was lengthened for time by a couple of minutes just to play it safe. Then after a minute at 10 we slowly ascended to the surface.
Once we were all back on the boat we hung out for a little bit and noticed it had calmed down substantially. The wind chop was pretty much gone, but now the large swells were more noticeable. They had a long interval so it was smooth just hanging out on the ocean. After chillin for a while we headed back into the bay and choose the Barge since neither Keith nor I had dove there and it would be a good place to practice some drills. Keith and Ryan swapped out their tanks as I sat the outboard and watched. Sea lions would swim by checking us out and the birds made their passes too.
We geared back up and dropped down finding the anchor right on the barge so we moved it off to the side out into the sand. Here we began our drills. Just happens the first one is going to be Peter is out of argon drill, and has a nasty squeeze going on. Once that issue is resolved we line up, get our buoyancy spot on and I start a valve drill. I found with rebuilt tank valves and new gloves they went much smoother. Once completed Ryan does a valve drill. Then we work with Keith on his trim and kicks. Some nice improvements were seen today. After the drills we start touring the barge with Ryan leading this dive. Vis is only about 15'-20'. He takes us around it and off into the sand for a little exploring. After a while we are starting to get a little chilled, because the freezing cold water is 57 degrees there Brrrr. Really I should have added more air to my suit, not sure what the others excuses are. Well maybe Ryan had one since his gloves have holes in the finger tips. Time for a new pair buddy. After completing 3 safety stops we surface to find the sky is turning pink, and the wind has all but died completely. When trying to pull the hook Ryan struggles and says he can not feel the chain coming off the bottom, and the rope will not budge. We drive over it in different directions trying to free the rope to no avail. Since the Coast Guard had just passed us as the sun is setting and I have no lights for my boat, I quickly start to re-don my gear. In that time a young playful sea lion comes by and is jumping all around the boat within a few feet of us. At one point it jumped between my outboard and the rear tube which was less than a foot from me. Now I am thinking this little guy is going to come out of nowhere and scare the crap out of me as I jump off to go down and free the anchor. I turn my HID back on as it is now dark down below. In fact I probably could not see what I was doing without the light. Turns out the anchor rope had drifted into the barge and gotten trapped between a board. One quick yank and it was free and on its way to the surface. I quickly reboarded and we headed off for the docks. We changed, stowed our gear, then pulled the boat and headed off to find dinner. Due to parking we decided to eat at All American Burger which was okay food, and most importantly not greasy. The ride home was uneventful, but long, and we arrived home a few minutes after 11:00 pm.
Slumber land is now calling