Peter McGuinness
Contributor
Went down to the islands on the Lois Anne. Absolutely superb day with blue, calm seas - no swell at all - and sunny, windless skies which is all I could have asked for on my first trip to The Coronados. Needless to say, with conditions like that, there were a bazillion fishing boats out there but since they mostly stayed out of the leeward water, they presented no problems for us. We got in four dives:
Dive #1 The Keyhole
Time: 9:10 am
Duration: 48 mins
Depth: 61ft
Vis: very variable, between 10 and 30ft
Very little surge, even at the tunnel, but we did not go through. Highlights of the dive were a very lively octopus out and about, and a playful sea lion who seemed determined to get on camera (I got a short movie of him). The sea life here is substantially different from the shore locations I usually dive; many urchins, of differing types, which are really quite uncommon in La Jolla, plus a critter I had only seen in photos, the type of sea cucumber which has feathery fronds. These are everywhere as individuals and in large colonies embedded in walls. This critter was a surprise because it seems more like a worm than a cucumber; it keeps its body in a hole as far as I can tell, since I did not see a single one out and about.
Also, speaking of worms, there are many tubeworms with colorful fronds, very reminiscent of the type I have seen in the bahamas - very nice!
Dive #2: Lobster Shack
Time: 10:43am
Duration: 41mins
Depth: 57ft
Vis variable again, 30ft near the wreck, down to 10ft near the shore.
Dive plan was to drop down to the wreck of the "Malpractice" and then swim under the boat to look for critters in the rocks. We landed pretty much right on the boat and mooched around in nice vis and v. cold water. Came back into the rocks where we found a little swell shark as well as the now familiar urchins and sea cucumbers. Looked for the squadron of trigger fish but didn't find it (although another pair did).
Dive #3: Seal Cove
Time: 12:36pm
Duration: 32 mins
Depth: 46ft
Vis 15 - 20ft
The boat anchored on a small reef between two coves on the north side of the Central lump of rock in the middle ground group (The divebums site identifies this general area as Seal Cove). This post-lunch dive was a relaxed ramble around the reefs and rocks with some nice short walls near shore with the sun breaking through and lighting up some little groves of gorgonians. Found a large navanax to photograph and add to my growing collection. I know this is an incredibly common critter, but I am always impressed whenever I find one and can't resist yet another photo!
Also found a huge sheep crab under a rock, which I thought was a good, safe place for a bruiser the size of this one!
Dive #3: Seal Cove
Time: 1:57pm
Duration: 27 mins
Depth: 40ft
Vis 15 - 20ft
A last quick dive at the same site as before. Notice how the dives are getting shorter? Getting cold does that to you! This was very similar to the last dive, with the exception that a gentle current had crept up; not enough to notice but enough to put us all a good 50 yards downcurrent from the boat on ascent.
A nice smooth ride back home finished off a great day on and in the water.
Photos can be found at:
http://www.mcguinness-family.net/albums/diving/SanDiego/Coronados/
Peter
Dive #1 The Keyhole
Time: 9:10 am
Duration: 48 mins
Depth: 61ft
Vis: very variable, between 10 and 30ft
Very little surge, even at the tunnel, but we did not go through. Highlights of the dive were a very lively octopus out and about, and a playful sea lion who seemed determined to get on camera (I got a short movie of him). The sea life here is substantially different from the shore locations I usually dive; many urchins, of differing types, which are really quite uncommon in La Jolla, plus a critter I had only seen in photos, the type of sea cucumber which has feathery fronds. These are everywhere as individuals and in large colonies embedded in walls. This critter was a surprise because it seems more like a worm than a cucumber; it keeps its body in a hole as far as I can tell, since I did not see a single one out and about.
Also, speaking of worms, there are many tubeworms with colorful fronds, very reminiscent of the type I have seen in the bahamas - very nice!
Dive #2: Lobster Shack
Time: 10:43am
Duration: 41mins
Depth: 57ft
Vis variable again, 30ft near the wreck, down to 10ft near the shore.
Dive plan was to drop down to the wreck of the "Malpractice" and then swim under the boat to look for critters in the rocks. We landed pretty much right on the boat and mooched around in nice vis and v. cold water. Came back into the rocks where we found a little swell shark as well as the now familiar urchins and sea cucumbers. Looked for the squadron of trigger fish but didn't find it (although another pair did).
Dive #3: Seal Cove
Time: 12:36pm
Duration: 32 mins
Depth: 46ft
Vis 15 - 20ft
The boat anchored on a small reef between two coves on the north side of the Central lump of rock in the middle ground group (The divebums site identifies this general area as Seal Cove). This post-lunch dive was a relaxed ramble around the reefs and rocks with some nice short walls near shore with the sun breaking through and lighting up some little groves of gorgonians. Found a large navanax to photograph and add to my growing collection. I know this is an incredibly common critter, but I am always impressed whenever I find one and can't resist yet another photo!
Also found a huge sheep crab under a rock, which I thought was a good, safe place for a bruiser the size of this one!
Dive #3: Seal Cove
Time: 1:57pm
Duration: 27 mins
Depth: 40ft
Vis 15 - 20ft
A last quick dive at the same site as before. Notice how the dives are getting shorter? Getting cold does that to you! This was very similar to the last dive, with the exception that a gentle current had crept up; not enough to notice but enough to put us all a good 50 yards downcurrent from the boat on ascent.
A nice smooth ride back home finished off a great day on and in the water.
Photos can be found at:
http://www.mcguinness-family.net/albums/diving/SanDiego/Coronados/
Peter
)
So Myrna and I climbed the rocks/reef on the west side of Crescent, then went for a burger. As the tide dropped, so did the viz, and the report from the Captain was that it had deteriorated even more on the second dive. 
