Hey folks;
Sorry it took so long to report back; been a busy week.
I got to berth 55 nice and early. The first thing I did was put my pack on the choice bunk: #1 middle left. I then filled out the paperwork and finally brought my gear from the car. I was early enough to get #1 and a good spot for my gear bag.
The boat was over booked due to a cancellation from the weekend before. The perfect number of divers for that boat is about 26. There was 34 there... It was crowded and gearing up proved to be a challenge. But I digress.
Breakfast was served just as we left the harbor at 7:05. There was a massive cargo vessel in our way and had to wait for it to be tugged out. Once we were on our way I headed straight for the bunk to get a nap.
My buddy woke me up from a dead sleep to let me know we were 20 minutes from our fist spot; Starlight...Sweet!
Dive #1; the vis was insane! The boat was sitting over 41 FSW. You could look over the side and see the bottom! We went deep for this dive, following the kelp forest to 93 FSW. Everything was awesome, and even saw some VERY large bugs hiding in the rocks.
Dive #2; decided to stay at this site because the conditions were so perfect. Attempted to find the sunken sail boat, but had no luck. We went on our mary way. For some reason I was really hog'n the air on this dive. I was running low and told my 3 buddies that I was surfacing and would meet them at the boat. Stopped at 15 for a couple minutes and surfaced.... smack dab in the kelp. I started to fish my out when the DM, in the water for some reason, asked me if I was ok. I gave him the ok sign and proceeded to head towards the boat. The DM met me half way and we started to talk on the swim back.
As we were talking, he looks down and says, "What the...!" Just then a diver rockets out of the water. She must have come out all the way to her thighs! She's gasping for air and in a complete panic. The DM grabs her and tries to calm her down. He puts her on her back, drops her weights and we tow her in. At the swim step we got her out of her BC and she was assisted onto the boat to be assessed. Seems as though she was helping a buddy that was in an Open Water class; they were doing the buddy breathing skills and she didn't clear the reg before inhaling. She panicked and didn't think to cough through the reg.
After 10 or 15 minutes, it was obvious that she was hit with DCS and needed to be evaced. The Captain called it in and LA County Life Guards were there in a boat in less then 5 minutes. Impressive. She was able to walk, so they loaded her and her buddy and headed for the chamber. She was only suffering minor symptoms of DCS, thankfully, but they wanted to be sure. Got all the divers on board and decide to move to a spot closer to the chamber.
Dive #3; we anchored at the Ismus at Two Harbors just off the Reef sign. It was a good dive, conditions were great, but every one was a little shaken from the events a while earlier. The good news is that by the time I got back on the boat, they had already brought her back from the chamber and she was doing ok.
Conclusion; The conditions were awesome. The crew was great. You guys really pegged it with your tips. Bobby and his "summer teeth". The food was good, although they kept running out because it was over booked. The incident on the second dive was a gentle reminder to keep your skills sharp too.
Thanks again for all the info!!
