FrankPro1
Contributor
Charlie "SpKelpDiver" and I had our first dives at Casino Point yesterday. We met up with Dwaters and Fisheater at the Catalina Express terminal and took the 6:15 boat out to Avalon. When we first arrived at the dive park, I was surprised on how small of a surface area the dive park was. Oren "FishEater" assured me that because of the angle at which the park's depth drops to, that there was much more to explore then meets the eye. We set up and did our first dive towards the Sue Jac wreck. Charlie and I quickly broke away from Dwaters and Fisheater to go and chase down a giant male Sheephead which he saw. After we couldn't find him, we explored the surrounding kelp beds and mini walls. We dropped down over the sand to about 75ft and worked our way back up to the surface. The first dive was awe inspiring. Charlie and I have only scuba dove Catalina once before and after yesterday, we will be trying to make it back at least once a month.
On the second dive, Charlie and I decided to go find the Kismet and Glass Bottom boat wrecks and then make our way over to the sunken swim platform. Ediving really works! We took the headings we compiled while doing Edives and it took us right to our point of interests. Seeing man made structures underwater is awesome! I don't know why, but for some reason it really beckons me. I know a PADI wreck specialty is in my future. As we made our way over from the Kismet to the Glass Bottom boat, Fisheater and Dwaters came into view and together we swam around taking photos of the wreck. Under the keel of the Kismet, Charlie found a group of sleeping Swell Sharks. We then parted ways and Charlie and I made our way over to the sunken swim platform. I spotted a couple juvenile sheepehead's on the swim platform and tried to take some shots of them. We then took a heading towards shore and came across the memorial plaque honoring a law enforcement officer. A very large sheep crab was defending the plaque and quickly engaged in a duel with Charlie.
The third dive we found the Cousteau monument and explored more of the right reefs. We decided to stay shallow on the final dive and had a max depth of 43ft. It was a good topper to a very eventful day of diving.
Sea Life: Treefish, Giant Kelpfish, Bat Ray, Blue Banded Gobis, several large unidentifiable schools of fish "maybe Top Smelt or Sardine??", Blacksmith, "Juvenile, Male and Female" Sheephead, Garibaldi, Senorita, Calico Bass, Gopher Rockfish, Swell Sharks and much much more. Too many species to mention!
Here are the profiles from our first two dives and some picture highlights:
On the second dive, Charlie and I decided to go find the Kismet and Glass Bottom boat wrecks and then make our way over to the sunken swim platform. Ediving really works! We took the headings we compiled while doing Edives and it took us right to our point of interests. Seeing man made structures underwater is awesome! I don't know why, but for some reason it really beckons me. I know a PADI wreck specialty is in my future. As we made our way over from the Kismet to the Glass Bottom boat, Fisheater and Dwaters came into view and together we swam around taking photos of the wreck. Under the keel of the Kismet, Charlie found a group of sleeping Swell Sharks. We then parted ways and Charlie and I made our way over to the sunken swim platform. I spotted a couple juvenile sheepehead's on the swim platform and tried to take some shots of them. We then took a heading towards shore and came across the memorial plaque honoring a law enforcement officer. A very large sheep crab was defending the plaque and quickly engaged in a duel with Charlie.
The third dive we found the Cousteau monument and explored more of the right reefs. We decided to stay shallow on the final dive and had a max depth of 43ft. It was a good topper to a very eventful day of diving.
Sea Life: Treefish, Giant Kelpfish, Bat Ray, Blue Banded Gobis, several large unidentifiable schools of fish "maybe Top Smelt or Sardine??", Blacksmith, "Juvenile, Male and Female" Sheephead, Garibaldi, Senorita, Calico Bass, Gopher Rockfish, Swell Sharks and much much more. Too many species to mention!
Here are the profiles from our first two dives and some picture highlights:
