Catalina diving on 6 aug

[on_two_wheels]

Good times to be had!! Did 3 dives on the Magician yesterday. Met blue_steel for the first time and dove with him. We started at Goat Harbor. This would prove to be the best dive of the day. Three black sea bass, eel, octopus and all the usual guys. The first of the BSB came straight at us, mouth open. While I know they're pretty harmless, it was a bit intimidating. The eel and octopus stayed tucked in pretty close.

The next two dives were at Rock Quarry and Little Geiger. Compared to the first dive, it was pretty dull. However, seeing that many lobsters (on the latter dive) was pretty cool. They were in every nook and cranny!! We did about 45 minutes at 50-60 fsw on the first two dives and an hour on the last at around 20-30 fsw.

I don't remember if it was the first or 2nd dive (I think 2nd) but it was ridiculous....a huge bait ball with a few divers rolling (literally) on the sea floor just to watch them. If you are on here and recognize this to be you, Peak Performance Buoyancy classes are available in your area. It got so silted around the bail ball, I didn't stick around to watch. On the same dive there was a couple people literally standing on the bottom. Needless to say, any water motion caused them to shuffle their feet making matters worse. Shy some divers simply choose to to be on the bottom, I have no idea.

Temps were pretty mild. 64 for most of it with 57 below a thermocline. Overall, great day of diving with a new dive buddy. Back to work today so hopefully some of ya got out for some great diving of your own this weekend.

 

[blue steal]

Thanks for the trip report. I might add a little about the boat. The exit gates (2) were quite easy and at the swim step returning was good, the DM's were right there to assist with fins removal if needed. fills were fast. The galley wrench "Wendy" I think is her name was pleasant and did a wonderful job.
Food was okay, simple lunch, but good. The bunks were fine, was able to nap at least an hour going and returning. Captain gave a nice brief of each dive site before we all went in. Overall nice ship, good crew. the weather was for me perfect, and it's always good to get wet.
Don't really have a negative, but just a note on the limited space on the deck and in the galley. People need to be a bit more considerate with leaving there "gears" all over as it really limits the usable space even further.

 

[on_two_wheels]

I forgot about the seating Dennis. It amazes me. Once you're wet, what do you need? They feed you. You obviously have what you need to dive. So leave the rest on your bunk or put it with your dive bag.

On the Magician, there's seating in the galley for 18. There's often 22-25 divers on board (plus crew). I've seen at least 4-5 seats taken up by personal bags unnecessarily. It's common to see guys standing while eating lunch, rocking back and forth because of it.

 

[garyw90]

Hey on_two_wheels,
I have gone out on many a trip on the Magician, and I think pretty much every time there is a mixture of people sitting while eating after a dive, and others standing. Many of those times for myself after diving, I am feeling a bit cold, so I'd rather be outside warming up than sitting inside eating. They always have hot food, which is great after a dive, and as you experienced, Jerry does a great job of telling you about the sites (he has been diving at most if not all of them himself), and Tom and Rod do an outstanding job of helping divers off and on the boat. I'd pick the Magician in a heartbeat for a Catalina dive.

 

[fnfalman]

The best thing about the Magician is the Nitrox fill. It's a decent boat, but not any better or worse than its peers.

 

[on_two_wheels]

Hey on_two_wheels,
I have gone out on many a trip on the Magician, and I think pretty much every time there is a mixture of people sitting while eating after a dive, and others standing. Many of those times for myself after diving, I am feeling a bit cold, so I'd rather be outside warming up than sitting inside eating. They always have hot food, which is great after a dive, and as you experienced, Jerry does a great job of telling you about the sites (he has been diving at most if not all of them himself), and Tom and Rod do an outstanding job of helping divers off and on the boat. I'd pick the Magician in a heartbeat for a Catalina dive.

Don't mistake my rant to be anything about the magician. I've been on that boat at least 10 times in the last couple years. It's more about the awareness of the passengers. There is no need to hog up all the space with large backpacks which happens on most boats. However, if they simply mentioned stowing large bags below or on the bow with the dive bags, it would help. Seriously....what do you need once you start diving? Once you do your first dive, ya probably have all you'll need the rest of the day except maybe a towel.