Channel Islands 29-31 Dec 07 Trip Report

[wdunne311]

What a way to end the year. The week prior to this trip I went on the Cypress Sea with a bunch of you nice Scubaboard peoples. Dan, Michelle, Laurel, Ben, Ken and few others whose names escape me. Getting sick on the bottom seemed to give me instant cold for a week, but I was able to clear my ears the day we drove down there.

Michelle and I drove down to Santa Barbara about 4ish, leaving my car in the parking lot of Safeway in Prunedale with the hope that it was there when we returned. Initially, the plan was to leave it in the Best Buy parking lot in Marina, but upon a second look at this, it was deemed to "risky". So Safeway it was. Good Call Michelle.

Anyway, the drive down was uneventful with many discussions and a stop at In 'N Out Burger. Being from Louisiana, I don't see what crack seems to be in these burgers, because (at the risk of being severely flamed) it's just a burger. Albeit a good burger, but still it is just a burger. Now if they served homemade crawfish etouffee, gumbo or jambalaya, then I might get excited. I've received the "you-blasphemer!" look from people when I say it's just a burger, but I digress.

We arrived about 8 or so, unloaded gear and tooled around the boat for a bit. Michelle was helping out with two classes (OW and AOW) and we chatted with Rich and Bob for a bit. We had several Jeff's onboard, one of which turned out to be hinalgo from Scubaboard. I turned in about 9 or 10 pm and wished I would have gone to bed earlier for the 4 AM engine start. About 8 or 9 we reached the first dive site.

I dove a total of 9 times. Michelle can relate her Open Water class stories. Great diving overall, but not as good as the first time (I dove San Miguel the first trip so it spoiled me). However, any day I can get out there and dive is a good day. The first day we started at Santa Cruz for the first three dives. I dove with Chris Black for the majority of the dives. Good guy and fellow photographer. I don't think I've ever been colder than diving with someone in a drysuit taking pictures. Luckily, I was more prepared this time and brought a lot of things in which I could warm up. I only saw a few Spanish Shawls and only 1 sea hare the last time I was diving the Channel Islands, but this time it became the running joke since we saw so many. By the third day, it was a sarcastic, Oh look a Sea hare! or Oooh another Spanish Shawl. Anyway, the first day ended with a night dive at Anacapa. The sites were as follows:

Day 1

1. Albert's Anchor, Santa Cruz
2. Flame Reef, Santa Cruz
3. Scorpion Rock, Santa Cruz
4. Cat Rock, Anacapa

Topside 28/29 Dec 07
29 Dec 07 UW Pics

Noteable for day 2....my camera flooded on the 2nd dive. I was so bummed out that I guess I looked narced or something and kept getting Are you ok? signals from Chris and Michelle. I was really starting to figure out exactly where I needed to place my strobe too to get good pics. Oh well. I also realized what it feels like waiting on someone who is taking pictures. I became nudibranch pointer-outer. On one of the last dives, Michelle was waving about wildly to come look at something. I was determined to cut off her air or something mean if she pointed out a sea hare or Spanish Shawl at that point. My thinking was this better be a shot or she's gonna get it. Turns out it was a horn shark. Definitely made my trip seeing that. Every time someone gives me the shark sign, it has already swam away. We also had sea lions visit us at one of the safety stops and seals play with us. I got inspected by a seal in these pictures. Skipped the night dive and the first dive of the day (slept in).

Video of seal trying to take my mask



Day 2
5. Goldfish Bowl, Anacapa
6. Pelican Closure, Anacapa (Camera flooded)
7. Donna's Wall, Santa Cruz

Topside 30 Dec 07
UW Pics 30 Dec 07

Day 3 was rather interesting. I would have done 3 dives but I decided to experiment with a fleece under my wetsuit.... Very very bad idea. Instantly regreted it once I got in the water. So I sat out the second dive. Managed to get in 2 dives that day though. Started having equalizing problems near the end of the last dive. Started to have a tooth squeeze and man was that painful. Guess I need to go to the dentist now. Then on the way back to Santa Barbara, we were visited by lots of dolphins. First it was just a small pod or two and then it became 50-60 dolphins, maybe more (correct me on this Michelle or Hinalo). You can see them in Day 3's topside photos. Oh and I love my Canon EOS 40D...I can't wait to get a housing for it.

Day 3
8. Fern Grotto, Santa Cruz
9. Hazard's West, Santa Cruz

Topside 31 Dec 07
No UW pics from me for this day see Michelle's pics and her OW class here

Enjoy!

Brad

 

[spt29970]

Sorry about your flood, but the video the harbor seal playing with your mask was great. You are lucky that you got your trip in before the weather turned nasty. It looks like the vis was good too.

 

[Hinalo]

Nice report Brad. Sorry to hear about your camera, guess I wasn't paying attention or you weren't complaining. It was great meeting you and Michelle.

I saw a little better overall vis around the Channel Islands last summer than on this last trip, but a few dives, Coral Reef on Anacapa, and Fern Grotto (The Grotto) on Santa Cruz, really made this trip a huge success.

Unlike the standard rockslide rubble pile onto sand bottom, Coral Reef featured a large, broad pinnacle cresting in about 40' sloping off to the west in rolling terraces covered with tan sea grass. Vis at this site was pretty good around 45'. Looking west you could see over the terraces and through small canyons down to a slab rock/sand bottom at probably around 100' and then sloping off into the blue. Continuing clockwise around the mount we encountered a large outcropping of rocks with some kelp attached and making a home for corynactus, sea cucumbers, inverts, and lots of Garibaldi.

Taking a SE heading away from the anchor line brought us into a completely different world. Dropping off due south was a massive canyon whose west ridge was the continuation of the pinnacle we anchored on. You could see pretty far down this canyon and I think this was where Rich took his advanced class for their deep dive. A little low on air, we stayed more toward to apex of the canyon in about 70' and noodled around in the rocky structures that featured fun swim-throughs, walls, and fluted spires, one of which we followed up to the top of the pinnacle where we found some kelp and made our ascent.

This spot is one that I think you could dive every day for a week and still not see everything.

My other favorite was Fern Grotto, which was our first dive of the last day. Glassy water, sun cutting through the fog, no wind or current, it was a perfect day for diving.

The west end of the Grotto juts out into the sea as a large narrow point that becomes an undersea ridge slopng north into deep water. The boat anchored on the ridge and you could either go right around the ridge or left into the grotto. We elected to go right since the grotto was in shadows. It was a good call. We followed the spine of the ridge down to some terraces at about 95' and from there you could see over ledges to the sand and rock bottom probably around 110'. Viz was spectacular at 50+ and it was easy to see around the west side of the narrow ridge where there was a broad sand channel ending at the base of another massive dike.

We ascended to about 65' to conserve air and traversed the ridge to the western face which was a stunning, huge vertical rock wall rising out of the sand channel below us to about 30' depth. It looked like it was 80' or so high and maybe 100 meters long extending back toward the island. We hovered like little hummingbirds on the wall snooping around nooks and crannies for spanish shawls and anemones. Back at the anchor line we had a little air left so went off toward the grotto and encountered some interesting, though less dramatic terrain than what we'd seen the other direction. Back on the boat we overheard some peole grousing a bit at their lackluster dive going left into the grotto. We were thinking, "man, you should have turned right at the anchor!" This was another spot I'd like to go back to and next time I'd like to head across the sand channel and check out the second ridge to the west.

Those dolphins on the way back were having such a great time riding the wake. You're right; at first there seemed to be just a single pod, then they were all over the place, skimming and jumping in the glassy water. I don't think you could get better conditions for a channel crossing than we had New years Eve coming back.

 

[wdunne311]

The camera seems to work now. I have to troubleshoot the exact reason for the flood. It was probably something to do with the way the o ring was seated. The camera has a little salt along the side right now. Anyone deal with "rehabilitating" a flooded working camera? My brother was suggesting soaking it in distilled water but I don't want to immerse it again if I have to. I think I might post a thread in the camera forums.

 

[micboucher]

Awesome report Brad! You captured the weekend so well!! Boy, I'm glad that was a shark. :sharks: Did you see my sea hare and spanish shawl pics?

It was good meeting you too Jeff and thanks for the great description of those dive spots. I really want to go back to Coral Reef now!

It was my first time on a liveaboard and just loved it! To be on a boat for 3 days full of other divers, with the picture and adventure sharing going on all weekend, was very cool.

The assisting with the classes was a great experience too. Although I did complain a little about missing Brad's seal encounter and not really getting to see much of Coral Reef, there's nothing better than watching new apprehensive divers go home from the weekend with a feeling of confidence and excitement for their next dive. The look on their faces was priceless when they pushed past some of their fears, mastered some difficult skill, then relaxed enough to see this amazing new world that just opened up to them. It really reminded me why I want to be an intructor.

So, when's the next one?

 

[wdunne311]

We're all going to the Keys or Hawaii right?

 

[micboucher]

We're all going to the Keys or Hawaii right?

Fiji is wiping out all my vacation time but I should have some more accumulated by June or July.

 

[Hinalo]

There's a quick two-day Channel Islands trip on Truth at the end of the first week of March. I'm already booked on that one.

Aside to Michelle,

>The look on their faces was priceless when they pushed past some of their fears, mastered some difficult skill, then relaxed enough to see this amazing new world that just opened up to them. It really reminded me why I want to be an intructor.

This week I happened onto one of the students you helped get certified on that trip, and she was busy buying stuff, signing up for her AOW and generally being totally stoked about diving, so you must have done something right.

 

[micboucher]

There's a quick two-day Channel Islands trip on Truth at the end of the first week of March. I'm already booked on that one.

Aside to Michelle,

>The look on their faces was priceless when they pushed past some of their fears, mastered some difficult skill, then relaxed enough to see this amazing new world that just opened up to them. It really reminded me why I want to be an intructor.

This week I happened onto one of the students you helped get certified on that trip, and she was busy buying stuff, signing up for her AOW and generally being totally stoked about diving, so you must have done something right.

Oh, I want to go on that! That could be my b-day present to myself. Hmmm, one weekend home after Fiji and then off to the Channel Islands. I guess I kinda see why my friends say they can't keep up with me. Life is good!

Thanks for telling me about that! I'm so happy to hear Amy is still excited about it.

 

[GotNoOcean]

Hey all!

It was great diving with you! I think Brad has copies of most of my pictures except for the last day, I'll post some of those over the next few days.

Cheers,
Chris