I work terrible hours each week, and lots of them. I look forward to the weekends, as it is my only chance to dive. More often than not the ocean is flat with little wind during the week, only to flare up Friday night. This weekend was no exception. Yesterday morning was a no go for us, but by late afternoon it looked like we may be able to sneak in a dive or two on Sunday. We made two dives, but they were some of the worst conditions I've dived in.
The surface at Haggerty's was bouncy but visibility looked good enough. Had we remained above five feet it would have been a nice dive. At fifty-five feet everything within three feet was a silhouette and beyond that was impossible to make out. Strobes make conditions look much better than they actually were.
Actual conditions under powerful strobe light.
Photoshopped image
Kevin and Merry check out one of the two moray eels.
Kevin checks in on the other eel.
We planned to make a second dive at Golf Ball Reef, but because it sits only one thousand feet from the crane I decided to try for better visibility on the Redondo Beach Barge. I was wrong again. A brown layer surrounded the barge and a strong current pushed us around throughout the dive. I gave up after thirty minutes and spent the next hour watching the white caps and building swells.
The surface at Haggerty's was bouncy but visibility looked good enough. Had we remained above five feet it would have been a nice dive. At fifty-five feet everything within three feet was a silhouette and beyond that was impossible to make out. Strobes make conditions look much better than they actually were.
Actual conditions under powerful strobe light.
Photoshopped image
Kevin and Merry check out one of the two moray eels.
Kevin checks in on the other eel.
We planned to make a second dive at Golf Ball Reef, but because it sits only one thousand feet from the crane I decided to try for better visibility on the Redondo Beach Barge. I was wrong again. A brown layer surrounded the barge and a strong current pushed us around throughout the dive. I gave up after thirty minutes and spent the next hour watching the white caps and building swells.
