December '05 Dive Reports

[Jeff Shaw]

(origionaly posted in november due to not paying attention)

Max B and -eJ decided to go looking for squid at the Redondo Monument.

First off we started the evening's adventure with the New Divewagon! Whoopee!
Actually it is Mrs. Shaw's old Mazda Minivan brought back from the dead just for diving! Then I got an old Ovation guitar that I had been planning to add to the "Redondo Monument" artificial reef. I worked (sort of) for Ovation for nigh onto 15 years, so there quite are a few roundback guitars around the house.
Well one less.

This was the maiden voyage for the newly revived dive trolley. Once in the car I was annoyed to find that there was a CD left in the CD player when I went to put a Frank Zappa CD in...
...so I hit Eject and out popped a commercial CD with HUGE 600 point type that read "ej". COOL Mrs. Shaw left an Eric Johnson CD in the car. I pop it in expecting some guitar shredding. Nope, it was Elton John. Yeesh (shudder) no guitar shredding here.

For those of you unawwares, -eJ is my alter ego. Not a sock puppet really. Just the monniker that I use when up to mischief. it is a dash, lower case "e" and upper case "J". 'Spose to be a snorkel user. So seeing a huge ej on a CD in the new dive wagon was quite a shock. I was pretty sure that Elaine Jobin had never worked in the music industry.

I picked an old ovation guitar because even after the little wood that is on it disappears, the big cavernous body should make for a hospitable dwelling. The other choice was a once VERY EXPENSIVE Takamine that had tryst with a forklift.

I trailed it on a jon line starting in the parking lot. The bump bump sound all the way across the asphalt and down the stairs would make any guitar player wretch. There is a particular sound made by the body of an acoustic guitar smacking into somthing. The end result is always damage. So if there were musicians in the parking lot, the would have fainted. No musicians, just Max and me... ;-)
I chose this Axe because it was beyond repair in the first place.

I thought that this thing would be buoyant but it was surprising neutral. Out past the waves the guitar followed me like a small dingy. The jon line was a mistake since it was always wrapping around a fin. It kept bumping into Max and myself implying that we were under yet another sea lion attack.
So I shot some air into the body thinking that it would trail above and behind me like a lift bag. I guess the air leaked out the jack hole since it was an acoustic electric.
It always followed me at fin level.

Anyway, if anyone finds it... the warranty is now void, and it won't tune up.
Best left for the Octopi.

-eJ
(author of "Blenney and the Jet Fins")

 

[MissyP]

Date: 4Dec05
Dive Location: La Jolla Shores
Time: 4:13pm
Bottom Time: 53min
Max Depth: 87ft
Vis: 10-18ft
Wave height: 1-3ft
Temp at depth: 57F
Surface Temp: 61F
Tide information: low

Headed out to La Jolla on a mission- to find lion nudibranchs! This was my 5th dive in which my only goal was to find a lion nudi (they're seasonal) and my persistance finally paid off!
We entered the water effortlessly- waves were varying from 1 to 3ft, but none of them packed a punch. The surface was choppy and had back to back swells coming in...we knew that if we descended too early we'd have no vis. Since the Vallecitos buoy is missing in action, we kept an eye on the red buoy that's in front of the main lot to gauge our distance. After passing the red buoy, we continued the surface swim to ensure that we'd drop into the canyon, which we did- to 87 ft. Vis even at depth wasn't impressive- 15-18 ft at the most. Dropped onto a sloped area and headed up to 75ft, where there was a large accumulation of kelp, laying in heaps. Within 1 minute I spotted my first lion nudi, then my 2nd, along with their eggs! Within a minute of leaving my first set of lions, I came across another one... and another one.. I stopped counting after 7! Beautiful !! It was definitely a successful lion nudibranch dive! Came cross 2 tiny Flabellina trilineata nudis (Three Lined Aeolids), but they were so small that my pics came out fuzzy There were baby horn sharks everywhere, enjoying the safety and camouflage of the kelp. Also encountered senoritas, halibut, pipefish, gobies, a sheepcrab, several "usual" crabs, a group of bubble snails, and several Flabellina pricei nudis. Also a little red fish that I'd like to get an ID for (pic below). There was a strong upwelling coming out of the canyon, which made our swim in absolutely effortless.. but the temps felt ice cold all the way until 21ft! Ascended in 7 ft, when the surge turned the vis to nothing but a sandy blur... and had an uneventful exit. Great dive- I don't think I moved more than 50 yards along the canyon wall because there was so much to see in that one section! Pics are not very good due to the surge..

 

[Diver_Jan]

Greetings everyone,

Hope all of you had a wonderful weekend! Originally, I was planning on diving Old Marineland Saturday morning, but due to fairly steady rain the night before, I pretty much called the dive. However, waking up and seeing the beautiful sunshine and clear weather, I decided to head down from Santa Monica to meet up with the 'Hangover Divers' (SOCDC) to dive Montage.

What a great choice! Met up in the parking structure, geared up, and made our way to the far stair set where Rick was set up with a PODcast (http://rjvalasek.libsyn.com/) of our venture that was about to begin. We entered on the west side of the cove with nothing but ankle slappers. Viz was amazing...at first. About 15' or so. We dove around in the shallows exploring the reef and looking for bugs, only to find a molting that was being eaten by a sea urchin. Surge kicked in, and viz quickly deterioated to about 5' at best. Good enough for me. I was able to find a fairly good sized Moray, and several octopuss meeting my dive objective. Due to being so shallow, I needed a little bit of extra weight, so I was litterally playing tug-of-war with an octopuss for a rock.

We continued our dive without incident, enjoying the various fish and marine creatures. Towards the end of our dive, I got separated from my group due to poor viz and surge. I was also having issues with my mask, so I went south/east to a 'safe' area to make some adjustments. I continued my dive when the underwater snow storm hit. At this point, I decided to surfcae. I was between the eastern and the middle reef, almost in the middle of a 'washing machine' effect. I then spotted Konrad and Matt attempting to exit ahead of me through the pounding surf. I had to quickly decide what I was going to do. I decided to do a LONG surface swim south, then around the eastern reef where BIG waves were crashing over the top, avoiding getting 'sucked' in and spat out. Once to the east side, I was then able to safely kick back into shore and walk out of the surf without incident. Whew! What an adventure!!!

Oh, I have to add...we saw lots of 'Hangovers' as we call them...wonderful rock formations that hangover the reef, allowing us to peer up the underneath sides seeking out those critters that like to hide away. Looking forward to more 'Hangover Dives!'

Be sure to check out the PODcast link. Very FUN! http://rjvalasek.libsyn.com/

 

[Grey_Wulff]

Date: 12/ 4/05
Dive Location: Main Wall, La Jolla Shores
Time: 09:17am
Bottom Time: 54 mins
Max Depth: 71ft
Vis: 15-20ft @ the canyon
Wave height: 1 - 3ft sets
Temp at depth: 53F
Tide information: in-coming
Gas mix: 21%
Comments:
First of two dives on the Main Wall. Minor equipment issues made the dive a bit of a challenge and neither of us really got into the zone. Spotted a single octopus and the usual fish on the wall and several baby horn sharks coming back across the sand. My new portable depth finder worked really well and we literally dropped15ft short of the wall having located the edge and back peddled a bit.

Date: 12/ 4/05
Dive Location: Main Wall, La Jolla Shores
Time: 12:15pm
Bottom Time: 49 mins
Max Depth: 68ft
Vis: 10ft @ the canyon
Wave height: 2 - 4ft sets
Temp at depth: 59F
Tide information: turned after high tide
Gas mix: 21%
Comments:
With equipment issues resolved and gear reconfigured, the second dive was really enjoyable. Even though visibility on the wall was now much worse due to a lot of diver traffic, the water temperature was considerably warmer and we proceeded North at around 60ft. This time we spotted at least a dozen octopi, several lobsters and some really big sheephead playing the "you can't spot me if I remain perfectly still game” - duh! We continued north until we ran out of wall and then turned on a 110 degree bearing back across the sand. Several crabs provided entertainment on the way back. All-in-all a really relaxing and pleasant dive, which certainly showed in our gas management - 54 mins on HP100s on the first dive and a respectable 49 mins on AL80s on our second dive.

Grey Wulff

 

[pasley]

um, never mind. thanks justleesa for moving the post and cleaning things up.

 

[justleesa]

Moved December Reports to the December thread and removed dup posts

 

[Rickster]

Date:5/6/05
Dive Location: La Jennelle, Ventura County
Time: 5:15pm
Bottom Time: 56 min
Max Depth: 51 ft
Vis: 10ft-15ft
Wave height: 0ft-2ft
Temp at depth:56deg
Surface Temp: 59deg

I went out to take surface pictures of the dive site to give to Melvin Pasley to post on Sandeaters.com. The conditions were perfect, so I suited up and got an evening dive in. I entered in on the harbor side of the jetty. There was no wave action at all, it was like a lake. I went along the jetty to the point. vis dropped down to about 10ft there, with a little surge. I then proceeded around to the ocean side. I was along the rocks at about 38ft. I went out on the sand to 51ft. seen a huge flounder! I then turned around and went back to the rocks. The exit, on the ocean side was normal. I found a flat rock at sea level, waited for the next wave, and weeeeee. It set me right up on the rock. two steps and I was out.

I seen the usual assorted bass, leopard sharks, all kinds of other fish, numerous octopi, and this trip there was alot of bugs, everywhere. I seen a fantastic Blue Shark about a week and a half ago, but, no such luck this time.

Over all this was a good dive. I went home and as I was getting out of the SUV, I realised, I forgot to get the pictures of the dive site. Oh well, next time.

Thanks, Rick

 

[JMdiver]

Date: 12/3/05
Dive Location: Casino Pt.
Buddy(ies):Robert
Time: 9:35AM, 12:36PM & 6PM
Bottom Time: 19min., 37min., & 39min.
Max Depth: 104ft, 70ft & 41ft
Vis: 40-60ft
Wave height: 2-3ft
Temp at depth: 58-59deg.
Comments:The first dive we went to the Vailant, got directions for a friend & found it no problem. The 2nd dive we went to the swim platform & checked it out for a while it was neat. The 3rd dive was a night dive, we swam out to the white buoy just in front of the stairs & headed east. We swam around the wall & seen three Morays, the 3rd one was getting angry at us for shinning our lights on him. He was nipping at the blacksmiths around him so we backed up out of the way. There was a ton of lobsters all over the place. We Also seen a Scorpionfish & a Great Sculpin.

 

[JMdiver]

Date: 12/4/05
Dive Location: Casino Pt.
Buddy(ies):Robert
Time: 10:44AM & 12:24PM
Bottom Time: 31min. & 30min.
Max Depth: 64ft & 70ft
Vis: 60ft & 50ft
Wave height: 2-5ft
Temp at depth: 59deg.
Comments: We went to the swim platform again to show itr to a friend of my who didn't know it was there. The 2nd dive we swam around the wall again & feed the fish with frozen peas & the fish engulfed me. When we were done & headed back we had a trail of fish following us. Sorry for the late post. Also I seen Dr Bill there & on the way back met Headhunter. I was trying to attach some pics but they are to big.

 

[pasley]

Date: 07 December 2005
Dive Location: Laguna Beach, Deadman’s Reef
Buddy(ies): Sean Dyer
Time: 7:05 p.m.
Bottom Time: 56:10
Max Depth: 56 FSW
Vis: 30 feet plus. Limitation was dive light. Crystal clear water.
Wave height: Waves? Whats that? 6 inches or less.
Temp at depth: 57 Suunto degrees (hmmm, felt a lot colder than that, try 54F)
Surface Temp: 59F Suunto degrees
Tide information: High Tide 1:19 p.m. 4.62 ft Low Tide 8:37 p.m. 0.08
Gas mix:21% standard air
Comments:
Swam out to Deadmans Reef using available visible clues and Sean’s depth finder. Dropped down on top of the reef (sweet) and proceeded East along the reef and back again. This was a lobster hunting trip. Spotted two sets of antennas in holes, but could not get them to come out far enough to see any of the body. Found one large lobster, with no hope of getting to his horns. I gently caressed his antenna and off like a shot he went into oblivion into the maze of holes. Saw very large eel (thigh thick) hunting in the rocks. Octopi were out hunting too. Just a great dive, but no bugs to bring home. Fought the usual current coming back to shore. But it was a great dive.