December '05 Dive Reports

[JDog]

!2-10-2005
Catalina Island
07:12, 09:27, 11:47
57min, 55min, 56min
43ft,46ft,44ft
30-40
O waves
61 degrees (Suunto)
32% (Nitrox)

Well we, (Ann Marie,Jetfixer,SnakeDr.,Ferhat, and Nancy) drove down to San Deigo so we could catch our boat (Horizon)to San Clemente Island. But the military had other plans, so we ended up going to Catalina Island. We were a little bummed about that but what can you do------nothing, so we just ended up have a great trip at Catalina instead. Did three dives, had great water conditions, no swells, no waves, it was flat as a pancake out there. Vis was OK, a lot better than the mainland had for sure. The water was cold, but not too bad, all the dry suit people were happy. We dove Long Point, Hen Rock and Torqua Springs. All in all it was a great day. I am looking forward to spring time, and try to make it out San Clemente with the same boat and crew, they were truely top notch.

 

[divinman]

Date: 12/12/05
Dive Location: La Jolla Shores
Bottom Time: 68 minutes
Max Depth: 100ft
Avg Depth: 37ft
Vis: 10-15
Surface Temp: 60f
Temp at depth: 56f
Surface Conditions: calm with sets of knee high waves no power. Glassy clear shallow
Tide: 1ft with 2.3 knot ebb

Date: 12/12/05
Dive Location: La Jolla Shores
Bottom Time: 60minutes
Max Depth: 71ft
Avg Depth: 38ft
Vis: 10-12
Surface Temp: 60f
Temp at depth: 56f
Surface Conditions: slight wind chop but mostly glassy. No real surf
Tide: -9ft on a 1.6knot flood

Images: http://www.scubapost.net/forums/Scorpionfish/121205/

Met up with Col. Phil this morning for a planned single tank dive at the shores. Conditions were so nice and Phil was so persuasive that I agreed to a burger, a tank refill and a second dive. Took the camera on both dives but TTL issues inhibited many of my efforts so I switched to manual and managed to get some keepers all the same. I will save you the entire long winded oration and just tell you it was a nice couple of dives. Phil is sooo mellow in the water that at times I think he is asleep. Must be all the time flying bombers in a previous life.

Conditions remain nice. Get out and dive.
Terry S.

 

[MissyP]

Date: 12/12/05
Dive Location: La Jolla/Vallecitos
Buddy: Josh
Time: 11:34am
Bottom Time: 1 hr 2 min
Max Depth: 101 ft
Vis: 15-25ft
Wave height: waves?? 1ft or less
Temp at depth: 53F
Surface Temp: 59F

Date: 12/12/05
Dive Location: La Jolla Shores/Boat Launch
Buddy: Josh
Time: 3:36pm
Bottom Time: 1 hr 15 min
Max Depth: 71 ft
Vis: 15-25 ft
Wave height: 1 ft or less
Temp at depth: 53F
Surface Temp: 59F

Josh and I met up on Vallecitos for a couple of lazy Monday dives since it was his day off. Got suited up (2nd dive in my new dry suit ) and headed into a nearly flat ocean. Vis was great~ we could still see the sand from the surface when we dropped down into 21 ft. Headed towards the canyon and meandered down to 101 ft, enjoying the nice vis and critters along the way. Josh started the dive with a little less than a full tank, so we headed back in slowly. We really didn't see much on that dive, which surprised me~ just the common nudis, the usual flatties, lots of pipefish, bubble snails, & a couple of fringeheads. Ran into that same SDPD traffic sign that we found last week- it was still propped up directing underwater traffic..lol... Nice dive regardless of lack of critters. After a long lunch, Josh and I headed back to Vallecitos to swap out tanks for a second dive and once again headed into a flat sea- this time we entered at the boat launch. Dropped in at 26 ft and poked our way down to the canyon again, but this time we were finding tons of nudis- 4 Triopha maculata, 2 large Cuthona Divae, at least a dozen Dendronotus frondosus, a couple of baby lion nudis, Cali Arminas, Cali sea slugs, couple dozen Flabellina pricei, and a small Dendronotus iris. Sheepcrabs, both large and small, were roaming all around the canyon keeping us company, along with several small horn sharks. Both Josh and I were starting to get cold, so we headed into shallower water to warm up and burn up some air. After barrel rolls, duels with broken kelp stalks, and harrassing each other purely for entertainment purposes we swam in a little further & ran into the sand dollar beds.. We looked at each other and laughed- knowing that we better start swimming NE, otherwise end up with a long walk back to the cars We ended up surfacing fairly close to Vallecitos (whew!) and exited a still flat ocean as the sun was setting. We stopped for a minute to watch the end of the sunset and a group of 7-10 dolphins swam by, illuminated by the glow of the sunset. Two great dives with an excellent dive buddy!!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Date: December 13, 2005
Dive Location: Marineland
Buddy(ies): Solo
Time: 2:39
Bottom Time: 1:30
Max Depth: 57'
Vis: 15'
Wave height: 0-1'
Temp at depth: 57F
Surface Temp: 58F
Comments: I went back with the slim hopes of finding the Barred Knifejaw again. No luck. I did find millions, OK, billions of nudibranchs on every rock plus a smaller brother to the Batray we saw Saturday. I didn't get the picture I wanted, but I found the leak in my drysuit. It's definately the O-ring from the pee valve bolt. Hopefully the next time I dive at Marineland I'll stay dry and find my new striped buddy.

 

[Diver_Jan]

Good Morning everyone,

I joined some friends last night for a dive at Wood's Cove.

Surf: Ankle Slappers to some BIG UN's!!!
Swell: minimal to non existant
Surge: minimal to HEAVY when the BIG UN's were rolling over the top of us.
Viz: Stellar in the shallows; 10' at best at Depth
Temp: 57 degrees Suunto
Max Depth: 29'

Made our way through the inconsistant surf without incident. Kicked out a bit, donned our fins, and down we dropped. I initially dropped down without turning my light on. The full moon was 'piercing' the water illuminating the vast wonderland underneath. Once oriented, we decided to head south. This may have been a bad decision, for surge kicked in, and viz went 'south.' Had fun exploring many hangovers/ overhangs (whatever you want to call them), deep crevices, jetting walls, ect. Spotted a few bugs, but unattainable (out of reach); saw a really CUTE baby Moray about 12" long; spotted a HUGEMUNGEOUS (spelling? eeeh eeeh eehhh) Octopuss. Tentacles had to have been 3-4" in diameter; numerous Rock Fish, too many varieties to list; and the highlight of the dive (next to the Moray) was ANOTHER Finescale Triggerfish!!! Whoo hooo! This time he was in the rock, but was able to get him to come out so that I could show him off to Renee, before retreating back into his safe haven.

All in all, another great dive. Made our way back to shore, able to exit in ankle slappers. Three other divers (not part of our group) were heading in behind us...then...the BIG UN's HIT! OMG!!! Didn't know if they were scuba divers, or scuba surfers. Fortunately, they weren't too close to shore, so they were able to ride the two sets without incident and make it out safely. You would have thought that they were on the BEST Roller Coaster of their life the way they Shrilled with excitement. LOL

Get out there and DIVE!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Date: December 16, 2005
Dive Location: Marineland
Buddy(ies): Solo
Time: 10:19
Bottom Time: 1:31
Max Depth: 68'
Vis: 15'
Wave height: 0-4'
Temp at depth: 54F
Surface Temp: 58F

Comments: The swells had picked up at the point, so I had to make the long surface swim from the cove to the main reef. I still couldn't find my little buddy from last week. Hopefully he has swum southwest toward Fiji. I did find the large wall again, plus a nudibranch I hadn't seen before, Atagema alba.

The conditions were ok if a little surgy, even at depth. I had a vacation day from work, so what better place to spend it than diving at my favorite site. After the dive, I walked around the grounds to look at the old place before construction begins. I found the fake coral in Baja Reef and thought about placing some in the water, but decided it would be too tacky. Maybe I'll get some for the artificial reef at Redondo.

 

[wetrat]

Date: 12/16/05
Dive Location: Deadman's Reef, Laguna
Buddy: Super Diver Wayne I.
Time: 12:38 pm
Bottom Time: 57 min.
Max Depth: 61 ft
Vis: 25 or so on the reef, less in the shallows
Wave height: 1 to 2 occasional 3
Temp at depth: 59F
Surface Temp: 63F

A little choppy on the surface swim out today - dropped down to 30 fsw and immediately came across a halibut. As we approached the reef, we saw a BIG DADDY sheep crab. Saw two more during the dive - must be a convention this weekend. The reef was bustling with all the locals, which was of course, awesome!! Plenty of bugs too, including a crack with several huddled together nervously waving their antennae. Saw a gorgeous bright orange tube anemone. Hmmm.. never saw that before! On the way in, we came across an itty bitty baby bat ray with about an eight inch wing span. It was pretty surgey as we finned over the sand in about 15 fsw. I started to feel queasy, so we surfaced a little early. Great dive, great company, life is GOOD in So Cal!!

 

[Rickster]

We did 2 dives this morning.

1st dive

Date: 12/17/05
Dive Location: Leo (Cove next to Tower 2)
Buddys: Glycerin (mark99 and wth were buddies)
Time: 7:30 am
Bottom Time: 41 min.
Max Depth: 28 ft
Vis: 20-25+
Wave height: 6"-1'
Temp at depth: 57F
Surface Temp: 61F

There was 4 of us, so Glycerin and I buddied up, and Mark99 and wth were buddies. We did our entry and went straight out until we were even with the kelp, decended, and went due east until we came upon the reefs and kelp. We seen big ling cod, lobster, octopus, senioritas, sheephead, kelp bass, garabaldi, and the usual critters and growth. It was a good dive with great vis.

2nd dive

Date: 12/17/05
Dive Location: Leo (Cove next to Tower 2)
Buddys: Glycerin (mark99 and wth were buddies)
Time: 9:30 am
Bottom Time: 44 min.
Max Depth: 31 ft
Vis: 16' reducing to 10' near the end of the dive
Wave height: 1'-2' with occational 3'
Temp at depth: 57F
Surface Temp: 63F

The surface swim out was a little more choppy. Conditions were changing! We decended and proceeded on a south easterly heading, then turned due east until we came upon the reefs and kelp. The surge was now picking up a little. All the fish were hiding by rocks, to get out of the surge. Seen the usual fish and spoted a couple more bugs. Near the end of the dive the surge was getting worse, and the vis was degrading rapidly. We surfaced and the swells on the surface was picking up. It was turning into a surfers beach!

Over all we had a great time and 2 good dives to go into the mental book of memories. Thank you, Glycerin, for diving with me, and thanks to Mark99 and wth for the fellowship and for showing up for this dive.

Rick

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Date: December 17, 2005
Dive Location: Wreck of the Jenny Lynne
Buddy(ies): Ross-O and Brian B.
Time: 9:51
Bottom Time: :55
Max Depth: 139'
Vis: 30'+
Temp at depth: 58F
Comments: What a great day for diving the south side of Palos Verdes! OUr first stop was the wreck of the Jenny Lynne, a fishing trawler that sank off Marineland December 10, 2003. It was my fourth attempt at diving her, and the first with good visibility. I could see the top of the mast from the deck, and the multitude of metridiums, hydroids and fish everywhere.

Date: December 17, 2005
Dive Location: Buchanan's Reef
Buddy(ies): Ross-O Elaine Jobin
Time: 12:06
Bottom Time: 1:07
Max Depth: 53'
Vis: 30'+
Temp at depth: 58F
Comments: Elaine joined in the fun for dive 2. We didn't find as many nudibranchs as I do on the main reef at Marineland, but the conditions were so good, we didn't care. I found one nudi I hadn't seen before, Flabellina trilineata about five minutes after my camera batteries died. As Ross and I ascended, there was a large pipefish hanging out at the dive ladder. I allowed it to rest on my hand while Ross took pictures. We then took it back down to the reef.

Date: December 17, 2005
Dive Location: Wreck of the F.S. Loop
Buddy(ies): Elaine Jobin
Time: 2:38
Bottom Time: 1:02
Max Depth: 70'
Vis: 40'+
Temp at depth: 58F
Comments: This was the best vis I have ever seen on any of the wrecks near the breakwalls. While making a 20' deco stop I could still see Elaine snapping away with her Nikonos V at 70 feet. The section of the wreck we dived today was covered by Gorgonians, with many nudibranchs on the wreck. Among them were Tritonia festiva, Acanthodoris hudsoni, Acanthodoris rhodoceras and Doriopsilla spaldingi. We also spotted two Blue-ring Topsnails. It was some of the best conditions I've seen in awhile.

 

[TeqP]

Date: 12/17/05
Dive Location: Olympic II, San Pedro
Bottom Time: 32:00
Max Depth: 93’
Vis: 50-60’
Surface Temp: 61F
Temp at depth: 55F
Surface Conditions: 1-3’ swells

I had the pleasure of joining a friend form work (Kurt Lieber) and a few volunteers for his organization, http://www.oceandefenders.org. Kurt is the president of this non-profit organization that goes around SoCal waters trying to help clean them up by removing abandoned lobster traps and fishing nets/line. Kurt had heard about some fishing nets on the Olympic II wreck so his organization wanted to try and safely remove the nets from the wreck.

We had a short boat ride to the site. The swells were 1-3', so it was kind of rough for the small boat we were using. Once we were geared up we back-rolled into the water. This was my first time doing the back-roll, which may not have been graceful but was very cool. We dropped down and landed right on top of the Olympic II wreck. The visibility was very good (50-60') with no real current to speak of. The water was a little cool, but with this beautiful wreck it did not bother me. The wreck is awesome with the bow and stern in very good condition. I spotted a 3-4' leopard shark on the bottom of the wreck. I saw another on the dive but not sure if it was the same shark. We spotted a few lingcod hanging around the wreck. We explored the entire wreck which is covered in strawberry anemones. Saw some of the usual suspects as well. We picked up 3 abandoned lobster traps and some fishing line.

Date: 12/17/05
Dive Location: Olympic II, San Pedro
Bottom Time: 29:20
Max Depth: 88’
Vis: 40-50’
Surface Temp: 59F
Temp at depth: 55F
Surface Conditions: 1-2’ swells

We did another dive on the Olympic II. Conditions were about the same if not a little better on the surface. We dropped down but did not see the wreck. We swam a little and then came upon the wreck. Saw the usual suspects and a few Spanish Shawls on the wreck. We picked up some more fishing line and a spear gun. I had a great time diving this wreck and would like to go back to explore some more. This was an awesome dive site.

If anyone would like to help Oceandefenders.org, please go to their website and let them know of any abandoned lobster traps that you have come across while diving. Currently, they allocate the majority of their efforts in the Crystal Cove-Laguna Beach area. But they are branching out as time/condition permits. This is a non-profit organization in which Kurt has invested a lot of his time and money, so if you would like to donate your time, money or extra dive gear, please contact Kurt through his website. Remember this is a registered California 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so donations are tax-deductible. OK, I’ll get off my soapbox now .

Now it’s time for me to go and enjoy my Sam Adams Holiday Porter. Cheers!