Joined some friends to do a three dive trip on the Cee Ray out of Berth 55 Long Beach.
The first and second dives were on Lulu Cove which consisted of a pinnacle and a point dive. Conditions were poor, viz was 10-15' tops, and there was a nagging current that made for extra work.
The third dive was Geiger Reef. What a great wall dive! Viz was only slightly better but great structure greets divers at this site. No kelp though. Why has it not returned? The skipper told us that as a kid the kelp forest at Geiger was so thick no one knew the wall was there until the first El Nino many years ago thinned it enough for people to get in there. I did grab an image from the wall, see the Instagram link below.
Also, during the surface interval at Lulu we were buzzed by several boats. A dingy went by towing an inflatable and it was definitely inside what any reasonable person would think was the exclusion zone around a boat displaying a dive flag. With summer here and lots of casual skippers out there, it is prudent to send up a SMB if you're surfacing anywhere away from the swim step. I had a too close for comfort call several years ago when the group I was with surfaced North of the boat at Bird Rock. We definitely should have shot a SMB before surfacing on that one.
Instagram post by J. Reeb • Jul 23, 2017 at 3:36pm UTC
J. Reeb
Dark-thirty Diver
818-635-4408 (text)
The first and second dives were on Lulu Cove which consisted of a pinnacle and a point dive. Conditions were poor, viz was 10-15' tops, and there was a nagging current that made for extra work.
The third dive was Geiger Reef. What a great wall dive! Viz was only slightly better but great structure greets divers at this site. No kelp though. Why has it not returned? The skipper told us that as a kid the kelp forest at Geiger was so thick no one knew the wall was there until the first El Nino many years ago thinned it enough for people to get in there. I did grab an image from the wall, see the Instagram link below.
Also, during the surface interval at Lulu we were buzzed by several boats. A dingy went by towing an inflatable and it was definitely inside what any reasonable person would think was the exclusion zone around a boat displaying a dive flag. With summer here and lots of casual skippers out there, it is prudent to send up a SMB if you're surfacing anywhere away from the swim step. I had a too close for comfort call several years ago when the group I was with surfaced North of the boat at Bird Rock. We definitely should have shot a SMB before surfacing on that one.
Instagram post by J. Reeb • Jul 23, 2017 at 3:36pm UTC
J. Reeb
Dark-thirty Diver
818-635-4408 (text)
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