A group of us did a nice dive trip aboard the Magician out of San Pedro, Dec 10. Most of us were from San Diego, and drove up Friday night. We had 17 divers so everyone had a bunk with a few of the taller folks able to get a double. Although we had originally planned to do San Clemente, we ended up going to Santa Barbara since the Navy planned on using San Clemente that weekend (We knew this about a week ahead).
Most folks hit their racks by midnight and the boat pulled out about 2am. A 6:30 wakeup call had us up and prepping in short order. We all remembered our ear plugs so I think everyone slept fine. A note, noise canceling headsets are really nice too. The bunks vary from easy and open to narrow (short on height) with the inside person not able to get out with another body in. If claustrophobia is an issue get there early to claim a bunk. Some had privacy curtains, most do not.
A nice tray of danish and warm drinks were available for a light pre-breakfast start. A quick brief and into the drink we went. Although the packing of divers is a bit tight on the deck for all to get in at once, a few of us held back a couple minutes and using that method all the staging went smoothly. The first dive site called "The Arch" looked to be about ½ mile or more east of the island, roughly 45' deep with typical So Cal topography. I saw more kelp fish then any other species. A few Spanish Shawls and the usual mix of Sheep head, & Garibaldi. A couple of seals came around and treated us to a preview of what our following dives would be like. Never did find the arch, but navigation was real easy, despite the current. About 50+ vis with 57 degrees the coldest I experienced, quite nice for a December dive.
Upon surfacing we encountered our first surprise, the DM on the boat comes and take your fins off, although I chose not to let him (ego) that is a nice touch. As we entered the salon the smell of breakfast was welcome. A nice eggs/bacon/sausage and French toast was offered with a nice cup of hot chocolate to wash it down. Of course coffee, OJ, Tea and other liquids were available. A slow eat combined with discussions of our first dive chewed up our surface interval pretty quick, so off to the stern to suit up again.
Dive two was off a kelp bed in a cove, this is between Santa Barbara proper and Sutil Island, this channel is narrow (200 yards or so) and has a stiff current if you get out of the cove. The dive was in the kelp bed, there the light was such that it appeared a bit foggy, providing a bit of a spooky feel to the dive. The viz was down due to the lack of direct sunlight. More fish this time, and a few more seals, very rocky bottom so lots of up & down. Depth varied from 85-30 as we swam around the protected area. After a nice dive we ended up very close to the boat (~20) but did not make the anchor line. After a 5 minute safety stop we found we had drifted a long way from the boat. Oh well, time to burn off all those breakfast calories. Suppose we should have done a pop-up to find the boat, and the DM told afterwards we were so close when we started or stop, it just did not feel like much of a current. Next time wed do better. We exited the water about 10:30 am. Of course the galley salon was prepped with all sorts of fruits and veggies to snack on as well as the full compliment of warm and cold drinks.
Dive 3 was at the seal rookery, we knew right away this was going to be fun as a pod of about 30 or so smaller seals started making their way towards the boat. In to the water we went and headed for the big kelp patch. Interestingly the kelp was basically a ring once inside it was like an arena for seals to play. We found a spot and let the games begin. The seals dart all over playing with each other, and checking each of us out for potential mischief to get into. Some will come sliding in like they are coming into home plate, stop and look up at you with huge eyes, others will dart in race directly at you then bank off at the last moment. Some approach cautiously other charge and will either blow bubbles at you or just open their mouths then dart off. Some though will come very close (in my case her/his whiskers were touching my face) and just stare into my eyes. Each encounter is only a few brief seconds then they are off to see what else is interesting. Some will return to the same diver over and over. In the case of my buddy, one of them continuously tried to get her to play by pulling on her fins. We decided her black Apollo fins more closely matched a seals and hence the attention, my black and yellow atomics were never touched. Of my being 65 might have contributed. It was obvious the seals wanted to play, they would bring kelp up to us, or other objects like star fish. They seemed very attracted to cameras without strobes, and I saw one seal try to bite a divers hand repeatedly in an attempt to get him to let go of the camera. No harm was done to any diver or seal, just lots of playing around. Our 50 min bottom time was over before we new it and it was time to head back to the boat. Since we had been shallow most of the dive (30-35) our drifting safety stop was kept to a minimum, plus we watched the bottom to be sure we did not drift off. Since we have moved around so much and twisted and turned playing with the seals it was amazing we ended up so close to the boat upon surfacing. This compass thing along with timing our swim works pretty good. Our exit was in the company of about 20 or so young seals curious as to why we would want to leave the fun.
On to the boat and now for lunch, after 3 dives most folks were ready to put it down. We had a wonderful meal of rice, Teriyaki chicken, corn and salad. I dont know how she did it, but this was some awesome cooking. How this lady cooks most of the day and is still a nice bit of eye candy is something I probably should have asked. We all had an amazing time with the seals. Since folks had been down a while on the 3rd dive and were a bit leisurely on lunch our 4th dive was going to require us to hustle a bit. No worries though, by this time some of the folks in wet suits were not as gung-ho so, there were fewer of us suiting up for the last dive. Another kelp patch, more seals, a shark this time (leopard or tiger not sure which) cruised by in the fog, several schools of various types of fish were in this patch, and of course the seals. Interestingly, the fish population in this patch was huge relative to our other dives but we were not very far from the rookery dive site. Having not hydrated enough or eaten bananas I paid the price on this dive with my legs cramping in my quads, since I was unable to get it to stop I finally wimped out and took advantage of the fin removal service this time, that was nice. Back on board the return trip commenced, and most us took a bit of nap after policing our gear. By 5pm we were all refreshed and gathered for group shots with the setting sun in the background. Words just can not describe the peaceful feeling the calm seas, setting sun, fresh dive memories and good friends provides. We docked about 6 and within a few minutes were on our way home.
One interesting thing I noticed during the dives, although the population of black sea urchins was obviously healthy, the size of each animal was very small relative to what we see in La Jolla, and mostly the same size 3-4 inc spines. I only saw a few large ones, and they were tucked deep in crevices. Maybe Dr Bill can explain this.
In summary the Magician was a nice boat, the food was much better than Ive seen on other day boats. The boat was better laid out then most with its size being deceptive. Our briefings were short, in fact we never really learned the crews names; but they had complete answers for those that wanted to know more. They were all very courteous and friendly just they way most of us prefer. Overall a nice day of diving; 55 degrees at our max depth of 85 with the surface being 63. Viz varied from 25 when the seals really stirred it up to over 60 in some areas. The current was running pretty good, but was only a concern when we strayed from the areas the DM told us to remain in. I was impressed with the attention to safety and the crews ability to seem to know where each of the divers was. There were usually three sets of eyes on the water when divers were doing their thing.
Most folks hit their racks by midnight and the boat pulled out about 2am. A 6:30 wakeup call had us up and prepping in short order. We all remembered our ear plugs so I think everyone slept fine. A note, noise canceling headsets are really nice too. The bunks vary from easy and open to narrow (short on height) with the inside person not able to get out with another body in. If claustrophobia is an issue get there early to claim a bunk. Some had privacy curtains, most do not.
A nice tray of danish and warm drinks were available for a light pre-breakfast start. A quick brief and into the drink we went. Although the packing of divers is a bit tight on the deck for all to get in at once, a few of us held back a couple minutes and using that method all the staging went smoothly. The first dive site called "The Arch" looked to be about ½ mile or more east of the island, roughly 45' deep with typical So Cal topography. I saw more kelp fish then any other species. A few Spanish Shawls and the usual mix of Sheep head, & Garibaldi. A couple of seals came around and treated us to a preview of what our following dives would be like. Never did find the arch, but navigation was real easy, despite the current. About 50+ vis with 57 degrees the coldest I experienced, quite nice for a December dive.
Upon surfacing we encountered our first surprise, the DM on the boat comes and take your fins off, although I chose not to let him (ego) that is a nice touch. As we entered the salon the smell of breakfast was welcome. A nice eggs/bacon/sausage and French toast was offered with a nice cup of hot chocolate to wash it down. Of course coffee, OJ, Tea and other liquids were available. A slow eat combined with discussions of our first dive chewed up our surface interval pretty quick, so off to the stern to suit up again.
Dive two was off a kelp bed in a cove, this is between Santa Barbara proper and Sutil Island, this channel is narrow (200 yards or so) and has a stiff current if you get out of the cove. The dive was in the kelp bed, there the light was such that it appeared a bit foggy, providing a bit of a spooky feel to the dive. The viz was down due to the lack of direct sunlight. More fish this time, and a few more seals, very rocky bottom so lots of up & down. Depth varied from 85-30 as we swam around the protected area. After a nice dive we ended up very close to the boat (~20) but did not make the anchor line. After a 5 minute safety stop we found we had drifted a long way from the boat. Oh well, time to burn off all those breakfast calories. Suppose we should have done a pop-up to find the boat, and the DM told afterwards we were so close when we started or stop, it just did not feel like much of a current. Next time wed do better. We exited the water about 10:30 am. Of course the galley salon was prepped with all sorts of fruits and veggies to snack on as well as the full compliment of warm and cold drinks.
Dive 3 was at the seal rookery, we knew right away this was going to be fun as a pod of about 30 or so smaller seals started making their way towards the boat. In to the water we went and headed for the big kelp patch. Interestingly the kelp was basically a ring once inside it was like an arena for seals to play. We found a spot and let the games begin. The seals dart all over playing with each other, and checking each of us out for potential mischief to get into. Some will come sliding in like they are coming into home plate, stop and look up at you with huge eyes, others will dart in race directly at you then bank off at the last moment. Some approach cautiously other charge and will either blow bubbles at you or just open their mouths then dart off. Some though will come very close (in my case her/his whiskers were touching my face) and just stare into my eyes. Each encounter is only a few brief seconds then they are off to see what else is interesting. Some will return to the same diver over and over. In the case of my buddy, one of them continuously tried to get her to play by pulling on her fins. We decided her black Apollo fins more closely matched a seals and hence the attention, my black and yellow atomics were never touched. Of my being 65 might have contributed. It was obvious the seals wanted to play, they would bring kelp up to us, or other objects like star fish. They seemed very attracted to cameras without strobes, and I saw one seal try to bite a divers hand repeatedly in an attempt to get him to let go of the camera. No harm was done to any diver or seal, just lots of playing around. Our 50 min bottom time was over before we new it and it was time to head back to the boat. Since we had been shallow most of the dive (30-35) our drifting safety stop was kept to a minimum, plus we watched the bottom to be sure we did not drift off. Since we have moved around so much and twisted and turned playing with the seals it was amazing we ended up so close to the boat upon surfacing. This compass thing along with timing our swim works pretty good. Our exit was in the company of about 20 or so young seals curious as to why we would want to leave the fun.
On to the boat and now for lunch, after 3 dives most folks were ready to put it down. We had a wonderful meal of rice, Teriyaki chicken, corn and salad. I dont know how she did it, but this was some awesome cooking. How this lady cooks most of the day and is still a nice bit of eye candy is something I probably should have asked. We all had an amazing time with the seals. Since folks had been down a while on the 3rd dive and were a bit leisurely on lunch our 4th dive was going to require us to hustle a bit. No worries though, by this time some of the folks in wet suits were not as gung-ho so, there were fewer of us suiting up for the last dive. Another kelp patch, more seals, a shark this time (leopard or tiger not sure which) cruised by in the fog, several schools of various types of fish were in this patch, and of course the seals. Interestingly, the fish population in this patch was huge relative to our other dives but we were not very far from the rookery dive site. Having not hydrated enough or eaten bananas I paid the price on this dive with my legs cramping in my quads, since I was unable to get it to stop I finally wimped out and took advantage of the fin removal service this time, that was nice. Back on board the return trip commenced, and most us took a bit of nap after policing our gear. By 5pm we were all refreshed and gathered for group shots with the setting sun in the background. Words just can not describe the peaceful feeling the calm seas, setting sun, fresh dive memories and good friends provides. We docked about 6 and within a few minutes were on our way home.
One interesting thing I noticed during the dives, although the population of black sea urchins was obviously healthy, the size of each animal was very small relative to what we see in La Jolla, and mostly the same size 3-4 inc spines. I only saw a few large ones, and they were tucked deep in crevices. Maybe Dr Bill can explain this.
In summary the Magician was a nice boat, the food was much better than Ive seen on other day boats. The boat was better laid out then most with its size being deceptive. Our briefings were short, in fact we never really learned the crews names; but they had complete answers for those that wanted to know more. They were all very courteous and friendly just they way most of us prefer. Overall a nice day of diving; 55 degrees at our max depth of 85 with the surface being 63. Viz varied from 25 when the seals really stirred it up to over 60 in some areas. The current was running pretty good, but was only a concern when we strayed from the areas the DM told us to remain in. I was impressed with the attention to safety and the crews ability to seem to know where each of the divers was. There were usually three sets of eyes on the water when divers were doing their thing.
