February 15th PV Inshore Boat Trip

[OwenCA]

If was very nice getting back to the dock around 3PM after doing three boat dives. I was home by 4 PM and still had some of the day left.

Rex, great trip report. Your last point was key for me - the precedent of an early return makes negotiations for future boat trips so much easier. And as a lawyer, I'm all about negotiations.

Beach Crabs - it was great meeting/seeing/diving with everyone. Jim and Dave, it was a pleasure to dive with both of you. Billy, thanks again for organizing the dive.

I'm looking forward to joining everyone on a 3-tank trip back to old marineland platform soon.

Owen

 

[JMdiver]

Oh Owen you are so funny but I think you might be alone on that platform that is if you find it. I can't believe you guys didn't like CTC it's one of my favorite spots. It was great to see you all again & to meet the ones I haven't yet.

John

 

[OwenCA]

Oh Owen you are so funny but I think you might be alone on that platform that is if you find it. I can't believe you guys didn't like CTC it's one of my favorite spots. It was great to see you all again & to meet the ones I haven't yet.

John

If you liked that platform, I'll have to give you and Robert directions to this awesome, secret platform I know at Vet's. It's hard to find, but worthwhile wasting a tank or two to try. Trust me.

Seriously though, I really enjoyed CTC and would go back there any day. For me, diving through kelp forests is one of the best parts of Southern California diving.

Owen

 

[weiland]

Hey Billy,

Thanks for putting the dive together. It was great to actually dive PV and see something! I agree that 2 tanks at Hawthorne reef are definitely worth it. I didn't think CTC was too bad and would be willing to give it another go if there was a bit less surge.

Nice seeing and diving with everybody!

Greg

 

[Teamcasa]

Rex, great trip report. Your last point was key for me - the precedent of an early return makes negotiations for future boat trips so much easier. And as a lawyer, I'm all about negotiations.

Beach Crabs - it was great meeting/seeing/diving with everyone. Jim and Dave, it was a pleasure to dive with both of you. Billy, thanks again for organizing the dive.

I'm looking forward to joining everyone on a 3-tank trip back to old marineland platform soon.

Owen

Owen, that is funny!

 

[Oside Jimc]

Dive 1 was a bust....

Hey, when you get lemons, make lemonade! I look on it as a training dive, I passed everything except navigation!

Beach Crabs - it was great meeting/seeing/diving with everyone. Jim and Dave, it was a pleasure to dive with both of you. Billy, thanks again for organizing the dive.

Owen, It was great to dive with you as well, you were an outstanding buddy!

 

[Empty V]

It seems that most of the few that found the structure on the first dive were not as pleased as I was. I'm a big fan of structure and I thought it was a great dive. It was not a large site by any means but there was a lot to look at. A good amount of growth, a massive lemon nudi and a small school of pretty large brown rockfish. I also thought it was pretty cool seeing the old ballast tanks from the OML pier. Honestly, I'd go back, but like I said I'm a big fan of structure.

Christmas Tree Cove was a nice dive with beautiful blue water. Lots of small painted greenlings, black eyed gobys and senoritas. Seemed to be mostly fish without swim bladders, not sure if that means anything or not. Maybe it's a big hunting spot and none of those guys are being picked off due to a lack of larger fish. There was this one shallower area where we went over a rock into some crystal blue water and ended up on an urchin barren. Immediately I thought to myself that we could use the Bay Keepers over there to perform some urchin "relocation."

Billy

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Sounds as if the boat anchored in the wrong areas. The best diving at CTC is south of the kelp. There are nice overhangs, a few mini walls about 12 feet tall and a couple of caverns filled with lobsters. Ross once took off his rig so he could crawl into one. He missed the bugs but got to try his long hose for the first time. The north end of this reef breaks the surface at low tide with the south end in about 80 feet.
Also, the platform was a floating fuel dock dumped south of Cobble Beach. It was not part of the Marineland pier. It is a very cool dive from the beach because something about manmade objects underwater just call to me. If you look closely in the bryozoan you'll find dozens of species of nudibranchs you won't see at the 120 reef. I have to get out there and set a new float on it one of these days. There are large yellow crabs inside the tanks. When the platform was south of the cove there was a four foot halibut who could be found on top of the dock. There was still a lot of wood left then. I found the same halibut on at least five dives.

 

[orangelion03]

Thanks for organizing this trip Billy!!! You are always fun to dive with and you have such beautiful eyes...

Had John and I not found the platform, we would have been pissed off so I understand the grumblings. Fortunately, we did, and enjoyed the various interesting features and critters.

Outer Hawthorne Reef was a revelation! Big fish, lots of big nuddies everywhere, nooks and crannies, ling cod. Fabulous.

I was slightly dissapointed with CTC as we anchored a little further to the south east than where we had been before with Reef Check and on a friend's boat. I was expecting more of what Phil mentioned above. Still, it was a nice dive.

The curious whale was a highlight for sure!

It was a pleasure to meet Team Casa, Dave and Marion, as well as the rest of the divers...good group!
I also enjoyed the entertainment provided by our divemasters, Mutt and Jeff (or was it Frick and Frack? )