Hawthorne Reef and the wreck of the Avalon

[MaxBottomtime]

Frank and Charlie joined us once again to seek out good conditions. The ocean has been flat for the past two days and was predicted to remain flat today. It was pretty flat, except for the four foot swells that beat us down. We bounced our way to Hawthorne Reef, hoping it would be calmer below the surface. The upper forty feet didn't look promising, but below that we could clearly see the bottom at eighty feet. We anchored in an unfamiliar spot so we had to explore the ridges and valleys of the reef. Rockfish, nudibranchs, sponges, gorgonians and tunicates overwhelmed us. We weren't used to being able to see more than a few feet in front of us. Merry tried to get a shot of a lingcod when a sea lion dive-bombed her, scaring the lingcod. It soon returned to its perch, so Merry began firing away.
Merry's computer read 50F, while mine showed a toasty 51F.

Charlie and Frank

Lingcod

Cuthona divae

Pseudoceros montereyensis

We motored over to the wreck of the S.S. Avalon. The dirty water made for night dive conditions on the bottom. We couldn't see the wreck until we were a few feet above it. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness I could find my way around. Frank, Charlie and I swam from the stern to the bow, hoping for better visibility. We didn't find any, but at least the swim warmed Frank up a bit. We're trying to convince him to get a drysuit by making him dive the coldest sites.

[youtubehq]hRkVGE3SeMI[/youtubehq]

 

[FrankPro1]

Very cool finding that flatworm. Really like the 1rst and 2nd wide angle shot. Despite the poor conditions on the Avalon you got some really great footage. Those video lights cut right through the murk. My post should be up shortly

 

[Selchie in LB]

You are awesome with your photos. Thanks again.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Very cool finding that flatworm.

It's amazing how easy it is to spot a 1/4" white worm in 30' + visibility! I told Merry I wouldn't have found the lingcod if my camera battery hadn't died. I would have probably stayed near the anchor because there is just so much to see there.

 

[drbill]

Funny... I've never dived the Avalon. Of course it was history before I moved here. Too bad the Catalina didn't become a diveable wreck instead of polluting Ensenada's harbor.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Pat Smith was quick to point out that I made a boo boo.
The first still picture in my video is the Catalina, not the Avalon. D-oh!

 

[drbill]

Phil, are you telling me that the SS Catalina sank within our SoCal waters? I thought I had heard that it went down while being towed, but for some reason I thought it was closer to Ensenada where it rusted away for so many years.

NOTE: I just re-read your last post and you were referring to the still of the steamer at the pier. OK.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Updated version
[youtubehq]CfYHHkrENow[/youtubehq]