JANUARY 2006 Dive Reports

[wetrat]

Date: January 14, 2006 (January Wrinkles Dive)
Dive Location: La Jolla Shores
Buddy(ies): Mark99, Glycerin, neophyte, dpbishop, panic, headhunter
Time: 8:07 am
Bottom Time: :42
Max Depth: 103'
Vis: 15-25' depending on where you were and who you talked to
Wave height: 1'
Temp at depth: 53F
Surface Temp: 59F
Gas Mix: 21%
Comments: Felt so awesome to get wet again! Glycerin and panic dove the south wall of the canyon while the rest of us headed out to the main wall. Set a new record for surface swims - it was so long that as a flock of pelicans buzzed us, mark99 said, "Now the buzzards are circling us!!" Dropped down to about 100' and started looking around for the wall. Headhunter, dpbishop and neophyte went one way, and mark99 and I headed another. It was a cool dive - my deepest to date. Saw a sarcastic fringehead, a baby octopus chillin' in a clear bottle, a couple weird little sculpin, some starfish and a bunch of squid eggs. Poked around until we were about 4 minutes from incurring deco time and then did a bluewater swim toward shore at 70 feet, then 50 feet, then 20 feet. Met Glycerin and panic on shore, who had more luck finding the south wall. ZAquaman from Alaska showed up with his sister - he'd been freediving at La Jolla Cove and they wanted to check in and see if we were doing an afternoon dive. Peter McGuiness and his dive buddy Janet stopped by too. I had to leave about noon and bid farewell to the group as some were breaking out the food, and others were headed in for a second dive. Sun was shining, barbecue glowing, lots of laughter - a stellar day! Thanks headhunter, for organizing it!

 

[pasley]

Date: January 14, 2006 (January Wrinkles Dive)
Dive Location: La Jolla Shores
.... Sun was shining, barbecue glowing, lots of laughter - a stellar day! Thanks headhunter, for organizing it!

:lightingz Large Swell Warning issued for La Jolla Shores, Right. Rain of an inch or more, yeah, riiiight :furious: That will teach me to listen to the weather man and bail on a dive with out driving down to San Diego. Glad you all had a good time and I really wish I was there.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Lawyers, Used car salesmen, weather reports. Which do you trust? I'd have to say none of the above.

 

[wetrat]

:lightingz Large Swell Warning issued for La Jolla Shores, Right. Rain of an inch or more, yeah, riiiight :furious: That will teach me to listen to the weather man and bail on a dive iwth out drivingdown to San Diego. Glad you all had a good time and I really wish I was there.

Lawyers, Used car salesmen, weather reports. Which do you trust? I'd have to say none of the above.

I was a little worried about the forecast too, but I was REALLY jonesing for a dive and I was the only one bringing ketchup! Just couldn't let my dive buddies eat their dogs dry!

 

[Grey_Wulff]

Date: 01/14/06
Dive Location: In the region of the Secret Garden, La Jolla Shores
Time: 08:26am
Bottom Time: 48 mins
Max Depth: 120ft
Vis: 20ft plus
Wave height: 1 - 2ft sets
Temp at depth: 55F
Tide information: high
Gas mix: 21%
Comments:
The great thing about diving is no matter how many times you dive a site something unexpected and fantastic can happen and the Shores turned out that way yesterday. What started out as a deep training dive, turned into wonderment as the two of us drifted slowly above a carpet of squid eggs that stretched as far as we could see in any direction and probably extended over an area of 150 yards x 30 yards? This was not just the odd clump of squid eggs but clump after clump in many places forming a solid matt punctuated only by small patches of sand. Amongst the eggs were huge sheep crabs and a few exhausted and dieing squid, some managing to display weak flashes of pulsating color. It was captivating and something I have never seen before on this scale. We were not carrying camera gear - if anybody has photos or a video snip you would mind sharing it would be much appreciated.

Date: 01/14/06
Dive Location: Main Wall, La Jolla Shores
Time: 11:14am
Bottom Time: 47 mins
Max Depth: 75ft
Vis: 10-20ft
Wave height: 1-3ft sets
Temp at depth: 55F
Tide information: turning
Gas mix: 21%
Comments:
The second dive turned up guitarfish, more sheepcrabs including forty or fifty juveniles in the shallows, lots of octopi, little black shrimp plus all the usual fish. Then we surfaced ten yards away from three dolphins and were buzzed by some low flying pelicans. To cap off a great day's diving I then had the opportunity to catch-up with a few old friends who had come to San Diego for the Wrinkles Dive.

Grey_Wulff

 

[riguerin]

Date: January 14, 2006
Dive Location: Fisherman's Cove, Laguna Beach
Buddy(ies): Brandon Guerin
Time: 10:26 am
Bottom Time: :48 min
Max Depth: 38'
Avg Depth: 26'
Vis: 10-15', slightly better on the back side
Wave height: 1-2', occasional 3' toward end
Temp at depth: 57F
Surface Temp: 58F
Gas Mix: 21%
Comments: We couldn't make the Wrinkles dive this morning. So, Brandon and I snuck in a quick local dive while the conditions held up. Weather was still clear while we were suiting up. A slight South wind was just starting to kick up, putting a slight texture on the surface. We entered the water on the heels of a big plus high tide, +5.98ft. Waves were small, around 1 ft upon entry. Finned out to the drop spot, just west of the big rocks and descended to a depth of ~23ftsw . There was a slight surge, around 2ft; vis was about 10ft. We started working the wall, out toward deeper water (south). Encountering all the usual suspects along the way. In about 29ftsw, we came across a little cut that was jam packed with bugs. I counted 15. Most were shorts, but there were a couple definite keepers way in the back (well out of reach). It's funny how the bigger bugs push the smaller ones forward in an act of self preservation. We continued slowly until we reached the backside of the reef, then turned east toward Diver's cove. Vis was little better in the backside, especially over the rocky flats. We continued for a few more minutes before turning around. We came across a good sized octopus as we made the turn back toward the north. We hung out and checked him out for little while. Stopped and visited the lobster kindergarten again. The surge had notably increased on the return trip. The tide was starting to drain, so there was a slight current too. The surf had picked up some during the dive. There were some occasion waist high sets rolling in with long lulls in between. It got a little messy on the exit ... covered in sand. It had also clouded up during the dive. We could see some offshore rain bands heading our way ... got some sprinkles on the drive home. Looks like we just snuck that one in.

Overall a really fun dive ... our first for 2006. This was also a nice milsestone for Brandon ... dive number 30. :banana:

 

[DiverBuoy]

Date: January 14, 2006
Location: Dive Report South Crescent, Laguna CA
Dive Bud: tiburon72157
Conditions Extreme Surge, 3-4ft swells, visibility 5-8 feet (commercial muck)
Purpose New camera Housing
No. of Dives 2
Comment: One of my scariest dives ever

Got a new housing for my HP R817 5.1 mp digital, wanted to test out the case, then take some photos and video. The camera allows for photos and video and I bought a 2GB card to make sure I could get several decent length videos on one battery charge, in addition to numerous very high res photos.

First dive was to 35 feet for 60 minutes. I was properly weighted for my aluminum tank but doing the right thing by recommendation of the manufacturer I took the brand new housing down without the camera first and as a result it was completely positively buoyant, I haven't struggled to stay down on a dive for a long time in 15 feet of water, I just barely got the safety stop complete before more or less "popping" up - pretty lame. I pushed every button several times about each 10 foot deeper we went, monitoring the interior for any leaks - everything checked out. We spotted 3 30+ inch Halibut and what we would both comment later was the biggest Halibut we've ever seen - put simply a monster.

On the second dive, 58 minutes, to 40 feet with the camera in the housing, the combo was closer to neutrally buoyant and much easier to manage. Unfortunately, over the course of logistics between the first and second dives a known storm front was moving in to bring first rain in several weeks to the area, when we first arrived at the site in the morning the sky was wispy but bright, by the start of dive 2 about 3 hours later the sky was quite dark and ominous. We could see the surf entry had doubled and south crescent is a bit less protected than the west edge reefs like Shaws and North Crescent and from the shore we could see the wave action swishing around the rocks with abandon. I told tiburon72157 that we were in for some surgy conditions (little did I know just how bad, and that later this would be among my "scariest" dives ever).

First off conditions like these require a real motivation to dive - without the camera - we'd definitely have aborted. I did notice quite a few other training groups down there and they were all taking on the surf at North Crescent, but were definitely out of the water by the time the rain started. I've certainly conquered nastier entry conditions before, but it was the surge this day that would prove to be overwhelming.

On the first dive tibs and I had dove through the star/web clusters of rocks in and out of the various channels in some places the walls of the reef on both sides are 20 feet high, but this can produce rather violent funnels of water movement when conditions like these exist. For the most part the flux and movement is cyclic and you can brace for the stronger cycles as part of the "memorized" rhythm. Unfortunately, the water was far less predictable this day. We found ourselves outmatched to say the least. At one point, we got tossed something awful. It was literally the spin cycle in a washing machine. This was toward the end of the dive on the way back toward the sand, so both of us were lighter having consumed a large portion of our gas supply. All I can say is we rose up off the bottom to try and go over the top of a higher channel to continue our westward path to the sand and our exit - then all at once you heard the spin cycle kick in - I was tossed for at least 30 seconds. In order to gain some control I attempted to grab onto mussel clumps and rock grooves - a completely and utterly futile effort. I was rolled, flipped, spun, smacked, hammered, drop kicked, gutted and splayed. Once I got oriented I was able to work with the ebb and flow to get back down to the bottom of a full length channel. As soon as I could turn around and check, there were tibs bubbles right behind me - apparently he joined me in the front seat of our "ride". Later he would comment that he was higher in the water column and less affected by the immediate surge of the water over the tops of the reef, while he was tossed he was watching the "show" as I got pummeled. He could see me tense up and breath heavy I knew we were in serious trouble, I was switching into survival mode. Shame on me for getting us into that in the first place. What a ride.

At this point we were able to exit the reef system and make our way along the sand and exiting the water in rougher than usual surf.

We talked for a while afterwards and no question we placed ourselves in that circumstance knowing the conditions to be that surgy then choosing the point where the surge was at its strongest. This definitely ranks among the dives I'll never forget. She's predictably unpredictable, lesson learned. I know I also learned she will do with you what she pleases - period. And finally you are not stronger than her - no matter what you try. I severely bruised my hands foolishly trying to right myself and aim - she tore my strongest grip from the rocks every single time so effortlessly as though I was wet toilet paper spinning round the bowl. Fortunately as a big bulky blockage my obstruction was flushed from the channels seeking a place of least resistance - to my good fortune we survived and once removed we regained some semblance of control over our own destinies.

We were able to take a couple of photos and make a few shorts ... but without a strobe in 5 foot of visibility and overcast skies I should have disabled the flash to insure less fore-scatter.

Video of DiverBuoy
Video of Tiberon72157

A little friend that was cooperative:

 

[dpbishop]

Date: 01/14/06
Dive Location: Big Rock, La Jolla
Time: 12:01am
Bottom Time: 64 mins
Max Depth: 21ft
Vis: 10-15ft plus
Wave height: 1 - 2ft sets
Temp at depth: 58F
Tide information: mid
Gas mix: air
Comments:

Snuck in a lobster dive before the Wrinkles La Jolla dive. Surf was the smallest since before xmas and entry was easy. Dropped down @ 8' depth and almost landed on a legal bug. Surge was medium and sporatic, viz was good except for occasional flurries of seaweed chaff. Got four more bugs at the reef and headed back in w/ 500psi. First dive with my xmas gift pony and new 7 ft. hose. Something the DIR people don't talk about, the seven foot hose is great underwater but a pain in the butt on land. Met the Wrinkles group at 7:00 am ( see above)

Hot dogs: $4.00

3 tanks of air: $12.00
Doing the Headhunter memorial surface swim marathon on 3 1/2 hrs. sleep: priceless.

 

[Nay]

I'll start with the important stuff: we lost a small apollo bio fin pro with spring strap and an XL scuba pro twin jet with CJW in yellow (also with the spring strap) at Crescent today. PLEASE let me know if you come across it, I love my fins.

So we should have taken it as a sign when there was plenty of parking. We watched the surf, it was big but not unmanageable, but while we got dressed it picked up quite a bit. One if the three of us went down lost both fins, as I went over to him I got knocked over and lost one. We found one of his fins but that was it. Tide was going out and our fins went with it. We were over on the north side in front of the house with the concrete wall.

No one was hurt, we had lunch and will now mourn my fin. If anyone finds them, please email or just drop it off at LSS, I will be checking in over there periodically. Alternatively, if anyone has a single small bio fin or XL twin jet that they would like to sell, I'm listening.

 

[headhunter]

Doing the Headhunter memorial surface swim marathon on 3 1/2 hrs. sleep: priceless.

I had a great time diving with you and promise not to do surface swims half way to Catalina next time.

Christian