Roughwaterjohn
Contributor
Ancient Sea Cliffs 01-28-06
Info:
Clear skies, slight overcast in early AM, sunny by late morning
6 high tide near 0900 hrs, dropping to a 2.5 tide by 1330 hrs.
4-5 swells of and on throughout the day
Visibility hovered on the edge of 15
Temperature at depth was 51 degrees for both dives
Dive 1, max depth of 98 for 41 minutes
Dive 2, max depth of 89 for 48 minutes
Complete photos at:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v116/krowsea/Ancient Sea Cliffs/
The Report:
Terry, Tyler and I decided to try the Ancient Sea Cliffs again, this time with different and hopefully better, GPS coordinates. We were leaving Shelter Island shortly after 0800 hrs. The Ancient Sea Cliffs are close to the tip of Point Loma near the 100 contour line, so in short order we were at our waypoint and dropping anchor. Our gear was assembled before we left the dock, and as we were already in our drysuits, we wasted no time in leaping recklessly from the swim step and heading down the anchor chain.
Following the chain to its terminus at the anchor, we first dropped into 100 below the Glenna Jane, then headed upslope to check the anchor set at 70. The water was cold and greenishly murky, but not bad overall. We didnt find the cliffs we were hoping for, but the bottom is an interesting slope littered with large boulders, rock outcroppings and the occasional kelp patch. Barred Sand Bass and Blacksmiths greeted our arrival on the bottom, soon followed by a variety of colorful Rockfish and several large male Sheephead.
We saw a couple of very large Abalone chilln on the bottom, mixing it up with Urchins and varieties of Sea Cucumbers. A cornucopia of Starfish arranged themselves attractively across the bottom, while a closer inspection revealed various nudibranchs and curious shrimp. Thankfully the surface swells didnt find their way to the bottom, so we explored in relative harmony, poking into hidey holes and peering around kelp. Knowing we had to head down slope to follow the chain back to the boat, we headed back a little early to keep our computers happy.
Breaking the surface we saw the sun was burning in all its glory above, while the swells had died down somewhat, although they and a mild south running current would greet us for our second dive. Stripping down our drysuits, we fired up the BBQ to grill a few hotdogs and polish sausages for the surface interval. Grilling hotdogs on a BBQ while the boat pitches back and forth under you is kind of like an arcade game. Reaching with the tongs, I found myself grasping thin air as the beautifully done dogs escaped my grasp by rolling to port or starboard, depending on the swell. Using my head for something more than a hat rack, I lured the wayward pups into the bun by fainting port and grabbing starboard. They obviously didnt know the cunning chef they were dealing with.
After lunch, we relaxed lazily on the foredeck, the warm sun fighting us in its attempt to lure us to sleep, before we geared up again and leapt back into the water. This time, we went shallower before hitting bottom, deciding to explore around 80 or so. This was actually a better decision, as the life was more abundant and the bottom structure more interesting. I had camera/battery issues on our first dive, so I tried to make up for lost time by photographing just about anything and everything. We all had much better success than last weeks surgy New Hope Rock.
We saw much the same life as earlier, just in greater number. There is quite a bit to explore here, so hopefully we can come back again. With all our poking around and exploring, we never really went that far from the chain. Next time, well either have to not take any pictures until were quite a bit farther from the chain, or do both dives at this depth. Its hard to pass on all the diversity though. Back on board, we pulled the anchor back up (dont ask, its not a pretty story) J then headed back to port, passing an outbound Carnival Spirit cruise ship in the channel. We were back at dock, lines tied, beers in hand and yukking it up before we knew it.
John A.
Info:
Clear skies, slight overcast in early AM, sunny by late morning
6 high tide near 0900 hrs, dropping to a 2.5 tide by 1330 hrs.
4-5 swells of and on throughout the day
Visibility hovered on the edge of 15
Temperature at depth was 51 degrees for both dives
Dive 1, max depth of 98 for 41 minutes
Dive 2, max depth of 89 for 48 minutes
Complete photos at:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v116/krowsea/Ancient Sea Cliffs/
The Report:
Terry, Tyler and I decided to try the Ancient Sea Cliffs again, this time with different and hopefully better, GPS coordinates. We were leaving Shelter Island shortly after 0800 hrs. The Ancient Sea Cliffs are close to the tip of Point Loma near the 100 contour line, so in short order we were at our waypoint and dropping anchor. Our gear was assembled before we left the dock, and as we were already in our drysuits, we wasted no time in leaping recklessly from the swim step and heading down the anchor chain.
Following the chain to its terminus at the anchor, we first dropped into 100 below the Glenna Jane, then headed upslope to check the anchor set at 70. The water was cold and greenishly murky, but not bad overall. We didnt find the cliffs we were hoping for, but the bottom is an interesting slope littered with large boulders, rock outcroppings and the occasional kelp patch. Barred Sand Bass and Blacksmiths greeted our arrival on the bottom, soon followed by a variety of colorful Rockfish and several large male Sheephead.
We saw a couple of very large Abalone chilln on the bottom, mixing it up with Urchins and varieties of Sea Cucumbers. A cornucopia of Starfish arranged themselves attractively across the bottom, while a closer inspection revealed various nudibranchs and curious shrimp. Thankfully the surface swells didnt find their way to the bottom, so we explored in relative harmony, poking into hidey holes and peering around kelp. Knowing we had to head down slope to follow the chain back to the boat, we headed back a little early to keep our computers happy.
Breaking the surface we saw the sun was burning in all its glory above, while the swells had died down somewhat, although they and a mild south running current would greet us for our second dive. Stripping down our drysuits, we fired up the BBQ to grill a few hotdogs and polish sausages for the surface interval. Grilling hotdogs on a BBQ while the boat pitches back and forth under you is kind of like an arcade game. Reaching with the tongs, I found myself grasping thin air as the beautifully done dogs escaped my grasp by rolling to port or starboard, depending on the swell. Using my head for something more than a hat rack, I lured the wayward pups into the bun by fainting port and grabbing starboard. They obviously didnt know the cunning chef they were dealing with.
After lunch, we relaxed lazily on the foredeck, the warm sun fighting us in its attempt to lure us to sleep, before we geared up again and leapt back into the water. This time, we went shallower before hitting bottom, deciding to explore around 80 or so. This was actually a better decision, as the life was more abundant and the bottom structure more interesting. I had camera/battery issues on our first dive, so I tried to make up for lost time by photographing just about anything and everything. We all had much better success than last weeks surgy New Hope Rock.
We saw much the same life as earlier, just in greater number. There is quite a bit to explore here, so hopefully we can come back again. With all our poking around and exploring, we never really went that far from the chain. Next time, well either have to not take any pictures until were quite a bit farther from the chain, or do both dives at this depth. Its hard to pass on all the diversity though. Back on board, we pulled the anchor back up (dont ask, its not a pretty story) J then headed back to port, passing an outbound Carnival Spirit cruise ship in the channel. We were back at dock, lines tied, beers in hand and yukking it up before we knew it.
John A.
was very nice and very helpful. I also finally broke down and picked up a slick O2 analyzer to analyze my nitrox fills, and then headed down to the harbor. Walked across the street and checked out the ocean, then wandered over to the boat yard to watch them hauling a large (maybe 45 ft. long) fishing boat on one of them Travelifts, and lowering it maybe 30ft. down into the water. Pretty cool. Also saw the Truth out of Santa Barbara up on blocks getting a new paint job. And the 11,500 HP Gentry Eagle (
and stowed my gear, and we headed over to Milanos to get some grub. Other SB’ers filtered in, including Headhunter, Kevfin, and TeqP. After a nice pizza dinner, and some BS’ing in the galley, I finally hit it at around 11pm. Got up around 6am, just as the boat was starting to fill up with the rest of the divers. The engines rumbled to life at 7, and we were off on my first trip to Anacapa ( 
Thank goodness for the jacuzzi and the cobbler to finish things off. Had a great time yesterday.
