Roughwaterjohn
Contributor
Yukon, Ruby E. & Point Loma kelp, July 17th
Info:
Sunny warm day, with cloudless blue skies.
Seas were flat calm at all locations, with only occasional mild swells.
Visibility ranged from 40-50 at the deeper locations, 20-30 elsewhere.
Surface temperature was approximately 65 degrees, with 54 degrees on the bottom.
Yukon Maximum depth was 96 fsw, with an average depth of 82 fsw, total bottom time was 34 minutes.
Ruby E. Maximum depth was 83 fsw, with an average depth of 68 fsw, total bottom time was 42 minutes.
Point Loma kelp Maximum depth was 44 fsw, with an average depth of 42 fsw, total bottom time was 45 minutes.
The Report:
Sean, Roy and I set out early Saturday morning for a three-tank dive at three of the natural (and artificial) wonders of San Diego diving. It was already warm, fading into hot by 7:00AM. Leaving the channel and heading towards open water and the Yukon, conditions looked great. The ocean was wonderfully flat, with only an occasional minor swell rolling through to rock the boat from side to side, reminding us we were at sea after all, and not resting on a sheet of glass. We tied off to a mid-ship buoy, finished gearing up, and stepped of the side of the boat into the calm waters.
We had already made our dive plan, so we quickly expelled the air from our BCs and started down next to the line. We could easily see the white, mid-line buoy from the surface, and the ship itself from just below that. Our first explorations started on the deck structures and towers that stuck out over the sand, then back towards the stern. During our tour towards the stern, we dropped to the sand, checking out the bottom dwellers, then along the upper deck angling up vertically to our left. The bottom dwellers included small schools of silvery baitfish, a few medium sized Sand Bass, a pair of passionate Cancer Crabs, and several nice sized Tube Dwelling Anemones. The rest of the ship consisted of the ever present, and quite prolific White Metridiums, Painted Greenlings by the dozens, a California Scorpionfish hanging out on one of the struts and a small variety of assorted nudibranchs.
Back on the boat, we motored over to the Ruby, where we munched on snacks and planned our next dive, while waiting out the surface interval. When the gates opened again, we were in the water before the DM could finish saying the gates are op . We once again descended next to a buoy line, this time at the stern of the Ruby E., and started our tour by checking out the port side of the boat, on to the rear portion of the deck, over to the starboard side, then back over the deck for a cruise to the cabin and bow. The deck was littered with Spanish Shawls and Warty Sea Cucumbers. We also saw a Tritonia Festiva and a couple of Hermissenda Crassicornis. As expected, the Painted Greenlings were even more prolific here than on the Yukon, their coloring a striking contrast to the Club-tipped Anemones that engulf the boat. Several Sand Bass hunkered down in the corners of the cabin and against the ships railing, while individual Rockfish darted in and out of holes.
We eventually found ourselves full from lunch and floating over beds of Macrocystis Kelp near Point Loma. Most of the kelp beds were east of us, towards the Point Loma cliffs, while directly to the west, was a large open area with pinnacles and rock reefs. Once near the bottom, we headed west, towards the pinnacles. We were in 40-50 of water, with tall rock structures covered in Southern Sea Palms, Pterygophora Californica, and a variety of other algae. There were huge overhangs, with various holes and outcroppings full of fish and life. Schools of Senoritas and Perch swirled in flashing masses over the tops, while Garibaldi protected their dens and California Scorpionfish stayed discreetly motionless along the sides. Diaulula Noblis, some quite large, were scattered prolifically over the rocks, singly and in pairs, with most of them preferring the darker overhangs and caverns. We saw a few Lobster, several varieties of snails and Hermit Crabs in a wild array of mobile homes. Towards the end of our dive, we headed back east towards the boat, explored the kelp forests for a while, eventually surfacing near the stern of the boat. From this location, it was only a short jaunt back to the docks.
John-Boy
Info:
Sunny warm day, with cloudless blue skies.
Seas were flat calm at all locations, with only occasional mild swells.
Visibility ranged from 40-50 at the deeper locations, 20-30 elsewhere.
Surface temperature was approximately 65 degrees, with 54 degrees on the bottom.
Yukon Maximum depth was 96 fsw, with an average depth of 82 fsw, total bottom time was 34 minutes.
Ruby E. Maximum depth was 83 fsw, with an average depth of 68 fsw, total bottom time was 42 minutes.
Point Loma kelp Maximum depth was 44 fsw, with an average depth of 42 fsw, total bottom time was 45 minutes.
The Report:
Sean, Roy and I set out early Saturday morning for a three-tank dive at three of the natural (and artificial) wonders of San Diego diving. It was already warm, fading into hot by 7:00AM. Leaving the channel and heading towards open water and the Yukon, conditions looked great. The ocean was wonderfully flat, with only an occasional minor swell rolling through to rock the boat from side to side, reminding us we were at sea after all, and not resting on a sheet of glass. We tied off to a mid-ship buoy, finished gearing up, and stepped of the side of the boat into the calm waters.
We had already made our dive plan, so we quickly expelled the air from our BCs and started down next to the line. We could easily see the white, mid-line buoy from the surface, and the ship itself from just below that. Our first explorations started on the deck structures and towers that stuck out over the sand, then back towards the stern. During our tour towards the stern, we dropped to the sand, checking out the bottom dwellers, then along the upper deck angling up vertically to our left. The bottom dwellers included small schools of silvery baitfish, a few medium sized Sand Bass, a pair of passionate Cancer Crabs, and several nice sized Tube Dwelling Anemones. The rest of the ship consisted of the ever present, and quite prolific White Metridiums, Painted Greenlings by the dozens, a California Scorpionfish hanging out on one of the struts and a small variety of assorted nudibranchs.
Back on the boat, we motored over to the Ruby, where we munched on snacks and planned our next dive, while waiting out the surface interval. When the gates opened again, we were in the water before the DM could finish saying the gates are op . We once again descended next to a buoy line, this time at the stern of the Ruby E., and started our tour by checking out the port side of the boat, on to the rear portion of the deck, over to the starboard side, then back over the deck for a cruise to the cabin and bow. The deck was littered with Spanish Shawls and Warty Sea Cucumbers. We also saw a Tritonia Festiva and a couple of Hermissenda Crassicornis. As expected, the Painted Greenlings were even more prolific here than on the Yukon, their coloring a striking contrast to the Club-tipped Anemones that engulf the boat. Several Sand Bass hunkered down in the corners of the cabin and against the ships railing, while individual Rockfish darted in and out of holes.
We eventually found ourselves full from lunch and floating over beds of Macrocystis Kelp near Point Loma. Most of the kelp beds were east of us, towards the Point Loma cliffs, while directly to the west, was a large open area with pinnacles and rock reefs. Once near the bottom, we headed west, towards the pinnacles. We were in 40-50 of water, with tall rock structures covered in Southern Sea Palms, Pterygophora Californica, and a variety of other algae. There were huge overhangs, with various holes and outcroppings full of fish and life. Schools of Senoritas and Perch swirled in flashing masses over the tops, while Garibaldi protected their dens and California Scorpionfish stayed discreetly motionless along the sides. Diaulula Noblis, some quite large, were scattered prolifically over the rocks, singly and in pairs, with most of them preferring the darker overhangs and caverns. We saw a few Lobster, several varieties of snails and Hermit Crabs in a wild array of mobile homes. Towards the end of our dive, we headed back east towards the boat, explored the kelp forests for a while, eventually surfacing near the stern of the boat. From this location, it was only a short jaunt back to the docks.
John-Boy
