I'm planning on getting one of these puppies! This is the only thing I feel I'm missing with my bottom timer.divinman:
Christian
JUN 05 Dive Reports
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Christian
Peter McGuinness
Contributor
Two dives aboard the Mardi Gras Float out of Riviera Beach on Weds 22nd June.
Dive #1
11:47 am
55 ft
37 Mins
Vis: ~50ft
A drift dive in mild current. We dropped down onto a fairly flat area of sandy bottom with a wide variety of sponges and a few hard corals. Lots of sea fans and various christmas tree and feather duster worms.
There were huge shoals of grunts and snappers above the reef, with the occasional turtle hanging out. Found a juvenile French angelfish, a blue spotted cornet, and a very grumpy looking spotted scorpion fish.
Dive #2
1:18 PM
58 ft
34 mins
Vis: ~40-45 ft
A second drift dive. The current and the surface chop had picked up a bit, and there was a nice display from an electrical storm as we were preparing to get in for this dive. The site was similar to the previous one with the added feature of a man made channel cut into the coral. This was now heavily populated with corals and sponges, making for a nice little excursion. Fewer fish here than on the previous dive, but lots of rays and the odd-shaped fish you tend to see in warm waters; cowfish, puffers etc.
Drove from Orlando to the West Palm Beach area for a day of hookie diving - well worth the 300 mile round trip! There had been some tremendous thunderstorms the previous night but this day was clear enough, if a little cloudy. Riviera beach is what you might charitably call "gritty", or possibly "funky" but the marina is nice enough, and populated with some real characters. I went for breakfast at the marina restaurant, and that was an entertainment in itself!
The diving was excellent, with warm,clear water and lots of life. There are not many hard corals in the area but lots of sponges and filter feeders of various kinds. The bottom is a mixture of white sand and rocky ledges with hiding places for morays and lobsters, which we duly found.I have heard lots of stories about reef and coral destruction, but this area seems to be healthy enough to me.
It is apparently turtle egg-laying season, and there were plenty of turtles around.
The boats do things a little differently here: divers get kitted up and then drop off the back without the boat dropping anchor. Florida law mandates that divers tow a SMB at all times (actually, I read the text and it says a dive flag, but the DM's all seem to use a red float) and so it is usual to stick with the DM. Since this is all drift diving, the boat is keeping pace with the DM and is right there after surfacing. This is quite a luxury after the long surface swims we are used to in CA.
The technique for reboarding is to hang together in a group while the boat backs up to you, then grab the ladder and haul aboard.
Apropos of our california habit of losing divers: this operation was rigorous about headcount and roll calls. On the other hand, the cookies were only so-so.
photos and movies can be found at:
http://www.mcguinness-family.net/albums/diving//Florida/
and:
http://www.mcguinness-family.net/albums/diving//Florida/movies/
Peter
Dive #1
11:47 am
55 ft
37 Mins
Vis: ~50ft
A drift dive in mild current. We dropped down onto a fairly flat area of sandy bottom with a wide variety of sponges and a few hard corals. Lots of sea fans and various christmas tree and feather duster worms.
There were huge shoals of grunts and snappers above the reef, with the occasional turtle hanging out. Found a juvenile French angelfish, a blue spotted cornet, and a very grumpy looking spotted scorpion fish.
Dive #2
1:18 PM
58 ft
34 mins
Vis: ~40-45 ft
A second drift dive. The current and the surface chop had picked up a bit, and there was a nice display from an electrical storm as we were preparing to get in for this dive. The site was similar to the previous one with the added feature of a man made channel cut into the coral. This was now heavily populated with corals and sponges, making for a nice little excursion. Fewer fish here than on the previous dive, but lots of rays and the odd-shaped fish you tend to see in warm waters; cowfish, puffers etc.
Drove from Orlando to the West Palm Beach area for a day of hookie diving - well worth the 300 mile round trip! There had been some tremendous thunderstorms the previous night but this day was clear enough, if a little cloudy. Riviera beach is what you might charitably call "gritty", or possibly "funky" but the marina is nice enough, and populated with some real characters. I went for breakfast at the marina restaurant, and that was an entertainment in itself!
The diving was excellent, with warm,clear water and lots of life. There are not many hard corals in the area but lots of sponges and filter feeders of various kinds. The bottom is a mixture of white sand and rocky ledges with hiding places for morays and lobsters, which we duly found.I have heard lots of stories about reef and coral destruction, but this area seems to be healthy enough to me.
It is apparently turtle egg-laying season, and there were plenty of turtles around.
The boats do things a little differently here: divers get kitted up and then drop off the back without the boat dropping anchor. Florida law mandates that divers tow a SMB at all times (actually, I read the text and it says a dive flag, but the DM's all seem to use a red float) and so it is usual to stick with the DM. Since this is all drift diving, the boat is keeping pace with the DM and is right there after surfacing. This is quite a luxury after the long surface swims we are used to in CA.
The technique for reboarding is to hang together in a group while the boat backs up to you, then grab the ladder and haul aboard.
Apropos of our california habit of losing divers: this operation was rigorous about headcount and roll calls. On the other hand, the cookies were only so-so.
photos and movies can be found at:
http://www.mcguinness-family.net/albums/diving//Florida/
and:
http://www.mcguinness-family.net/albums/diving//Florida/movies/
Peter
mccabejc
Contributor
Date: 6/25/05
Dive Location: Crystal Cove, Laguna, Reef Point West
Time: 8:43 am
Bottom Time: 53:50
Max Depth: 28 ft.
Vis: 3-10 ft.
Wave height: 1-4 ft.
Temp at depth: 55 deg. F
Surface Temp: Water 61 deg. F, Air 63 F
Tide information: -1.24 ft. at 7am, going high
Met up with ScotM, TeqP and his buddy, Aaron and his buddy, and Snobordjon to try Crystal Cove, Reef Point. It was overcast, and tide was at its lowest (-1.24 ft.) when we got there. Took a look at conditions, and saw not much surf (occasional sets of maybe 2 or 3 ft. max.) and foam on the surface. Talked about entering near the ramp at the very east end of of the parking lot, but decided to enter to the west of the stairs nearer the entry kiosk. Saw what looked like a sand channel about 50 yards west of the bottom of the stairs, and decided that looked like the place to go. We all geared up and headed down the long stairs. We decided to kick out until we were near the end of the west reef and head at about 300 degrees. ScotM and I decided to buddy up, did our checks, and entered the sand channel, which had occasional rocks, holes, and eel grass. Had to drop under a set of 2-3 ft. waves, then kicked out. Ended up kicking out about ¼ mile, and could barely see our own fins underwater. So we kicked out a bit more and dropped, then headed at 300 degrees. Viz would open up to maybe 10 ft. +, then close down to less than 3ft. with lots of suspended particles. Surge was pretty much constant throughout the dive, and was VERY strong in spots, probably the strongest Ive felt. Often I had to hang on tight to check out stuff on the reef. One of those dives where youre cruising along, and suddenly theres a 10 ft. high reef in your face. Saw a couple of octopii next to each other, but the most interesting part of the dive was the many different reef structures which kept popping up in front of us. This is probably an excellent dive when conditions are right. Before our halfway point we were running over sand for a while, and decided to head back. I wanted to go on an East heading, and luckily Scot knew better. He motioned for a 120 heading, which kept us from heading into the shallows at the end of Reef Point. After fighting some major surge and navigating around some interesting reefs, it was getting kinda shallow so we decided to surface and check our bearings. Turns out we were just east of Reef Point, almost where we had dropped down. So we decided to drop down again and head for Myrna, who was standing on the shore and marking the sand channel where we were to exit. Shes so good at surface support
The exit was a bit more of a challenge, since the surf had gotten bigger (maybe 4 ft. sets; there were even some surfers out). We kicked in, had to duck a set of waves, and stumbled a bit on exit. All in all it was great dive for practicing navigation, and also difficult and shallow surf entries/exits, where you suddenly stumble on a rock or step into a hole. Afterwards we decided it wasn't worth a second dive, so we all bailed.
Dive Location: Crystal Cove, Laguna, Reef Point West
Time: 8:43 am
Bottom Time: 53:50
Max Depth: 28 ft.
Vis: 3-10 ft.
Wave height: 1-4 ft.
Temp at depth: 55 deg. F
Surface Temp: Water 61 deg. F, Air 63 F
Tide information: -1.24 ft. at 7am, going high
Met up with ScotM, TeqP and his buddy, Aaron and his buddy, and Snobordjon to try Crystal Cove, Reef Point. It was overcast, and tide was at its lowest (-1.24 ft.) when we got there. Took a look at conditions, and saw not much surf (occasional sets of maybe 2 or 3 ft. max.) and foam on the surface. Talked about entering near the ramp at the very east end of of the parking lot, but decided to enter to the west of the stairs nearer the entry kiosk. Saw what looked like a sand channel about 50 yards west of the bottom of the stairs, and decided that looked like the place to go. We all geared up and headed down the long stairs. We decided to kick out until we were near the end of the west reef and head at about 300 degrees. ScotM and I decided to buddy up, did our checks, and entered the sand channel, which had occasional rocks, holes, and eel grass. Had to drop under a set of 2-3 ft. waves, then kicked out. Ended up kicking out about ¼ mile, and could barely see our own fins underwater. So we kicked out a bit more and dropped, then headed at 300 degrees. Viz would open up to maybe 10 ft. +, then close down to less than 3ft. with lots of suspended particles. Surge was pretty much constant throughout the dive, and was VERY strong in spots, probably the strongest Ive felt. Often I had to hang on tight to check out stuff on the reef. One of those dives where youre cruising along, and suddenly theres a 10 ft. high reef in your face. Saw a couple of octopii next to each other, but the most interesting part of the dive was the many different reef structures which kept popping up in front of us. This is probably an excellent dive when conditions are right. Before our halfway point we were running over sand for a while, and decided to head back. I wanted to go on an East heading, and luckily Scot knew better. He motioned for a 120 heading, which kept us from heading into the shallows at the end of Reef Point. After fighting some major surge and navigating around some interesting reefs, it was getting kinda shallow so we decided to surface and check our bearings. Turns out we were just east of Reef Point, almost where we had dropped down. So we decided to drop down again and head for Myrna, who was standing on the shore and marking the sand channel where we were to exit. Shes so good at surface support
The exit was a bit more of a challenge, since the surf had gotten bigger (maybe 4 ft. sets; there were even some surfers out). We kicked in, had to duck a set of waves, and stumbled a bit on exit. All in all it was great dive for practicing navigation, and also difficult and shallow surf entries/exits, where you suddenly stumble on a rock or step into a hole. Afterwards we decided it wasn't worth a second dive, so we all bailed.
jerryn
Contributor
6/25/05
Leo west end
1' - 2' surf
heavy surge
50 degrees
5' visibility inside and through the Kelp
15' - 20' visibility on the outside
It was cold from the time we hit the water. There must be a deep water upwelling. Once outside the kelp in the boulder field the visibility was up to 20' and clear. The surge was at normal levels and it made for a great dive. The sun penetrated all the way down to the sand.
Jerry
Leo west end
1' - 2' surf
heavy surge
50 degrees
5' visibility inside and through the Kelp
15' - 20' visibility on the outside
It was cold from the time we hit the water. There must be a deep water upwelling. Once outside the kelp in the boulder field the visibility was up to 20' and clear. The surge was at normal levels and it made for a great dive. The sun penetrated all the way down to the sand.
Jerry
Date: 6/25/05
Dive Location:Marineland
Time: 8:34
Bottom Time: 30 minutes and 1:04
Max Depth: 54
Vis:0-15
Wave height: 1-8
Temp at depth: 49F
Tide information: Low tide at 7:00
Gas mix: Air (21%)
Comments: Layed a line out to Headhunter Reef, aka the old pier platform. I've made four of those surface swims and I'm very happy to report that I won't be doing it again any time soon. I tied one end of the line to a rock that has the kelp plant that is located in 15-18 feet on the east side of the cove. It's the last kelp you see until you get to Catalina if you are heading south. From there the line stretches at 150 degrees until it begins to rise off the sand and the platform appears out of the gloom.
As I was heading back in I saw a large Mantis shrimp, about eight inches long completely out in the open. My camera wouldn't work again, so no pictures. I managed to figure out what the problem was. The aluminum ring on the outside of the dome port was partially unscrewed, letting in just enought salt water to mess with my plans. I cleaned and fixed everything when I got home. My fingers are crossed for tomorrow. I really want to get some images of the platform so I can go back to diving the nice reef off the point.
When I arrived at my truck to switch tanks, Claudette was just pulling up from an earlier dive at Malaga Cove. She put on her drysuit (smart girl) and joined me for a long, relaxing trangular dive. We swam out to the platform, this time underwater.
We found a nice Cabezon and Claudette played with another Hermit crab. Near the platform was a pile of Kellet's Whelks munching on a recently deceased halibut. We then headed across the sand toward the east reef. Along the way, and it's a long way, we found an octopus using a single blade of kelp as its daytime hiding place as well as many large holes left by feeding Batrays. Claudette also found a nice piece of silver from some long ago shipwreck...well, OK, it was a fork. We finally made it to the east reef and turned to swim into shore. We exited near the cave and were in less than knee-deep water when I heard the rumble of a large wave. I rode in the rest of the way on my knees. Claudette got a good look at the wave. It was eight feet high and filled with white foam and three tons of gravel. We made it out alive, but it took longer than usual to wash my gear today.
We had close to 15 feet vis at the platform in 49F water. Near shore we found a patch of zero vis for about a minute.
Dive Location:Marineland
Time: 8:34
Bottom Time: 30 minutes and 1:04
Max Depth: 54
Vis:0-15
Wave height: 1-8
Temp at depth: 49F
Tide information: Low tide at 7:00
Gas mix: Air (21%)
Comments: Layed a line out to Headhunter Reef, aka the old pier platform. I've made four of those surface swims and I'm very happy to report that I won't be doing it again any time soon. I tied one end of the line to a rock that has the kelp plant that is located in 15-18 feet on the east side of the cove. It's the last kelp you see until you get to Catalina if you are heading south. From there the line stretches at 150 degrees until it begins to rise off the sand and the platform appears out of the gloom.
As I was heading back in I saw a large Mantis shrimp, about eight inches long completely out in the open. My camera wouldn't work again, so no pictures. I managed to figure out what the problem was. The aluminum ring on the outside of the dome port was partially unscrewed, letting in just enought salt water to mess with my plans. I cleaned and fixed everything when I got home. My fingers are crossed for tomorrow. I really want to get some images of the platform so I can go back to diving the nice reef off the point.
When I arrived at my truck to switch tanks, Claudette was just pulling up from an earlier dive at Malaga Cove. She put on her drysuit (smart girl) and joined me for a long, relaxing trangular dive. We swam out to the platform, this time underwater.
We found a nice Cabezon and Claudette played with another Hermit crab. Near the platform was a pile of Kellet's Whelks munching on a recently deceased halibut. We then headed across the sand toward the east reef. Along the way, and it's a long way, we found an octopus using a single blade of kelp as its daytime hiding place as well as many large holes left by feeding Batrays. Claudette also found a nice piece of silver from some long ago shipwreck...well, OK, it was a fork. We finally made it to the east reef and turned to swim into shore. We exited near the cave and were in less than knee-deep water when I heard the rumble of a large wave. I rode in the rest of the way on my knees. Claudette got a good look at the wave. It was eight feet high and filled with white foam and three tons of gravel. We made it out alive, but it took longer than usual to wash my gear today.
We had close to 15 feet vis at the platform in 49F water. Near shore we found a patch of zero vis for about a minute.
HBDiveGirl
Contributor
- Messages
- 1,329
- Reaction score
- 44
- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
I love the Swell of Malaga in the Morning!
Splash: 0645
Max depth: 23 fsw
Run time: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Temp: mostly 64F, but some areas of 57
Gas: 80cu.ft. of air
Sunrise Time to Dive! Carlos and I set up gear while the sun rose on the other side of Palos Verdes. The kelp was up in glassy water moving easily with small waves barely breaking until touching the shore. The seagulls were bird-bathing amidst the exposed eelgrass covered rocks due to the empty-bathtub low tide, so we entered via the sandy area at RAT beach. We had the entire underwater cove to ourselves, with just one lonely surfer sliding along smooth 2-foot humps. Viz was smoky over the sand, but improved to 6-10 over the rocky ledges. Garibaldi boys were fiercely defending their nests against our bubbling intrusion jewelry-beautiful young garibaldi tried to stay out of our lights. Babies were everywhere: 2-inch treefish (black vertical stripes over white/yellow/orange body), schools of young blacksmith and senoritas, little bass (both calico and barred sand), little lobsters the Malaga Nursery was a cozy 64F and filled with young uns. The octopus looked like theyd all had a busy night and just wanted some sleep instead of our lights in their eyes. The sun finally made it over the hill, and lit up the smoky water column, backlighting cloud-like schools of baby fish. As our first hour slipped quietly into the second, we wandered dreamily from rock to ledge, finding big bat rays in the sand between. Its a miraculous privilege to swing gently on the surge, accepted by schools of fish, in a neutrally buoyant breathing meditation. No tank is bottomless, and 100psi called for a reluctant re-entry through the silvered ceiling. That was a spectacular 1 hour and 47 minutes of waking up to beauty. Lets do it again tomorrow at Pt. Vicente. Thank you, Carlos, as always.
Splash: 0645
Max depth: 23 fsw
Run time: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Temp: mostly 64F, but some areas of 57
Gas: 80cu.ft. of air
Sunrise Time to Dive! Carlos and I set up gear while the sun rose on the other side of Palos Verdes. The kelp was up in glassy water moving easily with small waves barely breaking until touching the shore. The seagulls were bird-bathing amidst the exposed eelgrass covered rocks due to the empty-bathtub low tide, so we entered via the sandy area at RAT beach. We had the entire underwater cove to ourselves, with just one lonely surfer sliding along smooth 2-foot humps. Viz was smoky over the sand, but improved to 6-10 over the rocky ledges. Garibaldi boys were fiercely defending their nests against our bubbling intrusion jewelry-beautiful young garibaldi tried to stay out of our lights. Babies were everywhere: 2-inch treefish (black vertical stripes over white/yellow/orange body), schools of young blacksmith and senoritas, little bass (both calico and barred sand), little lobsters the Malaga Nursery was a cozy 64F and filled with young uns. The octopus looked like theyd all had a busy night and just wanted some sleep instead of our lights in their eyes. The sun finally made it over the hill, and lit up the smoky water column, backlighting cloud-like schools of baby fish. As our first hour slipped quietly into the second, we wandered dreamily from rock to ledge, finding big bat rays in the sand between. Its a miraculous privilege to swing gently on the surge, accepted by schools of fish, in a neutrally buoyant breathing meditation. No tank is bottomless, and 100psi called for a reluctant re-entry through the silvered ceiling. That was a spectacular 1 hour and 47 minutes of waking up to beauty. Lets do it again tomorrow at Pt. Vicente. Thank you, Carlos, as always.
HBDiveGirl
Contributor
- Messages
- 1,329
- Reaction score
- 44
- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
Phollow Phils line to the Platphorm, and take the Phirst Phork after the Octopus
Splash: 10:15AM
Max depth: 48fsw
Run time: 1 hour, 3 minutes
Gas: 100cu.ft. of air
Temp: 49F...my hands wanted to crawl back up the sleeves into the dry zone.
My timing was perfect as the GottaDiv ScubaMobile zoomed into the Marineland parking lot to find MaxBottomTime dripping happily while setting tanks down after a busy morning dive. Figuring I probably wouldnt find cozy 64F water here, I switched over to the dry suit while he filled me in on his morning activities: The cave line to the sunken dock platform was installed and ready for its first visitor! (I dont know what I did to get so lucky, but Ill try to keep doing it.) Phil found the line right where he left it, fired up the HID artificial sun, and we headed down the line. The sandy bottom slopes almost imperceptibly the only hints we were descending came from my ears, the loving squeeze of the drysuit, and the changing cast of creatures. Soon there were sea pens everywhere, a lizard fish half-buried, flatfish, and more sand everywhere. We finned some more. And some more. Eleven scenic minutes later the line rose elegantly off the bottom as if it had somewhere to go! Eyes forward, 5 more kicks, and the platform materialized in the 15-20 foot misty visibility. Now, THATs the way to get to the platform. THANK YOU, Phil! Youve done a wonderful thing!! Cool things on the platform: decorator crab with brown sponge and pink corynactis on its shell; a speckled cabezon (Thought of you, Scott!); Spanish Shawls; nudibranch egg; Monterey stalked tunicates; and two happy divers who didnt have to search for the needle in the big sandy haystack! Then we headed east by northeast, across more sand, to find the rocky reefs to the east of cobble beach. Our Forever-and-a-day finning was interrupted 3 amusing times: 1) A baseball-sized octopus, in the middle of sand, clutching a kelp frond in front of itself, but peeking over it to watch us! I swear I heard the voice-over: No one here, just keep moving nothing to see Finally dropping the frond as we neared, it backed away while holding two arms up toward us, tips balled up like fists on a pugnacious little boxer. 2) We found the fork in the road or at least a made-in-japan sacred dining implement half-buried in you guessed it sand. Increasingly hungry in my third hour of diving for the morning, I began to imagine fresh halibut sushi .yummm .I swam on, fork at the ready...a glint in my eye. 3) Giant crater-like divots appeared around us. Probably giant bat ray feeding sites. But you havent really lived until youve seen MaxBottomTime wriggle into a 5 foot wide sand-crater and skillfully imitate the feeding motion of a Big Bat Ray. Thank god Ive learned to hold my mask while laughing so I didnt flood it this time!! We finally found the rocks (who would have thought Marineland had That much sand in it???) and followed them in toward shore. No tasty halibut for my fork as we completed our 600 yard perimeter swim. Phil put us right back into the cove, and we surfaced in that signature zero-viz murk outside the surf line. All was well on exit, until the gravel-filled water suddenly did a tsunami-like suck-out-to-sea thing. Knee deep on the rocks, I turned to marvel at the gravel-filled water rushing up the face of the oncoming wave, and the dark gravel-filled crest of the wave higher than my sorry little head. I turned back to take it on the tank, and using my knees as sled runners, bumped gracelessly up the rocky shore until the wave was through with me. Looked like Phil did the same. Dry-suit kneepads are very tough I wish the diver inside was, too. Thats gonna leave a mark! The only other damage was bent tines on the sacred fork easily repaired. Carrying a phenomenal amount of gravel secreted about our gear and suits, we skipped and gamboled up to the parking lot ok, we trudged and whined .elated at another fun dive. Evil Jeff had left notes and warning cones on our cars, but Sweet Jeff drove up quickly and had to listen to us natter on endlessly about our epic dive!
Thanks, Phil! That was a fun and surprising dive!
Splash: 10:15AM
Max depth: 48fsw
Run time: 1 hour, 3 minutes
Gas: 100cu.ft. of air
Temp: 49F...my hands wanted to crawl back up the sleeves into the dry zone.
My timing was perfect as the GottaDiv ScubaMobile zoomed into the Marineland parking lot to find MaxBottomTime dripping happily while setting tanks down after a busy morning dive. Figuring I probably wouldnt find cozy 64F water here, I switched over to the dry suit while he filled me in on his morning activities: The cave line to the sunken dock platform was installed and ready for its first visitor! (I dont know what I did to get so lucky, but Ill try to keep doing it.) Phil found the line right where he left it, fired up the HID artificial sun, and we headed down the line. The sandy bottom slopes almost imperceptibly the only hints we were descending came from my ears, the loving squeeze of the drysuit, and the changing cast of creatures. Soon there were sea pens everywhere, a lizard fish half-buried, flatfish, and more sand everywhere. We finned some more. And some more. Eleven scenic minutes later the line rose elegantly off the bottom as if it had somewhere to go! Eyes forward, 5 more kicks, and the platform materialized in the 15-20 foot misty visibility. Now, THATs the way to get to the platform. THANK YOU, Phil! Youve done a wonderful thing!! Cool things on the platform: decorator crab with brown sponge and pink corynactis on its shell; a speckled cabezon (Thought of you, Scott!); Spanish Shawls; nudibranch egg; Monterey stalked tunicates; and two happy divers who didnt have to search for the needle in the big sandy haystack! Then we headed east by northeast, across more sand, to find the rocky reefs to the east of cobble beach. Our Forever-and-a-day finning was interrupted 3 amusing times: 1) A baseball-sized octopus, in the middle of sand, clutching a kelp frond in front of itself, but peeking over it to watch us! I swear I heard the voice-over: No one here, just keep moving nothing to see Finally dropping the frond as we neared, it backed away while holding two arms up toward us, tips balled up like fists on a pugnacious little boxer. 2) We found the fork in the road or at least a made-in-japan sacred dining implement half-buried in you guessed it sand. Increasingly hungry in my third hour of diving for the morning, I began to imagine fresh halibut sushi .yummm .I swam on, fork at the ready...a glint in my eye. 3) Giant crater-like divots appeared around us. Probably giant bat ray feeding sites. But you havent really lived until youve seen MaxBottomTime wriggle into a 5 foot wide sand-crater and skillfully imitate the feeding motion of a Big Bat Ray. Thank god Ive learned to hold my mask while laughing so I didnt flood it this time!! We finally found the rocks (who would have thought Marineland had That much sand in it???) and followed them in toward shore. No tasty halibut for my fork as we completed our 600 yard perimeter swim. Phil put us right back into the cove, and we surfaced in that signature zero-viz murk outside the surf line. All was well on exit, until the gravel-filled water suddenly did a tsunami-like suck-out-to-sea thing. Knee deep on the rocks, I turned to marvel at the gravel-filled water rushing up the face of the oncoming wave, and the dark gravel-filled crest of the wave higher than my sorry little head. I turned back to take it on the tank, and using my knees as sled runners, bumped gracelessly up the rocky shore until the wave was through with me. Looked like Phil did the same. Dry-suit kneepads are very tough I wish the diver inside was, too. Thats gonna leave a mark! The only other damage was bent tines on the sacred fork easily repaired. Carrying a phenomenal amount of gravel secreted about our gear and suits, we skipped and gamboled up to the parking lot ok, we trudged and whined .elated at another fun dive. Evil Jeff had left notes and warning cones on our cars, but Sweet Jeff drove up quickly and had to listen to us natter on endlessly about our epic dive!
Thanks, Phil! That was a fun and surprising dive!
Here's the path Claudette and I took. That is indeed, a LOT of sand we covered.
Grey_Wulff
Contributor
Date: 6/25/05
Dive Location: Three Fingers, Kelp Beds
Time: 08:06am
Bottom Time: 29 mins
Max Depth: 90ft
Vis: 15 - 25ft
Wave height: 2ft rolling swell
Temp @ depth: 53 F
Gas mix: Air (21%)
Comments: First of three dives from the DCI vessel Dn'DII. Anchored close to the Three Fingers and made our first run north from the anchor line along one of the fingers. Lots of structure and several very nice pinnacles to explore. Vis was good, particularly at distance from the boat but it sure was chilly! Lots of nudibrachs, some gigantic sun stars and the usual fish.
Date: 6/25/05
Dive Location: Three Fingers, Kelp Beds
Time: 09:37am
Bottom Time: 26 mins
Max Depth: 78ft
Vis: 15 - 30ft
Wave height: 2ft rolling swell
Temp @ depth: 53 F
Gas mix: Air (21%)
Comments: This time headed south from the anchor line and again found lots of structure and a pretty gully with a big overhang and another massive sun star on the underside. Vis was probably a little better but the cold got to my buddy and we cut short and headed back to the boat for hot soup and coffee. Lots of jellies in the water - the longest four plus feet. Got real close and personal with several during our safety stop.
Date: 6/25/05
Dive Location: Kelp Beds
Time: 10:52am
Bottom Time: 34 mins
Max Depth: 39ft
Vis: 15ft
Wave height: 2ft rolling swell
Temp @ depth: 53 F
Gas mix: Air (21%)
Comments: We motored part way back towards Mission Beach and did our final dive in a shallower part of the kelp beds hoping to spot a giant sea bass that is known to frequent the area. Vis was much worse. Unfortunately, the sea bass did not show up. Bottom was flat but strewn with boulders. Plenty of good size bugs and a few sheepheads around, in addition to the usual calico bass, senorita and kelpfish.
Grey_Wulff
Dive Location: Three Fingers, Kelp Beds
Time: 08:06am
Bottom Time: 29 mins
Max Depth: 90ft
Vis: 15 - 25ft
Wave height: 2ft rolling swell
Temp @ depth: 53 F
Gas mix: Air (21%)
Comments: First of three dives from the DCI vessel Dn'DII. Anchored close to the Three Fingers and made our first run north from the anchor line along one of the fingers. Lots of structure and several very nice pinnacles to explore. Vis was good, particularly at distance from the boat but it sure was chilly! Lots of nudibrachs, some gigantic sun stars and the usual fish.
Date: 6/25/05
Dive Location: Three Fingers, Kelp Beds
Time: 09:37am
Bottom Time: 26 mins
Max Depth: 78ft
Vis: 15 - 30ft
Wave height: 2ft rolling swell
Temp @ depth: 53 F
Gas mix: Air (21%)
Comments: This time headed south from the anchor line and again found lots of structure and a pretty gully with a big overhang and another massive sun star on the underside. Vis was probably a little better but the cold got to my buddy and we cut short and headed back to the boat for hot soup and coffee. Lots of jellies in the water - the longest four plus feet. Got real close and personal with several during our safety stop.
Date: 6/25/05
Dive Location: Kelp Beds
Time: 10:52am
Bottom Time: 34 mins
Max Depth: 39ft
Vis: 15ft
Wave height: 2ft rolling swell
Temp @ depth: 53 F
Gas mix: Air (21%)
Comments: We motored part way back towards Mission Beach and did our final dive in a shallower part of the kelp beds hoping to spot a giant sea bass that is known to frequent the area. Vis was much worse. Unfortunately, the sea bass did not show up. Bottom was flat but strewn with boulders. Plenty of good size bugs and a few sheepheads around, in addition to the usual calico bass, senorita and kelpfish.
Grey_Wulff
Date: 06/26/05
Dive Location: Marineland
Time: 9:26
Bottom Time: 48 minutes
Max Depth: 49'
Vis: 10-15 at depth
Wave height: 1-2
Temp at depth: 49F
Comments:
Claudette, Carlos and Jeff joined me for yet another attempt at getting photographic evidence that the Marineland Platform exists. I think we may have succeded. I'll download my shots later. Carlos and Claudette made two dives this morning. The first at Pt. Vicente Fishing Access (Cardiac Hill) and then joined us at Marineland. Both dives were in 49F water. We followed the cave line I layed yesterday. It's so nice not having to kick on the surface. On the way back in I took a picture of Claudette swimming along side me when all of a sudden I was being shaken violently by what I thought was Jeff playing "shark" I turned to the left to see and was immediately bitten hard on my left elbow by a bull sea lion. I had to punch his face to get him to release me. I grabbed my elbow and gave Claudette the thumbs up. She thought I was holding my elbow to keep water from entering my drysuit, but I was trying to keep all my blood in. It really hurt! In all the commotion my camera floated to the surface, so it was a good thing I was headed that way.
I always wondered if I would panic if I was ever attacked by a shark. I don't think I would now. I handled this attack calmly, even with a little humor once I realized there was no blood. It did leave a small puncture in my suit and my elbow is red and a little scratched. I was just glad Claudette was there to witness it so it wouldn't become another fish story.
Dive Location: Marineland
Time: 9:26
Bottom Time: 48 minutes
Max Depth: 49'
Vis: 10-15 at depth
Wave height: 1-2
Temp at depth: 49F
Comments:
Claudette, Carlos and Jeff joined me for yet another attempt at getting photographic evidence that the Marineland Platform exists. I think we may have succeded. I'll download my shots later. Carlos and Claudette made two dives this morning. The first at Pt. Vicente Fishing Access (Cardiac Hill) and then joined us at Marineland. Both dives were in 49F water. We followed the cave line I layed yesterday. It's so nice not having to kick on the surface. On the way back in I took a picture of Claudette swimming along side me when all of a sudden I was being shaken violently by what I thought was Jeff playing "shark" I turned to the left to see and was immediately bitten hard on my left elbow by a bull sea lion. I had to punch his face to get him to release me. I grabbed my elbow and gave Claudette the thumbs up. She thought I was holding my elbow to keep water from entering my drysuit, but I was trying to keep all my blood in. It really hurt! In all the commotion my camera floated to the surface, so it was a good thing I was headed that way.
I always wondered if I would panic if I was ever attacked by a shark. I don't think I would now. I handled this attack calmly, even with a little humor once I realized there was no blood. It did leave a small puncture in my suit and my elbow is red and a little scratched. I was just glad Claudette was there to witness it so it wouldn't become another fish story.
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