June 23rd, 2024 urchin dive report @ Stillwater (with videos)

[Eric Sedletzky]

We had a great day urchin diving at Stillwater Cove in Sonoma County.
8 divers and 2 for shore support.
The weather was great, no fog, very little wind.
Great ocean conditions. Nice and calm.
The tide was very low when we got there so nobody was in a big hurry to get in. Once the tide began to come back in it brought some clean water in with it and it was really nice.
First dive I worked the zombie zone on the right side. Second dive I went over to left side (the super market side - easy pickins) and bagged up a few more. Way less surgy over on the left side.

I also built a new sorting board to weed out the by-catch and to sort out the bigger urchins for the uni. This was its debut run.
It worked great, it was a huge success and a big hit with Jennifer who had concerns about by-catch.
We got 892 Lbs. total, not bad.

If you or anybody you might know would be interested in participating in this purple urchin removal project please let us know!
You can PM me of respond here, or visit www.sealswatersports.com
Or go to @PURP_707 on Instagram and DM us there.
We’re always looking for volunteers!

 

[Bangarang_ian]

Hello, I’m new to the forum and I’m learning about the urchin removal efforts. Is this something you would recommend for free divers? I know my take rate will be much slower, but I’m always looking for any excuse to get in the water and I loooove uni. I’m not sure how deep your dives are currently.

I’ll be in town over the 4th of July from Las Vegas and maybe back again in August.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Hello, I’m new to the forum and I’m learning about the urchin removal efforts. Is this something you would recommend for free divers? I know my take rate will be much slower, but I’m always looking for any excuse to get in the water and I loooove uni. I’m not sure how deep your dives are currently.

I’ll be in town over the 4th of July from Las Vegas and maybe back again in August.

Yes, freedivers are very welcome. We have a few that show up. They don’t generally get as many urchins as a person on scuba but they can get into places that is difficult for scuba divers to access like in the shallows around rocky structure, etc.
A boogy board with a leash helps to be able to put the bag on top once it’s full. It would be helpful to drill some holes through the board and install some stainless eyes with big washers so you can hook on a bungee to secure the full bag on top of the board. The medium size yellow Trident bag is ideal for freediving.
Our dives are from a few feet deep to up to 20’, depending on location in the cove and on tide.
It’s a lot easier at a higher tide with some water mass.
Our next dive will be on 7/7 at Stillwater cove.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Here’s another video showing a panning scene of Stillwater Cove. It’s a beautiful spot.