diveski01
Contributor
A bunch of divers from Indiana ventured out to sunny So Cal last weekend to visit and dive with a recently relocated dive instructor and good friend.
First day was diving Catalina off of The Great Escape arranged by our pal MHK. This is a BIG boat set up for live-aboard amenities. There are 6 staterooms and up to 40 guest bunks so everyone can grab a nap after breakfast during the 2+ hour crossing. Breakfast, BTW, was very hearty and diverse so no one should have any issues with not being well fed for the day.
First dive site was Little Farnsworth, a pinnacle that starts around 50ft and drops to sandy bottom around 100ft or so. Very healthy and colorful aquatic and marine life. Viz was variable and currents very slight to negligible. Temps around 58-60F at depth. A very enjoyable site!
Second site (loc?) was just off a rocky shoreline further to the North and depths varied from over 100ft to 5ft. Lots of well spaced kelp for us first timers to experience. Shallow water was very surgy and decent swells so it's was best to stay below 30ft. Lots of friendly Giribaldi - hope the photos turn out ok. Viz was 2-15ft or so and temps were 66-68F at 60ft.
Hearty lunch of burgers and dogs with all the fixins' served before last dive.
I was too tired from previous days travels to participate in last dive but all who went enjoyed the site more than the second site.
A late snack of fresh baked brownies and ice cream was well received during the ride back to Long Beach. I think everyone was fat and happy by the time we disembarked!
Next day was off to San Diego to dive off a couple of charter boats arranged by Diving Locker's director of training Jay Roney. We dove off of the SeaBee, a bright yellow boat well suited for a small group of 6. We had 2 in doubles and 3 single tank divers. A little snug but really not too bad if you take turns gearing up, etc. Capt Danny took excellent care of us.
First site was Scripps Canyon just north of La Jolla's Scripps Pier. A very cool site - even though it was a little extreme at first for some of us less experienced divers. Waters were significantly cooler than Catalina with a bottom temp of 53F at 90ft. Viz again was variable from 10-30ft. A strong HID light was a definite bonus for looking at the critters and fishes in the crevices along the wall.
Second site was Quast Rock just offshore of La Jolla shores. This was a GREAT dive site for u/w photography. Loads of different fishes, crabs, plants. Saw 4 brilliantly colored Spanish Shawls just tooling around on tops of reef/rocks. A bit surgy at times - but a fun surge! Kelp wasn't very dense so no major issues for our divers - except maybe that one stalk that Gary beat the snot out of
Wish we could have spent another dive on this site! Again, water temps were about 53F at 65ft. Viz was pretty decent at probably 30+ feet.
Next time we'll be bringing more divers and plan to shoot a LOT more film.
First day was diving Catalina off of The Great Escape arranged by our pal MHK. This is a BIG boat set up for live-aboard amenities. There are 6 staterooms and up to 40 guest bunks so everyone can grab a nap after breakfast during the 2+ hour crossing. Breakfast, BTW, was very hearty and diverse so no one should have any issues with not being well fed for the day.
First dive site was Little Farnsworth, a pinnacle that starts around 50ft and drops to sandy bottom around 100ft or so. Very healthy and colorful aquatic and marine life. Viz was variable and currents very slight to negligible. Temps around 58-60F at depth. A very enjoyable site!
Second site (loc?) was just off a rocky shoreline further to the North and depths varied from over 100ft to 5ft. Lots of well spaced kelp for us first timers to experience. Shallow water was very surgy and decent swells so it's was best to stay below 30ft. Lots of friendly Giribaldi - hope the photos turn out ok. Viz was 2-15ft or so and temps were 66-68F at 60ft.
Hearty lunch of burgers and dogs with all the fixins' served before last dive.
I was too tired from previous days travels to participate in last dive but all who went enjoyed the site more than the second site.
A late snack of fresh baked brownies and ice cream was well received during the ride back to Long Beach. I think everyone was fat and happy by the time we disembarked!
Next day was off to San Diego to dive off a couple of charter boats arranged by Diving Locker's director of training Jay Roney. We dove off of the SeaBee, a bright yellow boat well suited for a small group of 6. We had 2 in doubles and 3 single tank divers. A little snug but really not too bad if you take turns gearing up, etc. Capt Danny took excellent care of us.
First site was Scripps Canyon just north of La Jolla's Scripps Pier. A very cool site - even though it was a little extreme at first for some of us less experienced divers. Waters were significantly cooler than Catalina with a bottom temp of 53F at 90ft. Viz again was variable from 10-30ft. A strong HID light was a definite bonus for looking at the critters and fishes in the crevices along the wall.
Second site was Quast Rock just offshore of La Jolla shores. This was a GREAT dive site for u/w photography. Loads of different fishes, crabs, plants. Saw 4 brilliantly colored Spanish Shawls just tooling around on tops of reef/rocks. A bit surgy at times - but a fun surge! Kelp wasn't very dense so no major issues for our divers - except maybe that one stalk that Gary beat the snot out of
Wish we could have spent another dive on this site! Again, water temps were about 53F at 65ft. Viz was pretty decent at probably 30+ feet.Next time we'll be bringing more divers and plan to shoot a LOT more film.
