Months ago I booked a spot on a local dive club's 2-day trip to Cortes / Tanner banks. I've never been on this boat (the Horizon) out of San Diego, so I was pretty fired up to get on and get out. I haven't done a true multi-day for a long time, so I was really excited to get the scooters out and get some fun shots.
Tanner and Cortes banks are a couple of famous open-ocean, off-shore sea mounts that rise out of the depths to very shallow depths, and during winter storms serve as the sites for big wave surfers looking for the 50' to 85' waves. In spring and summer, the area serves divers and fishermen.
As these sites are in the open ocean very far off-shore, any trip planned to the banks is always hit or miss.
We missed.
No biggie - in the middle of the night the boat made a right turn to dive San Clemente island for the two days.
Friday Evening - Arrived at H&M Landing in San Diego. I've been here a zillion times back when I was in the arms race (the years I spent multi-day long range fishing... a story for another time.) The memories came rushing back like a flood, as I haven't been here for some time. The boats at the landing, Excel, Red Rooster III, Bright & Morning Star and more - these boats are legends. Walking on the docks past them to the Horizon mooring stirred something that has been long dormant in me. The smells, the sights, the memories. It was glorious.
If you've never been to H&M Landing / Point Loma Sport Fishing, you owe it to yourself to go to "Day at the Docks" There is nothing like the San Diego Sportfishing fleet. The boats are huge palaces and the vibe is the best.
I should say here that the Horizon is on par with any of the boats in the fleet, and I've been on a couple of dozen of them. This boat is large, immaculate, well appointed, and very easy to dive. The crew is top notch from the dive masters to the deck hands to the galley (oops, "Salon") staff. This kind of operation starts from the top-down, and Capt Greg is a rock star. Hundreds of dives off of every local SoCal dive boat and many abroad - and this trip exceeded my expectations on every possible level.
Claudette and I were the only ones with Scooters on this trip. We boarded, dumped the gear and went off to dinner - with instructions to be back for a 9:30 PM departure. We got back, got on and after receiving the most thorough briefing ever, we were off.
Saturday - After a rock and roll night, we awoke at San Clemente. (the Horizon dive log is here: linky) San Clemente is one of my fav islands to dive. Its a bit far (about 5 to 6 hours depending on the boat and conditions) so taking a day boat out there is just wrong. I'm there each Labor day on a 3-dayer. This island's topography is so new and craggy and jagged. Lots of small and large swim-throughs, pinnacles, deep canyons and fissures. Its a scooter paradise, to be sure. Plus, as its "out there", you get some critters you don't get in the islands that are just off shore.
It was warm. Every dive was 57 to 60 degrees. Gotta love that. The water wasn't real clear, but it wasn't green. It was a dirty blue - so I didn't get to shoot too much with the wide angle. We did five dives on Saturday, with one of them being a Baboon Dive (if Monkey diving is tees and trunks in the red sea, I hereby name diving sidemount in 7mm wetsuits as Baboon diving. Deal wif it.) Claudette and I brought on 6 tanks - a couple of 130's (32 that was to be refilled with 32, 28 for a deeper dive and an AL80 with air for the Baboon dives.)
We did an AM dive, a mid-morning dive, an afternoon dive, then did the evening Baboon dive, then a night dive. Lots of Nudis (including a Polycera Tri-Color explosion) on all dives, and the smallest angel shark ever on the night dive. We found a Hermissenda on a kelp leaf and I did some more back-lit light box shots. I'm getting better at capturing these, and Claudette is getting better at lighting them. They are surreal.
Just great stuff. I love this kind of rapid-fire diving. 5 or 6 a day is what I train so hard for, and I love this!
Sunday - Three dives this day. The AM dive was spectacular. Fortunately we did two dives at this same site - so we got back on board and did the NASCAR quick change, I put on the wide angle and we got right back in. Unfortunately, the Salon was warm and moist by then and I got some fog between the lens and the screw-on 2X diopter. It made focusing difficult, and the images are a bit soft - but there is this really neat glow and starburst effect from Claudette's light. It looks photoshopped, but its not... I think its from the fog. I was having strobe firing troubles, so I only got a few shots of her.
The last dive of the trip was our deepest. It wasn't that deep, but it was amazing. Check the thermocline (the red box)... wow. At 93 feet the temp just suddenly dropped. The water didn't get any clearer (sadly) but it was very cool.
On this dive my strobes weren't firing at all. I took several shots of only one subject (the Tylo out running around) in natural light, with the AP wide open (nearly NO depth of field so I could get enough light.) Claudette offered some HID light, and I used my focus light, but at 1/50th of a second its a bit soft. Kinda cool, but there it is. So I schlepped a worthless cam around the whole last dive.
We saw about half-a-dozen Soupfin sharks near the end of the dive. I've never seen a shark this big in California. Very cool. Very sharky. We saw one, then two, then one, then one (I think the same one) then a group of four...
WHEW!
Great trip. Claudette, you continue to distinguish yourself as the Apex buddy. You are fit, you are focused, you are fun. No bettah buddy. None.
Some images below.
Full gallery here on Dive Matrix: Linkage
Enjoy.
---
Ken
=========================
Muh Muh Muh My Cuthona! This guy was literally flapping on a kelp branch. I took several shots as he moved along - sometimes you get lucky and you pin focus on a moving subject when you're sitting still.
Got about 4 or 5 shots of this McFarlands before he pulled his head up to look around a bit. I loved that this violet Nudi was on a bed of yellow-green algae. The contrast is what attracted me to the guy.
Another flapper. This Mexichromis was hanging from something that was on this scallop. He was like a pendulum. Again, its his bright blue color against the tan / white canvas that attracted me to this guy.
Smallest Tritonia Festiva ever! I've never shot one this small. What a round tiny-tunes cutie. They grow up into this: Phatty
Tylo on the run. I've seen TWO Tylodina fungina Nudis out in the open, not sitting on a yellow sulfur sponge. The first one I didn't have a camera with me, the second time (here) my strobes weren't firing. OY! Cool shot, just a bit soft and nearly zero (maybe 1/16") DOF (Check it out - he's pretty small and one rhinophore is IN focus, the other way OUT of focus...) Sometimes you improvise and it comes out OK!
Our second dive was filled with Polycera tricolor Nudis. This guy is a phatty just filled with eggs, looking for a place to burst!
Light Table Hermis - Hermissenda on a kelp leaf, lit from below with a 21 Watt HID. Claudette bent the leaf so I could shoot it at a 3/4 angle to get some negative space in the left side of the frame. NO PHOTOSHOP VOODOO! This came out of the camera like this. I power the strobes way, WAY down to near zero. The Nudi (and the leaf) is lit from the bottom with Claudette's 21 Watt HID (sucks to be a solo diving photographer...) The strobe on top is simply fill light. The Nudi just glows!
Strobe Check - Claudette confirming that both strobes are firing. She looks like she's doing the twist!!!
Canyon Shots - there was this Star Wars narrow canyon that led down to an "M" shaped arch. Here are some canyon shots, with the bottom shot being Claudette in the M-shaped arch (essentially an arch with a strong hanging pinnacle.) Check the wacky halo on her light. I think its from the fog between the lens and the +2.
Into the mouth of the canyon (AKA: The Flying Diamond Shot!)
A little deeper into the canyon
End of the canyon
The M-shaped Arch
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Tanner and Cortes banks are a couple of famous open-ocean, off-shore sea mounts that rise out of the depths to very shallow depths, and during winter storms serve as the sites for big wave surfers looking for the 50' to 85' waves. In spring and summer, the area serves divers and fishermen.
As these sites are in the open ocean very far off-shore, any trip planned to the banks is always hit or miss.
We missed.
No biggie - in the middle of the night the boat made a right turn to dive San Clemente island for the two days.
Friday Evening - Arrived at H&M Landing in San Diego. I've been here a zillion times back when I was in the arms race (the years I spent multi-day long range fishing... a story for another time.) The memories came rushing back like a flood, as I haven't been here for some time. The boats at the landing, Excel, Red Rooster III, Bright & Morning Star and more - these boats are legends. Walking on the docks past them to the Horizon mooring stirred something that has been long dormant in me. The smells, the sights, the memories. It was glorious.
If you've never been to H&M Landing / Point Loma Sport Fishing, you owe it to yourself to go to "Day at the Docks" There is nothing like the San Diego Sportfishing fleet. The boats are huge palaces and the vibe is the best.
I should say here that the Horizon is on par with any of the boats in the fleet, and I've been on a couple of dozen of them. This boat is large, immaculate, well appointed, and very easy to dive. The crew is top notch from the dive masters to the deck hands to the galley (oops, "Salon") staff. This kind of operation starts from the top-down, and Capt Greg is a rock star. Hundreds of dives off of every local SoCal dive boat and many abroad - and this trip exceeded my expectations on every possible level.
Claudette and I were the only ones with Scooters on this trip. We boarded, dumped the gear and went off to dinner - with instructions to be back for a 9:30 PM departure. We got back, got on and after receiving the most thorough briefing ever, we were off.
Saturday - After a rock and roll night, we awoke at San Clemente. (the Horizon dive log is here: linky) San Clemente is one of my fav islands to dive. Its a bit far (about 5 to 6 hours depending on the boat and conditions) so taking a day boat out there is just wrong. I'm there each Labor day on a 3-dayer. This island's topography is so new and craggy and jagged. Lots of small and large swim-throughs, pinnacles, deep canyons and fissures. Its a scooter paradise, to be sure. Plus, as its "out there", you get some critters you don't get in the islands that are just off shore.
It was warm. Every dive was 57 to 60 degrees. Gotta love that. The water wasn't real clear, but it wasn't green. It was a dirty blue - so I didn't get to shoot too much with the wide angle. We did five dives on Saturday, with one of them being a Baboon Dive (if Monkey diving is tees and trunks in the red sea, I hereby name diving sidemount in 7mm wetsuits as Baboon diving. Deal wif it.) Claudette and I brought on 6 tanks - a couple of 130's (32 that was to be refilled with 32, 28 for a deeper dive and an AL80 with air for the Baboon dives.)
We did an AM dive, a mid-morning dive, an afternoon dive, then did the evening Baboon dive, then a night dive. Lots of Nudis (including a Polycera Tri-Color explosion) on all dives, and the smallest angel shark ever on the night dive. We found a Hermissenda on a kelp leaf and I did some more back-lit light box shots. I'm getting better at capturing these, and Claudette is getting better at lighting them. They are surreal.
Just great stuff. I love this kind of rapid-fire diving. 5 or 6 a day is what I train so hard for, and I love this!
Sunday - Three dives this day. The AM dive was spectacular. Fortunately we did two dives at this same site - so we got back on board and did the NASCAR quick change, I put on the wide angle and we got right back in. Unfortunately, the Salon was warm and moist by then and I got some fog between the lens and the screw-on 2X diopter. It made focusing difficult, and the images are a bit soft - but there is this really neat glow and starburst effect from Claudette's light. It looks photoshopped, but its not... I think its from the fog. I was having strobe firing troubles, so I only got a few shots of her.
The last dive of the trip was our deepest. It wasn't that deep, but it was amazing. Check the thermocline (the red box)... wow. At 93 feet the temp just suddenly dropped. The water didn't get any clearer (sadly) but it was very cool.
On this dive my strobes weren't firing at all. I took several shots of only one subject (the Tylo out running around) in natural light, with the AP wide open (nearly NO depth of field so I could get enough light.) Claudette offered some HID light, and I used my focus light, but at 1/50th of a second its a bit soft. Kinda cool, but there it is. So I schlepped a worthless cam around the whole last dive.
We saw about half-a-dozen Soupfin sharks near the end of the dive. I've never seen a shark this big in California. Very cool. Very sharky. We saw one, then two, then one, then one (I think the same one) then a group of four...
WHEW!
Great trip. Claudette, you continue to distinguish yourself as the Apex buddy. You are fit, you are focused, you are fun. No bettah buddy. None.
Some images below.
Full gallery here on Dive Matrix: Linkage
Enjoy.
---
Ken
=========================
Muh Muh Muh My Cuthona! This guy was literally flapping on a kelp branch. I took several shots as he moved along - sometimes you get lucky and you pin focus on a moving subject when you're sitting still.
Got about 4 or 5 shots of this McFarlands before he pulled his head up to look around a bit. I loved that this violet Nudi was on a bed of yellow-green algae. The contrast is what attracted me to the guy.
Another flapper. This Mexichromis was hanging from something that was on this scallop. He was like a pendulum. Again, its his bright blue color against the tan / white canvas that attracted me to this guy.
Smallest Tritonia Festiva ever! I've never shot one this small. What a round tiny-tunes cutie. They grow up into this: Phatty
Tylo on the run. I've seen TWO Tylodina fungina Nudis out in the open, not sitting on a yellow sulfur sponge. The first one I didn't have a camera with me, the second time (here) my strobes weren't firing. OY! Cool shot, just a bit soft and nearly zero (maybe 1/16") DOF (Check it out - he's pretty small and one rhinophore is IN focus, the other way OUT of focus...) Sometimes you improvise and it comes out OK!
Our second dive was filled with Polycera tricolor Nudis. This guy is a phatty just filled with eggs, looking for a place to burst!
Light Table Hermis - Hermissenda on a kelp leaf, lit from below with a 21 Watt HID. Claudette bent the leaf so I could shoot it at a 3/4 angle to get some negative space in the left side of the frame. NO PHOTOSHOP VOODOO! This came out of the camera like this. I power the strobes way, WAY down to near zero. The Nudi (and the leaf) is lit from the bottom with Claudette's 21 Watt HID (sucks to be a solo diving photographer...) The strobe on top is simply fill light. The Nudi just glows!
Strobe Check - Claudette confirming that both strobes are firing. She looks like she's doing the twist!!!
Canyon Shots - there was this Star Wars narrow canyon that led down to an "M" shaped arch. Here are some canyon shots, with the bottom shot being Claudette in the M-shaped arch (essentially an arch with a strong hanging pinnacle.) Check the wacky halo on her light. I think its from the fog between the lens and the +2.
Into the mouth of the canyon (AKA: The Flying Diamond Shot!)
A little deeper into the canyon
End of the canyon
The M-shaped Arch
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
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Great job.
