November 04 Dive Reports

[divinman]

Date: 11/11/04
Dive Location: La Jolla Cove Rock Pile
Time: 1330
Bottom Time: 52:40
Max Depth: 43
Avr Depth: 30
Vis: 5-20
Wave height: flat in the cove, mild swells outside
Temp at depth: 59
Surface Temp: 64
Tide information: LOW, very Low
Comments:

Ryan, Jessica, George and I met at the Cove for a nice afternoon dive to the rock pile. All present and accounted for, we quickly suited up and before you could say Garibaldi we were kicking out from the stairs to the rock pile. Usually we like to hop in over at Alligator Head as the swim is shorter but the tide was sooo low that all the rocks in the cove were exposed and the eel grass was drying in the sun. Anywhooo, we kicked out at a leisurely pace until we got into the kelp and decided twas better to swim under than kelp crawl the rest of the way. Final checks done we dropped down to the bottom at about 27ft. Visibility was a milky 15-20ft. Turning our compasses almost due North we started toward our destination. As we proceeded a harbor seal joined us and stayed with us all the way out to the rock pile. Like a speckled ghost he would appear and then fade away again, curious to watch our clumsy attempts at transversing the undersea realm. Many large sheephead were seen at the pile today. Also a small Kelp crab, still young and yellow. LOADS of lobster, mostly shorts, were seen. Their size an obvious effect of the multitude of lobster traps strewn across the bottom.

We fanned out over the pile and explored the nooks and crannies while schools of mackerel, senoritas, blacksmith and zebra perch shimmered in the kelp around us. I was hoping to photograph an eel or two but they proved elusive today. However, while on my quest I did come across a large red octopus out of its home and perched on a rock watching our procession go by. He was quite calm as I approached and I took many pictures hoping to capture his "good" side. He did not retreat more than a few inches when I approached and if I ducked below the ledge, his eyes would appear above me, curious as to what I was doing. I said my bubbly good-byes and moved on.

Island kelp fish were seen to day, as was a single thorn-back ray in a sand channel. Life was everywhere.

Eventually we made the turn back south and finned slowly into the cove. When the surge picked up, we surfaced and kicked the rest of the way in as the gulls and pelicans sored over head. The tide was still low and made for a tricky walk out of the surf. Many hidden boulders and cracks to catch and twist an ankle here. We all made the exit safely and were soon climbing the stairs back to the cars and dry warm clothes.

It was a good day to dive.

Terry

 

[Reeveseye]

Date: 11-08-04
Dive Location: Casino Point
Time: 0910 (Dive #1), 1217 (Dive #2)
Bottom Time: 72 min (#1), 75 min (#2)
Max Depth: 45' (#1), 44' (#2)
Vis: 50' (#1), 40'-45' (#2)
Wave height: N/A
Temp at depth: 63
Surface Temp: 66
Tide information: +3 on dive #1, +1 on dive #2

Dive profile graphs attached below.

Comments: Although the weather was partly cloudy and a bit chilly, my wife and I had two great dives. Now that the water is cooling slightly and the park is less crowded (only two other divers there all day, not counting some snorkelers), vis is greatly improved. Saw some large schools of topsmelt on the way out to the buoy on both dives. We swam to the solo buoy slightly east of the stairs for the descent on our first dive, and headed east when we hit bottom. We spent the dive exploring the reef that heads back towards the breakwater from the Cousteau plaque, staying in the 30’ – 40’ range. Moderate current kept the kelp at an angle, but nothing serious – not like those days where the kelp is almost sideways and vis on the sand flats is next to nothing! There was a school of sargo hovering about 20' deep in the kelp - it always amazes me how this particular species schools in such a tight, coordinated group, turning and moving as though they're all controlled by one brain. It must have been a real summer of love for the fish, since babies were everywhere. Baby senoritas, sheephead, and blacksmith schooled by the hundreds, and blueband gobies the size of rice grains were all over the reef. "Oscar" the 3’+ sheephead showed up, but only hung around for a few minutes once he realized he wasn’t getting a handout today. The garibaldi are a lot less aggressive now that they don’t have to guard the nest anymore, since we could now get near the rocks without getting dive-bombed. Saw some kelp rockfish in the crevices, along with a few small treefish and a lobster. Giant kelpfish, both the yellow and brown-patterned ones, poked around in the low-growing shrub type plants along the bottom. Lots of rock wrasses and younger sheephead digging around in the sand, along with a rubberlip surfperch. We saw a very juvenile garibaldi as we headed back to the stairs, so young that he still had a completely blue head and back. Nice, easy exit, since the surge was light that day.

We descended one of the two buoys directly out from the stairs on dive #2, and initially headed west. My wife was queen of the octopus sightings on this dive, finding three of them in various crevices as we made our way in a long slow circle around the buoys that eventually took us past the Cousteau plaque and back to the eastern reef. The current was a little less on this dive, the kelp a little straighter, and the vis slightly decreased. More of the same critters we saw on dive #1. We found a C-O turbot in the shrub plants, and more giant kelpfish as well. The sheephead seemed to think the small focus light strapped to my external strobe was some kind of snack, judging by how often it got chomped whenever I tried to take a picture. We headed northeast from the Cousteau plaque, to the last rock outcropping before the sandy bottom begins. I’ve found a moray in one of its crevices on previous dives, and I wanted to see if he was still there. Sure enough, he was (or one who looked just like him ). We then turned and followed the reef inshore, slowly circling back toward the buoys. My wife found a zebra goby that actually held still long enough for us to get a good look at him, as opposed to the peripheral vision flash of retreating red and blue that’s usually all I ever see of them. After following a nicely spotted juvenile garibaldi for a minute or two, we headed in. We broke our bottom time record on this dive, staying below for 75 minutes on our aluminum 80s.

I didn’t take too may pictures on this dive, because I was concentrating on taking video instead. Nothing fancy, just the Quicktime movies you can take with my Oly C-750. I’m experimenting with making movies and putting them to music, and this was the first dive day where I’ve gathered enough underwater footage to do so. I finished editing the video and adding the music (“Let it Go” by Morcheeba), but I don’t have any web space of my own to host and share it with everyone. Since it’s my first attempt at movie/video production, however, that’s probably for the best.

 

[whalerkyle]

Date: 11-11-04
Dive Location: South Dana Point, 1/2 mile off shore
Time: 19:00
Bottom Time: 61 minutes
Max Depth: 40'
Vis: 15'+
Wave height: 2-3 and WINDY
Temp at depth: 60
Surface Temp: 61
Tide information: Incoming tide

Cool dive site we found with my new sonar/gps unit in the boat. We dropped to 40' and started exploring. This turned out to be one my most exciting dives! We were in hot pursuit of bugs, but we came across fields of scallops, so we all loaded up. (10 each) Not one bug for the first 25 minutes, then they just started to appear. During the bug hunt I found a hole with a nice Octopus(mouth started watering). At 45 minutes I found 2 brand new 10 pound anchors, STOKED! I shot a marker with a beacon to retreave them later.
Next I found something that I've been searching for in all my 6 years of diving, local Abalone. I lost count after 20. I don't know what is big or small, but I was so excited, I wish I had a camera.
Anywhoo, 3 divers, 9 bugs, 1 nice Octopus, 30 Scallops, and 2 new anchors. What an awsome night.

Kyle

 

[scottfiji]

Date: 11/11/04
Dive Location: La Jolla Cove Rock Pile

It was a good day to dive.

Terry

Nice clear pics! Yeah, its always nice to interact with the octopus. I'll bet if you give him your fingers, he would have tried to pull you into his lair...

 

[ScubaSeanMaui]

Need to find my Suunto serial interface, so here is my dive report minus the hard facts:

Time: Maybe 10am.
Dive Time: 40 minutes
Max Depth: Around 90 feet.
Temp: 63 or so.
Wave Height - 3-4 feet
Tide: It seemed high, but was receeding.
Surface: Beautiful cloudless day. Nice and warm!

We started out on the Diveanimals Panga, but due to 6+ foot swells, we elected to turn back and try another day. Brad, Terry, and I headed over to La Jolla Shores and did a dive on the North Wall.

Entry included diving under some 3+ foot waves until we got beyond the surf zone. We kicked out, checking our depth as we went, finding the East Wall and moving over to the to the peninsula. We dropped down into 60+ feet with 20+ feet of visibility. We swam north and headed down the slop to the Way North wall, which wall really more like a sandy hill. We swam along the hill encountering some tube dwelling anenomies, black-eyed Gobies, small blue-banded Gobies, and your ocassional small Yellow Tail swimming around. We hit the North Wall Point and encountered some rocks and holes in which I saw an octopus. We encounter a few rock scallops and some red Gorgonians at the point as well. We headed back southeast and started to encounter some vertical structure. We saw lots of juvinile and adult blacksmith
mixed in with several California Scorpionfish and one Cabazon. I saw another octopus in a hole, with Blacksmith all over the wall. As we progressed down the wall the Scorpionfish followed us, perching on a ledge even with us. He repeated this maneuver 2 times. We saw a really cute juvinile copper rockfish, a lobster, and a school of Top Smelt swimming by as we headed back to the surface. At that point Terry did his 50 foot stop and I continued on to 15 feet and did my 4 minute stop. I ended up surfacing in 15 feet of water, slightly west of the end of Scripps pier.I saw Terry down the beach so he was ok Brad was waiting for me to exit, which we did quite easily between sets.

Pictures: http://www.scubapost.net/gallery/shores11132004

Sean

 

[scottfiji]

MALIBU TO BAJA IN 10 MINUTES
.... find out how in dive #2 below...

Date: 11/13/04, Dive #1
Dive Location: Malibu Road
Time: 11:30AM
Bottom Time: 62 min
Max Depth: 36
Vis: 10-14 ft
Wave height: low
Tide information: 6.4 high at 8:44AM, -1.1 low at 4:06PM

Josh (rossjc) and I met up for a couple Malibu dives. Our first dive was great, lots of the usual suspects, 2 large navanax, many large spanish shawl, 10 or so octopus. I found a long friendly pipefish on the swim in who curled itself around my fingers for a minute, and then proceeded to swim down my entire body, in and out of my gear, and rest near my fin. Then this was repeated again when I gave him my hand a second time. It was a nice bonding experience. Also saw a couple moon snails, in full form, that was cool.

Date: 11/13/04, Dive #2
Dive Location: Point Dume
Time: 3:10PM
Bottom Time: 27 min
Max Depth: 48 ft
Vis: 20-25 ft+
Wave height: low
Tide information: 6.4 high at 8:44AM, -1.1 low at 4:06PM

Josh and I refilled tanks and went to point dume. Dive plan was to dive the submarine canyon to 75 feet. We figured we'd save the 20-30 minute swim to the pinnacles for another day. Entered at the cliff, started to surface swim out. Reached the pinnacles in about 2 minutes.

Who says LA county doesn't have public transportation?

Dropped down into 45 ft.depth, into the most amazing aquarium I've ever seen, fish of many species in every direction, at every possible level in the water column, feeding off the currents. Cool stuff! A large bat ray was spotted. We proceeded to use our biceps to pull ourselves around the pinnacle, fighting a current that had a G-force of around fifty. We found a 3-4 foot lingcod, a couple 2-3 foot cabezon, a horn shark, lemon nudibranch, sunflower star, octopus, and other plankton-sucking critters. Sensing we should head back sooner rather than later, we tried to go around the south end of the pinnacle to get back home, but that just wasn't happening. So after crawling over the top of it (the top of the pinnacle was in about 20-25 feet of water) and disturbing several painted greenling, we started back home. Strange, the kelp in this area was growing horizontally instead of vertically! After a few minutes our rate of progress slowed down to about 1 foot per minute, so we decided to flee to shore, rest up, and plot strategy. We made it into a small sandy cove that was just a few feet wide. A few minute climb over some rocks that ended up being easier than it looked placed us into the large sandy cove just east of the cliff. We then had an easy couple minute walk back to the car due to the minus tide that just happened to be occuring at that moment. Our legs had gotten quite a workout! I bet we could have got to Baja in only 10 minutes on that current, and it would have been cheaper than flying. (Backup plan was to go with the current, exit at dume cove and send someone back to get the car). It was quite an adventure!

Scott

 

[Diver_Jan]

Saturday AM

Surf: 0-2' initially, if that. On exit 2-3'

Temp: Cloudy, overcast, mild rain at times. A nice CHILLY 56-58 degrees at 15'.

Viz: 0-5' Pea Soup at the surface, lots of 'stuff' floating in the water.



Typically I would have not gone out in these conditions, however I was helping with a Rescue Class at Big Corona.

While playing the 'victim' I was enjoying watching all of the little creatures that surrounded me on the bottom. I spotted several decorator crabs, sand crabs, cusk eels, and in at least two spots...what appeared to be hundreds, maybe even 1000 baby hermit crabs!!! They were so cute. I had NEVER seen that many all together in one spot. It was like they were having an underwater convention. It was really neat to see all the different snail shells that these little guys were using as their homes. While admiring one particular group, I accidently put my hand down ontop of a good sized thornback ray that got startled and swam away.

Even though it was bad viz, I still had a great time!

 

[divinman]

Date: 11/13/04
Dive Location: Sean Dyer Wall
Time: 8ish AM
Bottom Time: 41
Max Depth: 119
Vis: solid 20ft sometimes better and CLEAR
Wave height: Moderate but manageable
Tide information: 6.4 high at 8:44AM

Images: La Jolla Shores

Sean, John, Ryan and I met at the life guard tower and started suiting up. Surf was up in anticipation of the competition being held at the shores today. We chatted as we geared up and watched the sets rolling in. Once in full regalia, we decided that the sets were far enough out to manage a safe entry and fins in hand we started into the water. As the last big roller came in we hustled forward until the feel started to lift off and from there we quickly pulled on the fins and started finning like mad men west and into the coming set. We timed it well and instead of a pounding we road the waves like a giant roller coaster. The horizon would rise up and then disappear as a light rain fell on us. John and I were the first ones outside the break and we paused for Sean and Ryan. Unfortunately Ryan had an equipment failure and had to scrap the dive. Sean made sure he was safely back on the beach and then kicked out to meet us. We three amigos continued our westerly progress until our lines ups on the cliffs and the depth gauge said we were there. Pausing for a breather and final gear checks we went over the dive plan again. The Claxon sounded DIVE DIVE DIVE...... and down we went. The water was clear today, little to no muck to muck up the visibility. We stopped just over the plateau and then turned back east to the edge of the wall.

This is rapidly becoming my favorite dive site here at the shores. The growth, diversity of life and structure of the cliffs are a join to explore. Sean spooked up a large halibut as we approached. It's massive silt cloud protecting it from the paparazzi flashing strobes. Dropping over the edge at 80ft I wondered...."hmmm, wonder what’s down THERE" as my eyes followed the sloped down into the darkness. Signally my buddies that I was going to check it out, we all moved down slope to about 120ft where a lone sheep crab was waiting to give me heck for showing up unannounced and uninvited. We turned back up the wall with the old curmudgeon still shaking its fist..err claw....at us.

Back on the wall we spotted octopus, sheephead, cabezon, scorpionfish and more. Tons of juvenile blacksmiths schooled in the caves and over the edge of the wall above. Sean found a small kelp crab on its own private oasis of kelp in the "dessert" of sand and silt. More exploring was done and more discoveries were made. As we followed the wall we came upon a crevice and recognized it at the deep crack that leads down to the secret gardens. Man we had covered some ground. We wanted to explore further but time was ticking and tanks were draining so we made an ascent to 30ft and headed for shore. We surfaced outside the break and waited for the lull. Timing was dead on and we removed our fins and strolled in to the beach. Quickly showing and dressing we headed for breakfast.

It was a good day to dive.

Terry

 

[JDog]

The eagle has landed. 11-14-2004 00:20

 

[divinman]

Date: 11/14/04
Dive Location: North Wall-La Jolla Shores
Time: 930
Bottom Time: 48
Max Depth: 87
Water temp was 61 at the surface and 52 at depth
Vis: 15-20
Wave height: Moderate, timing was everything.

Sean has the full report but here are a few hightlights. Went looking for the lost computer but no luck. It's a big ocean. Lots of octopus', tons of juvie fish, a smattering of nudibranchs and a couple of fringeheads to round it out. Cormorant buzzed us at 74ft. Deepest I have seen one. Man they are fast in the water.

Images are here La Jolla Shores Pictures

It's a good day to dive!


Terry S.