Asta1227
Contributor
Just got back from San Diego this afternoon after a very pleasant weekend of diving. My husband goes out to SD every month for Navy Reserves, so I thought I'd join him this weekend and get some diving in!
I went out on Saturday with Blue Escape to the Coronado Islands in Mexico waters. They have a decent operation and pretty nifty boats. I was on BlueEscape which has a spacious deck and a very nice heated salon. There are also bunks for people to nap. The crew was very nice. As it turns out I knew Robin the boat captain from another dive operation in San Diego, so it was nice to see a familiar face. They offer sweet rolls, coffee, juice and sodas for the 1.5 hr trip out to the islands. Also provided is hot soup and sandwiches between dives. On the way back to the dock, wonderful choclolate cake was offered. Bridget, watch out! They're taking over your territory!! There was a pretty thick marine layer over the water so visiblity was horrible on the way out. The boat is well- equipped w/ lots of navigation aids so that wasn't a real problem. Also, the hot shower on board was a nice touch to heat up after diving.
There were seven divers on board, I think the boat is rated for 15, but I could be mistaken. 7 divers is a perfect number, though!
I hired the DM to dive with me due to the fact my dive buddy was unable to dive. Our first dive was at a place called Rock Pile. Max depth was 40ft but a majority of the dive was at about 15ft. Bottom temp was about 58F. Vis was about 15ft This is a very nice spot w/ lots of rocks and crevices for critters to hide. We managed to attract a pretty large mob of garabaldi by banging some rocks together. This apparently mimics the sound of sea urchins being broken open so they gather pretty quickly. They're more ferocious than the Killer Perch of Clear Springs, believe it or not!! Also spotted a nice horn shark nestled in a crevice. I could only see his outline due to the fact I lost a contact . Luckily, the contact was saved once back on the boat.
The second dive was in a quiet, protected cove. Max depth was 35ft, with most of the dive at about 10-15ft. Temp 60F. There was quite a bit of bull kelp here, seveal sheepshead and tons of Garabaldi. Spotted a few sea hares and tons of wrasse. We were also visited by a harbor seal. He'd dip down and check us out, then somersault and shoot off somewhere. We watched each other for about 10 min before it was time for us to go.
Sunday I did a shore dive at the kelp forest at La Jolla Cove. I went out w/ a DM from OE Express in La Jolla Shores named Chris. He was awesome! I was very excited since this was my first kelp dive. It was much better than I ever expected! After a pretty hefty surface swim, we dropped down at the edge of the kelp to about 20ft. Temp was 56F, vis 10-15ft. We cruised through the kelp for a while and came upon 2 HUGE Giant Sea Bass. What a beautiful sight they were!! It was pretty fun to hang in the kelp and watch these 2 amazing creatures. We got about 4-5ft from them, which was pretty awesome!! We were also visited by a seal (or a sea lion...I'm not sure) who hung around for most of the 55minute dive. I'd swim for a little and feel a little tugging of my fin. Thinking I was caught on some kelp, I looked back to free my foot and find a little whiskered face looking back at me!
On the way back to shore, we came across the Giant Sea Bass again, plus one more. The seal I guess got a little curious about the Sea Bass and nosed one of them in tail fin. Needless to say..the Sea Bass was gone in a flash.
It was a great weekend and I plan on going back for some more in October. Overall, I was happy with Blue Escape, however, I was not happy with the DM. He was good on the boat, but turbo diver underwater and I felt as if I was chasing fins instead of enjoying my dive. My dive w/ OE Express's DM was great and he went at a perfect pace. I'd recommend Chris as a dive guide to anyone.
I went out on Saturday with Blue Escape to the Coronado Islands in Mexico waters. They have a decent operation and pretty nifty boats. I was on BlueEscape which has a spacious deck and a very nice heated salon. There are also bunks for people to nap. The crew was very nice. As it turns out I knew Robin the boat captain from another dive operation in San Diego, so it was nice to see a familiar face. They offer sweet rolls, coffee, juice and sodas for the 1.5 hr trip out to the islands. Also provided is hot soup and sandwiches between dives. On the way back to the dock, wonderful choclolate cake was offered. Bridget, watch out! They're taking over your territory!! There was a pretty thick marine layer over the water so visiblity was horrible on the way out. The boat is well- equipped w/ lots of navigation aids so that wasn't a real problem. Also, the hot shower on board was a nice touch to heat up after diving.
There were seven divers on board, I think the boat is rated for 15, but I could be mistaken. 7 divers is a perfect number, though!
I hired the DM to dive with me due to the fact my dive buddy was unable to dive. Our first dive was at a place called Rock Pile. Max depth was 40ft but a majority of the dive was at about 15ft. Bottom temp was about 58F. Vis was about 15ft This is a very nice spot w/ lots of rocks and crevices for critters to hide. We managed to attract a pretty large mob of garabaldi by banging some rocks together. This apparently mimics the sound of sea urchins being broken open so they gather pretty quickly. They're more ferocious than the Killer Perch of Clear Springs, believe it or not!! Also spotted a nice horn shark nestled in a crevice. I could only see his outline due to the fact I lost a contact . Luckily, the contact was saved once back on the boat.
The second dive was in a quiet, protected cove. Max depth was 35ft, with most of the dive at about 10-15ft. Temp 60F. There was quite a bit of bull kelp here, seveal sheepshead and tons of Garabaldi. Spotted a few sea hares and tons of wrasse. We were also visited by a harbor seal. He'd dip down and check us out, then somersault and shoot off somewhere. We watched each other for about 10 min before it was time for us to go.
Sunday I did a shore dive at the kelp forest at La Jolla Cove. I went out w/ a DM from OE Express in La Jolla Shores named Chris. He was awesome! I was very excited since this was my first kelp dive. It was much better than I ever expected! After a pretty hefty surface swim, we dropped down at the edge of the kelp to about 20ft. Temp was 56F, vis 10-15ft. We cruised through the kelp for a while and came upon 2 HUGE Giant Sea Bass. What a beautiful sight they were!! It was pretty fun to hang in the kelp and watch these 2 amazing creatures. We got about 4-5ft from them, which was pretty awesome!! We were also visited by a seal (or a sea lion...I'm not sure) who hung around for most of the 55minute dive. I'd swim for a little and feel a little tugging of my fin. Thinking I was caught on some kelp, I looked back to free my foot and find a little whiskered face looking back at me!
On the way back to shore, we came across the Giant Sea Bass again, plus one more. The seal I guess got a little curious about the Sea Bass and nosed one of them in tail fin. Needless to say..the Sea Bass was gone in a flash.
It was a great weekend and I plan on going back for some more in October. Overall, I was happy with Blue Escape, however, I was not happy with the DM. He was good on the boat, but turbo diver underwater and I felt as if I was chasing fins instead of enjoying my dive. My dive w/ OE Express's DM was great and he went at a perfect pace. I'd recommend Chris as a dive guide to anyone.
