fnfalman
Contributor
Fellow SoCal Divers,
What's with moving to Houston and suffered a herniated disc (C6-C7), I was land bound for six months. The last dive I did was in December 2014.
I was on the Explorer heading towards Anacapa but the wind blew us out so the boat went to Santa Cruz instead. I was most elated to see kelps on the surface!!! Not as plentiful as I would have preferred but kelp canopies nonetheless!!! Viz was a tasty 60-ft at Pink Ribbon, and more typical SoCal 20-ft at the second dive site which we did the final two dives of the day. Alas, I skipped the name of the second dive site.
Water was a freeeeeeeezzzzzzzing 61-F at the second dive site. At Pink Ribbon, my dive computer indicated 64-F at depth.
It was simply breathtaking to be under the Channel Islands water again after half a year of no diving. I fumbled for about five minutes at the beginning of the first dive but after that, I settled down into the same rhythm. The 80-CUFT tank still lasted me nearly an hour with 500-psi or more to spare.
The ferocious Garibaldis bumping me and making those percussion sounds as I got too close to their nests. Inquisitive blacksmiths - I was able to pinch the tail of one that got too close to me. Moray eels, calicos, giant kelp fish, treefish, sculpins, cleaner shrimps, rock fish and the gobies. Who could forget the black eyed and neon gobies? Alas, no rays or flat fish that I could find even though I scoured the sand.
The nudies. Yes, it always comes to the nudies. I found a lonesome Clown, several Spanish Shawls and a bevy of Porter's. So happy to see the nudies!!!
Anyway, with a lot of physical therapy, the orthopedic surgeon and physical therapists let me go diving again and I'll be back to SoCal for another quick four-days weekend comes the end of July. And yes, I will be hittin' it like Aquaman.
What's with moving to Houston and suffered a herniated disc (C6-C7), I was land bound for six months. The last dive I did was in December 2014.
I was on the Explorer heading towards Anacapa but the wind blew us out so the boat went to Santa Cruz instead. I was most elated to see kelps on the surface!!! Not as plentiful as I would have preferred but kelp canopies nonetheless!!! Viz was a tasty 60-ft at Pink Ribbon, and more typical SoCal 20-ft at the second dive site which we did the final two dives of the day. Alas, I skipped the name of the second dive site.
Water was a freeeeeeeezzzzzzzing 61-F at the second dive site. At Pink Ribbon, my dive computer indicated 64-F at depth.
It was simply breathtaking to be under the Channel Islands water again after half a year of no diving. I fumbled for about five minutes at the beginning of the first dive but after that, I settled down into the same rhythm. The 80-CUFT tank still lasted me nearly an hour with 500-psi or more to spare.
The ferocious Garibaldis bumping me and making those percussion sounds as I got too close to their nests. Inquisitive blacksmiths - I was able to pinch the tail of one that got too close to me. Moray eels, calicos, giant kelp fish, treefish, sculpins, cleaner shrimps, rock fish and the gobies. Who could forget the black eyed and neon gobies? Alas, no rays or flat fish that I could find even though I scoured the sand.
The nudies. Yes, it always comes to the nudies. I found a lonesome Clown, several Spanish Shawls and a bevy of Porter's. So happy to see the nudies!!!
Anyway, with a lot of physical therapy, the orthopedic surgeon and physical therapists let me go diving again and I'll be back to SoCal for another quick four-days weekend comes the end of July. And yes, I will be hittin' it like Aquaman.
