Roughwaterjohn
Contributor
La Jolla Cove, July 10th
Info:
Warm, slightly overcast morning, clearing to sunshine at the end of the dive.
Moderate swells in the Cove, 5-7 in a set, spaced 1 ½ minutes between sets.
2.25 tide, decreasing on a 0.8 knot ebb to 1.8 @ 10:37AM.
Moderate to heavy surge on the bottom.
Visibility averaged 5-7, with occasional spots of 10.
Water temperature was 68 degrees on the surface, 66 degrees at depth.
Maximum depth was 35 fsw, with an average depth of 24 fsw.
Total bottom time was 40 minutes.
Photos:
I was a tour guide today, so there are no photos, only memories.
Here's a link to some of Terry's photos
http://img36.photobucket.com/albums/v109/divinman/LJ Cove 071004/
The Report:
Terry, Paul, Leila, Andrew, Mark and I met up at the Cove today, for a Saturday morning dive. With the exception of my dive buddy extraordinaire Terry; the other divers had not been to the Cove before. The tide wasnt very high today, with moderate swells filling the Cove. There was a large patch of loose kelp floating in the center of the Cove. That, combined with several large areas of white foam sitting on the surface, told Terry and I that we would probably encounter surge on the bottom, but it was still greater than we expected.
Terry timed the sets for us, so when he said go, we did, taking advantage of an easy entry and a smooth kick out passed the Cove entrance. We dropped down into greenish, surgy water at 22 fsw, with approximately 5 of visibility. With this visibility and the surge to contend with, we decided against heading east along the bluffs. Instead, we headed out almost due north towards deeper water, hoping for better visibility.
We spotted a Sheepcrab as soon as we started out, something we would see several more of throughout the dive. The surge was causing the surf grass and kelp to sway back and forth as we encountered them in the low visibility, so our path, although northward, was circuitous. The surge was also pushing us off course to the west, which we had to account for. We found several Lobster dens, a couple of Sea Hares, a few Rock Wrasse and a couple of Black Perch.
Passed the 30 fsw mark, visibility started to decline rather than improve, as we had hoped. By 35 fsw, we decided to head back, now looking forward to 5-7 of visibility, as it would be an improvement over what we were currently swimming in. I let the current and surge push us towards the west, figuring we could check out the area between the Cove and Alligator Head, before heading back in. We were rewarded by an increase of 3 more feet of visibility in that area, and we also started seeing quite a few Garibaldi, something I hadnt noticed we had been missing until they showed up.
We explored the rocks and kelp, finding more Lobster, in addition to Keyhole Limpets, Senoritas, small Rockfish and a 5 Kelpfish tucked against a rock. We saw more Rock Wrasse and one medium sized Opaleye. Heading back, we were working against the surge now, so our progress was slower. Soon after reaching the Cove entrance and heading in, the surge picked up a little more, we encountered larger and thicker patches of swaying surf grass, and the floating debris picked up. With this combination, and the short distance to the beach, we popped up and swam in the rest of the way on the surface.
It was an easy, if at times ungraceful exit, and soon we were on the grass at the top of the stairs and heading to shower the coarse sand and grit out of our equipment. We shoved our gear back in our vehicles, then Terry and I walked up the hill towards the Caves and the Shell Shop, to see how the participants in the 3Rs were doing at Goldfish Point. Once down on the rocks, we saw a small Green Moray, trapped in a tide pool with a batch of Anemones. There was another, slightly larger Moray laying on the rocks near the pool, dead, with a hook in its mouth and fishing line wrapped around its body. We could do nothing for the entangled Moray, and the one in the pool was low enough in the rocks that the next high tide would allow it to escape to open water. Not wanting to encounter its teeth as it misunderstood our intentions, we let it be, allowing nature to be its rescuer.
John-Boy
Info:
Warm, slightly overcast morning, clearing to sunshine at the end of the dive.
Moderate swells in the Cove, 5-7 in a set, spaced 1 ½ minutes between sets.
2.25 tide, decreasing on a 0.8 knot ebb to 1.8 @ 10:37AM.
Moderate to heavy surge on the bottom.
Visibility averaged 5-7, with occasional spots of 10.
Water temperature was 68 degrees on the surface, 66 degrees at depth.
Maximum depth was 35 fsw, with an average depth of 24 fsw.
Total bottom time was 40 minutes.
Photos:
I was a tour guide today, so there are no photos, only memories.
Here's a link to some of Terry's photos
http://img36.photobucket.com/albums/v109/divinman/LJ Cove 071004/
The Report:
Terry, Paul, Leila, Andrew, Mark and I met up at the Cove today, for a Saturday morning dive. With the exception of my dive buddy extraordinaire Terry; the other divers had not been to the Cove before. The tide wasnt very high today, with moderate swells filling the Cove. There was a large patch of loose kelp floating in the center of the Cove. That, combined with several large areas of white foam sitting on the surface, told Terry and I that we would probably encounter surge on the bottom, but it was still greater than we expected.
Terry timed the sets for us, so when he said go, we did, taking advantage of an easy entry and a smooth kick out passed the Cove entrance. We dropped down into greenish, surgy water at 22 fsw, with approximately 5 of visibility. With this visibility and the surge to contend with, we decided against heading east along the bluffs. Instead, we headed out almost due north towards deeper water, hoping for better visibility.
We spotted a Sheepcrab as soon as we started out, something we would see several more of throughout the dive. The surge was causing the surf grass and kelp to sway back and forth as we encountered them in the low visibility, so our path, although northward, was circuitous. The surge was also pushing us off course to the west, which we had to account for. We found several Lobster dens, a couple of Sea Hares, a few Rock Wrasse and a couple of Black Perch.
Passed the 30 fsw mark, visibility started to decline rather than improve, as we had hoped. By 35 fsw, we decided to head back, now looking forward to 5-7 of visibility, as it would be an improvement over what we were currently swimming in. I let the current and surge push us towards the west, figuring we could check out the area between the Cove and Alligator Head, before heading back in. We were rewarded by an increase of 3 more feet of visibility in that area, and we also started seeing quite a few Garibaldi, something I hadnt noticed we had been missing until they showed up.
We explored the rocks and kelp, finding more Lobster, in addition to Keyhole Limpets, Senoritas, small Rockfish and a 5 Kelpfish tucked against a rock. We saw more Rock Wrasse and one medium sized Opaleye. Heading back, we were working against the surge now, so our progress was slower. Soon after reaching the Cove entrance and heading in, the surge picked up a little more, we encountered larger and thicker patches of swaying surf grass, and the floating debris picked up. With this combination, and the short distance to the beach, we popped up and swam in the rest of the way on the surface.
It was an easy, if at times ungraceful exit, and soon we were on the grass at the top of the stairs and heading to shower the coarse sand and grit out of our equipment. We shoved our gear back in our vehicles, then Terry and I walked up the hill towards the Caves and the Shell Shop, to see how the participants in the 3Rs were doing at Goldfish Point. Once down on the rocks, we saw a small Green Moray, trapped in a tide pool with a batch of Anemones. There was another, slightly larger Moray laying on the rocks near the pool, dead, with a hook in its mouth and fishing line wrapped around its body. We could do nothing for the entangled Moray, and the one in the pool was low enough in the rocks that the next high tide would allow it to escape to open water. Not wanting to encounter its teeth as it misunderstood our intentions, we let it be, allowing nature to be its rescuer.
John-Boy
Hope to be diving Sunday evening at the Shores.
