Rainer
Contributor
Having recently spent a week in the warmer waters of Roatan (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bay-islands/370556-roatan-trip-report-photos-videos.html), Jen (jenth) and I were looking at an easy transition back into local SoCal diving. We thought a day out on the Spectre would be perfect, and Nicole (ligersandtions) was happy to join us. We were scheduled to go out this past Saturday, but due to strong winds, Captain Ted canceled, so we simply moved our reservations over to Sunday. We carpooled up on Saturday night, and after a freezing night's sleep (temperatures were down in the 30sF!), we awoke to the sound of people boarding. Our friend John was DMing, and we looked forward to swapping recent dive stories on the trip out. Soon enough, we were off toward Anacapa Island. We'd each brought a pair of scooter batteries, and the plan was to scooter all four dives. I'd shoot video on the first two.
Going to take the dives out of order, so I can focus momentarily on our favorite. For our second dive, Ted put us on Underwater Arch. Even before we dropped anchor, we could see a large raft of sea lions eagerly awaiting our arrival. We quickly geared up and jumped in. Within seconds of descending, the sea lions were upon us. For the next 50 minutes, we flipped, barrel rolled, and twisted our brains out. They seemed to love the scooters (and our attempts to match their acrobatics) and would follow us wherever we headed. This was one of my all time favorite and most memorable dives. I was awed. [Videos should now play on mobile devices.]
[vimeo]20507429[/vimeo]
Our first dive wasn't half bad either. To get the day off on the right foot, we started at Coral Reef. Vis was an excellent 30-35'. Tons of Corynactis make this one of the most colorful reefs I've seen on Anacapa. What was most striking, however, was that the entire site was just carpeted with brittle stars. It was as if every inch of reef consisted of waving arms. Nudis were also out in force, and from all their eggs, seems like they're having a good time. Other highlights included: a few decent sized schools of blacksmith, a huge ling cod, lobsters in every other crevice, cabezon, and several treefish.
[vimeo]20505379[/vimeo]
Third dive was at Surveyor's Rock. It's an urchin barren. Other than the single large (and what appeared to be pregnant) horn shark, this dive was a throw away.
At this point, Jen was cold (slight dry glove leak), so it was just me and Nicole for the fourth dive. We were anchored at Underwater Island, one of my favorite Anacapa sites. In we went, and down the anchor line, to the reef below. Visibility was about 25'. We started off with a quick lap around the "island", then kicked around for awhile. We found the usual suspects: various nudis, lobsters, garibaldi, a huge school of blacksmith, and a couple of treefish. After 25 minutes, we appeared to have the site to ourselves. We circled the reef a few more times, and cut through the few channels that dot her. After 50 minutes, I was getting cold, so we called it a day and headed up.
Overall, just a fabulous trip. The second dive with the sea lions was truly spectacular. Not something I'll soon forget.
Going to take the dives out of order, so I can focus momentarily on our favorite. For our second dive, Ted put us on Underwater Arch. Even before we dropped anchor, we could see a large raft of sea lions eagerly awaiting our arrival. We quickly geared up and jumped in. Within seconds of descending, the sea lions were upon us. For the next 50 minutes, we flipped, barrel rolled, and twisted our brains out. They seemed to love the scooters (and our attempts to match their acrobatics) and would follow us wherever we headed. This was one of my all time favorite and most memorable dives. I was awed. [Videos should now play on mobile devices.]
[vimeo]20507429[/vimeo]
Our first dive wasn't half bad either. To get the day off on the right foot, we started at Coral Reef. Vis was an excellent 30-35'. Tons of Corynactis make this one of the most colorful reefs I've seen on Anacapa. What was most striking, however, was that the entire site was just carpeted with brittle stars. It was as if every inch of reef consisted of waving arms. Nudis were also out in force, and from all their eggs, seems like they're having a good time. Other highlights included: a few decent sized schools of blacksmith, a huge ling cod, lobsters in every other crevice, cabezon, and several treefish.
[vimeo]20505379[/vimeo]
Third dive was at Surveyor's Rock. It's an urchin barren. Other than the single large (and what appeared to be pregnant) horn shark, this dive was a throw away.
At this point, Jen was cold (slight dry glove leak), so it was just me and Nicole for the fourth dive. We were anchored at Underwater Island, one of my favorite Anacapa sites. In we went, and down the anchor line, to the reef below. Visibility was about 25'. We started off with a quick lap around the "island", then kicked around for awhile. We found the usual suspects: various nudis, lobsters, garibaldi, a huge school of blacksmith, and a couple of treefish. After 25 minutes, we appeared to have the site to ourselves. We circled the reef a few more times, and cut through the few channels that dot her. After 50 minutes, I was getting cold, so we called it a day and headed up.
Overall, just a fabulous trip. The second dive with the sea lions was truly spectacular. Not something I'll soon forget.
