SoCal Dive Reports - Let us know about your dive!

[tdmp]

Site: Malaga Cove, L.A.
Date: Sunday April 8th, 2012 11AM
Conditions: Very calm, 1ft swells, no wind
Water Temp: 57F at surface, 52F at depth
Depths: Max 32', average 18'
BT: 55 minutes
VIS: 12-25'
Dive Buddy: Joe, John

We walked down the ramp, took the path past the Sports Club and entered the water near the drainage duct. Swam about 200 yards out since it was low tide and dropped down. Vis was very good for this site, improving as we swam SW towards the point. We saw at least a dozen horned sharks, just hanging out along the bottom and near rocky crevasses. Quite a few good-sized lobsters were out of thei holes as well. Many Kelp bass and senoritas out as well. Fortunately the exit was unexciting as we walked out (and crawled) over the rocks. I wouldn't want to make an exit here with much more than 2" swells. A little cool but overall great dive.

 

[asha]

Site: La Jolla Shores, San Diego
Date: Monday, April 30th, 2012 9:30am
Conditions: Calm, mostly ankle-slapper waves, no wind
Water Temp: 62F at surface, 53F at depth, with some pretty distinct thermoclines
Depths: Max 79', average 45'
BT: 57 minutes
VIS: 10-15'

A pleasant morning dive at the Shores with all of the usual daytime critters: sheep crab, nudibranchs, sea hares, rockfish, sheephead, etc. Didn't see anything big, but did spot a few squid eggs on the sand. In the canyon, spotted a nudibranch I've never seen before, later identified as Diaulula sandiegensis. Water temps dropped pretty abruptly from 61F at 55' to 56F at 65'. Visibility was passable but nothing to write home about. Overall a very nice dive; it was great to do a local shore dive again after several weeks where diving opportunities were restricted to weekend boat trips.

A few photos from the dive here: La Jolla Shores: The Usual Suspects

 

[asha]

Sites: Yukon, Ruby, Blue Tank Kelp
Date: Monday, May 28th
Conditions: 2-4' swell
Water Temp: 54-55F at depth
Depths: 89', 77', 64'
VIS: 15' with some snotty particulate on Yukon and Ruby, 15-20 in the kelp

Went out with Marissa for a 3-tank trip on Memorial Day. Gorgeous day to be outside, though the waves did seem to get bigger as the day went on. Water is getting warmer, with a 3F increase on the Yukon since last week. Saw a Mola Mola on the Yukon as well. Ruby was predictably surge-y, and predictably plagued with nudis. Green Tank had some beautiful blue water. Conditions overall seem to be improving some!

Photos: Wreck Alley and Kelp Memorial Day Dive Trip

 

[milbournosphere]

Sites: La Jolla Shores
Date: June 23/24
Conditions: 2-4' swell
Water Temp: 53f at depth
Depths: 60-65'
VIS: 10-15'

We dove the Shores on Saturday and Sunday. Went out from Pier 30 and went North on Saturday, south on Sunday. Visibility was not really good at all. That said, had a fun time testing out some new equipment and working out the kinks with my roommate, my new dive buddy. He just got certified last month. First dives with him in the open water. Had some equipment malfunctions...lost my Powershot S500 and a small dive light. If anyone finds the Powershot or a small blue Pelican Nemo LED light, PM me. ​

 

[drbill]

Trying to get back up to speed after slightly less than 100 dives last year. Should hit 40 this month alone... nowhere near the 60 or so I used to do a few years ago? Am I getting old? No, just socializing more between dives! All at Casino Point recently with plans for a few exotic trips when our waters chill.

 

[milbournosphere]

For those of us planning on diving the cove:
Shark News! La Jolla Cove – June 23, 2012 | Adventure Points Blog

...As I did this we spotted a couple Soupfin Sharks, Galeorhinus galeus, which were 6 – 8 feet above us. Then we spotted a couple big broad nosed Sevengill Sharks, Notorynchus cepedianus, one was circling us, the others swam by and ignored us. At one point, around 38 minutes into the dive, a Harbor Seal swam by, it was either before this or just after that one of the divers in my group thought he saw a Great White. He said he saw a shark with a pointy snout, baring its teeth and had a distinct color between the top and belly (dark on top, white underside). Another diver in our group gave me the ‘big fish’ signal followed by the traditional shark hand signal used by divers not long after we saw the Harbor Seal swim by. I decided at that point to take the group back to shore.

 

[billt4sf]

We dove earlier this week at Catalina, two days at the Dive Park and one day from a boat. These were our first dives in Catalina Island and we liked it. Water temp was 66 degrees we heard and there was some swell which contributed to my wife becoming seasick (she was wearing the scopolomine patch which normally works very well for her but this time, and after coming home, she has some problems).

The first day we had two dives with a guide as we are novice divers and we had never dived without a guide before. This was Steve from Scuba Luv and he was GREAT. The second day we dove without the guide and had no problems, saw fewer critters and we are novices but enjoyed it more. I was glad to see that the Dive park was more open to the ocean and away from the pollution at Avalon beach which is rated as the most polluted in the State.

Over all the dive park is good -- BUT limited. I look forward to going diving in Catalina again but I would not race down there from SF to go diving in the dive park again. The facilities at the park are just OK. The bathrooms are old, smelly, and need repair. Next time we need to bring a mat so that we are not standing on the asphalt of the car park while changing. I didn't check out the showers but I know what I am going to find.

We really enjoyed going through the kelp (new to us) but it did scare my wife a couple times as she couldn't see me at all times. Also we need to learn how to use an underwater compass -- any recommendations on what to purchase? We took the AOW course but there is nothing "advanced" about our diving -- I think the course is mis-named.

I thought the ins and outs at the park were fine (though my wife did fall once and really struggled to get up with all that weight).

Overall I hope we can get used to the COLD at Monterey so we don't have to go so far to dive!

 

[Seal Rock]

South Laguna, Salt Creek area. 10-20, mostly 10-15. Water 64F surface, 58 at 25'. SW swell. No fish.

 

[geoff w]

Site: Deer Creek
Date: Mornings of Saturday Oct 27 2002 & Sunday Oct 28 2002
Conditions: Calm, warm Santa Anas, no wind, small surf, light surge and current
Water Temp: 64F surface, 59F at 30' (water only recently got cold)
Depth: 30'
Bottom Time: 60+ minutes both days
VIS: 30± '
Dive buddy: Alvin (Sat, Sun), Kendall (Sun)

Flat water and warm Santa Ana conditions made for ideal beach diving. Saturday went west to kelp forest from steps. Lots of life throughout the rocky terrain. A few sea lions, large bat ray, good size single lobsters in the rocks. Gorgeous dive. We did a repeat on Sunday, with Kendall joining us this time, but went east to a different kelp bed due to divers spearfishing at our Saturday spot. Very different sea life - fewer big fish, but equally spectacular conditions, fewer lobster, lots of crab. The only reason we ended the dives was because we were getting cold after an hour

 

[geoff w]

Site: Pt Dume Pinnacles
Date: Morning November 4, 2002
Conditions: Calm, warm, no wind, small surf, no current
Water Temp: 64F
Depth: 20-50'
Bottom Time: 50 minutes
VIS: 50± '
Dive buddy: Alvin, Kendall

The day before at Deer Creek was fantastic (water warmed back up a little, 30 ft viz), hardly any tidal change, so we headed for Pt Dume this morning. Water was flat, no current, easy to see bottom detail from when we entered the water until we got to the pinnacles after about 14 minute surface swim. Dropped down and swam counter clockwise around the outside. Best visibility I've ever seen here - looking out toward the canyon and seeing detail a long ways off. Easy to see all the different rock structure between pinnacles, and no surge inside the pinnacles. So much to see - a number of big lobster (it's a protected area), tons of fish, ranging from juveniles to really large Sheephead, octopus, nudibranch, many horn sharks, and all the local California coastal fish. First time I've seen many juvenile Garibaldi here. Even had a cormorant come down to check up out. Definitely the best beach dive of my life Kendall said it wasn't as good as San Clemente Island, but fantastic nevertheless!