SoCal Dive Reports - Let us know about your dive!

[mellowwee]

Dive Site:Catalina: Krolls, Empire Landing, Eagle reef
Date:1/30/15
Conditionsartly cloudy, 65 degrees, calm seas
Water Temp:62
Visibility:70-100
Dive Buddys:Brian (my son)
Commentsive boat Sundiver Express (highly recommended)

 

[mellowwee]

Dive Site:Catalina: Isthmus Reef, Krolls, Nooks and Crannies
Date:2/15/15
Conditions:sunny, 66 degrees, calm seas
Water Temp:61-64
Visibility:70+ to 100+ in one spot
Dive Buddys:New buddies John and Gonzalo
Comments

ive boat Sundiver Express (highly recommended)

If you haven't been to Catalina lately you are missing great diving. Try the Sundiver Express.

Isthmus reef has a nice wall, starts at a shallow reef around 15-20 ft and drops off to 80 feet.

 

[mellowwee]

This report is for the 3 day trip aboard the Truth with Channel Islands Dive Adventures. Begg Rock, San Nicholas, San Clemente May 23-25

Dive Site:Begg Rock
Date:May 23
Conditions:Ocean Conditions. Moderate swell 4-6 foot, Winds at 20mph.
Water Temp:I dont know
Visibilityoor
Dive Buddys:
Comments:After a rough overnight trip out of Long Beach we anchored on the rock, about half the boat was sick including me, I geared up, about 5-6 of the more adventurous divers jumped in and within 2-3 minutes divers started returning with reports or poor visibility even past 100 ft, strong surge and they had a high degree of difficulty getting back on the swim step. The gates were closed and we left for San Nicholas. The dives at San Nicholas were not very remarkable, the conditions were still pretty poor, the water temp was about 58, visibilty was 20 feet, and a strong current scatterred about 6-8 divers several hundred yards down current, fortunately the skiff was alwas in the water and ready, and the divers were recovered in good condition by the expert crew.

Dive Site:San Clemente Island. Pyramid Rock, Neptunes Wall, Fish Hook X 2
Date:May 24
Conditions:Mild to no swell, light wind
Water Temp:62-64
Visibility:30-50
Dive Buddys:Ken, Brian, AJ, Kathy, Cindy
Commentsyramid rock has very nice steps, from 90 feet up to 30 feet, very healthy kelp, black seabass was seen (not by me). Fish hook has nice wall from 100 FSW up to 20, strong current, lots of lobster, we dove this twice and anchored up for the night.

Dive Site:San Clemente Island. 8 fathom pinnacle, second boiler,
Date:May 25
Conditions:Ocean Conditions. Light swell Winds at 5-10 mph.
Water Temp:62-64
Visibility:20-40 feet
Dive Buddys:BJ, AJ, Kathy and Cindy
Comments:The original plan was to dive Santa Barbara Island the third day, but after hearing reports of swell, wind and small craft warnings we decided to stay at San Clemente. Dove the pinnacle first thing in the morning, depths started at 65 and dropped to 120, moderate surge, pretty dark, there was a vertical crack with about 50 lobster in it, some people dove the arch, for me a challenging dive.

The two dives a second boiler were the highlight of the trip, lots of canyons and spires, a very lush kelp forest at 50-60 foot depth, nice arch and a couple of swim throughs.

The Truth was a great boat, good crew and captain, would dive again in a heartbeat, food was good, hot showers, bunk was a little small which was my only complaint.

Channel Islands Dive Adventures was a great group, I showed up solo after my dive buddy couldn't make it, I was welcomed to dive with several different groups, and everybody was fun and nice, I felt very welcomed and can't wait for the next trip.

 

[KRL1973]

Was down in SOCAL for a family vacation to Disneyland and managed to get a couple days in San Pedro and do some shore diving in Palos Verdes. Thur 6/25 did Old Marineland entering at the cobble beach and diving along and out to the point. Vis was varied from 15-20 ft. Enjoyable site with nice structure in some places. On return went in shallower and found some very warm spots in 15-20 ft depth. Made me wonder if I was experiencing something similar to what has been well documented at a different site nearby by with underwater hot springs. My how I wish we had something like that at our Norcal sites where it can be very cold!

The following morning did the same location but it was calm enough to enter from the rocks at the point. Vis was only 10-15ft and there was a pretty strong current running west, parallel to shore. It was strong enough to make me alter my plan to go straight out and instead turned into the current and went in and around the point towards the cobble beach and found some relief from the current there and slightly improved vis.

That afternoon did a second from the cobble beach again but this time turned left away from the point. Not much current and vis 15-20ft. Initially this area seemed disappointing but I soon had a nice encounter with a bat ray and the structure improved dramatically including an arch about 3ft high and 6ft wide. My understanding is that in this direction spearfishing is permitted so I was surprised by the number and size of fish I encountered here including a mature male sheephead and numerous good sized calicos and sand bass. On my return over the sand I was treated to 2 halibut encounters as well. ( I have only encountered a halibut once previously in over a hundred dives in California despite looking for them).

The Terranea Resort site is a gorgeous and with a dolly to tote my equipment to and from the entry I found access to be rather convenient . Fun couple of days diving this area for the first time. Thanks to Pacific Wilderness Dive shop for air fills and having detailed shore diving site info online for the area. Posts by 'MaxBottomtime' also very helpful -Thanks.
-hope to visit again sometime

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Although spearfishing is allowed to the left of the hotel when facing the ocean, only pelagic species like white seabass and yellowtail may be taken. Reef fish, lobsters, urchins and pretty much everything you will usually find there is still protected. I'm glad you enjoyed it. It really is much nicer having pavement and graded trails with a restroom and shower midway.

 

[KRL1973]

posted video from my diving
https://youtu.be/xGHyD9uQEsc

 

[Ready4Launch]

Dive Site: Anacapa - Landing Cove, Canyons, & Winfield Scott

Date: 02Jul15

Conditions: Overcast then becoming sunny by noon, <3' swell

Water Temp: 63F

Visibility: 40'+

Dive Buddys: Bob & Dean

Comments:

It was a great day on the Peace Dive Boat. My first time on the Peace and my first of two consecutive days of diving. I like this boat probably the best of the bunch out of Ventura.

First dive was at Landing Cove, and while the third person in our group recently took a refresher course and was making his first boat dive in 20 years and ultimately did not wear enough weight to make it to the bottom while we waited, we were treated to all of the life coming to us basically. Lots of fish. Tiny crabs floating through the water as we descended. Two of us got to the bottom and looking up at our third buddy, we watched him surface and swim back to the boat. Not knowing if he was coming back down, we waited at the bottom of the line. Next thing we know a sea lion cruises by and is playing some acrobatic games right in front of us. Literally right after that, I spotted a HUGE outline right around the distance of the visibility. Giant Black Seabass!!! There were 3 or 4 of them in a group, and one turned towards us. Swam straight towards me to within 10' and then turned off towards Dad & his daughter who proceeded to scream through her regulator. This was my first time seeing GBS, and when we were back on the boat, others said that it was a juvenile and not even an adult. Holy cow -- incredible!!! So cool. We eventually swam off after 15 minutes of waiting and our 3rd had still not come down the line. As we're swimming over towards the swim-thru, the sea lion swims alongside of us, stops in front of us, sits up, blows bubbles at us, and pukes up some kind of phlegm or puke. Kinda cool and kinda gross at the same time. Proceeded to nose around the rocks. Went through the swim through and started around. As my buddy was leading, he started emphatically pointing, and we had come upon a bunch of bat rays. Looked like momma with her kiddos. There were about 4 or 5 smaller ones that were swimming all around us, and the bigger one wasn't deterred by our presence. Looked like it was munching on something. We continued on, and as I pushed some kelp out of my face, one of the rays almost swam right into my mask. Since I've only been certified since Feb, this dive was pretty much the coolest thing ever. Back up to the boat and found our 3rd, who finally acquiesced to the fact that 18 lbs wasn't enough weight!

Canyons was decent. Lots of sand dollar beds. Pretty fun swimming through all of the kelp. Spotted 2 spiny lobsters. Spotted another GBS, but only enough to make out the outline. Fairly surgey since this site is pretty shallow for the areas most go exploring through.

Winfield Scott was another new one for me, and it was pretty similar to Canyons. Lots of thick kelp to swim through. Spotted a bunch of spiny lobsters on this one!!! Spotted a harbor seal towards the end as we were going up.


Dive Site: Anacapa - Zebra Cove and 2 dives at Canyons

Date: 03Jul15

Conditions: Overcast most of the day with the sun only peaking out sometime after 2pm, 3-4 swell at the start of the last dive; otherwise it wasn't that bad; whitecaps going back to the harbor

Water Temp: 63F

Visibility: started out around 40' and got worse through the day -- visibility by the last dive was down to 10' probably

Dive Buddys: Chris

Comments:

This day of diving was not nearly as good as the previous day, but it was still fun. The day was disrupted due to divers that were caught up in current that swept in during the first dive, a broken clutch for the winch, and an anchor extraction. It took a bit to retrieve a couple folks who were being swept westward in the current, and then with everyone aboard, that's when the anchor problems started. We ended up standing around on the deck for about 2.5 hrs before the boat moved. I think the boat was actually heading out to Santa Cruz, but the captain changed his mind as we came to the west end of Anacapa. This all lead to going to Canyons to do 2 consecutive dives, which for me wasn't that great since I had just been at that site the day before.

Anyhow, Zebra Cove ... not too much to see other than Garibaldi and brittle stars. Lots of brittle stars. We turned around after swimming towards the west, and probably about half way back to the boat, the current really picked up. Started ascending to our safety stop, and the current was just rippin! I looked back, saw my dive buddy, kicked as hard as I could to stay along side some kelp, grabbed onto it, looked back, and my buddy was gone. Finished my 3 minutes, came to the surface, and I was actually on the upstream side of the boat (meaning my navigation wasn't the greatest). Swam over, and found my buddy onboard, who apparently popped to the surface and had trouble with his AL80. Shortly after being on the boat, more people popped to the surface, and into the water went the dive master with his boogie board.

Back to Canyons, and we did more kelp swimming. Spotted a bunch of lobsters. Spotted a bat ray and really wanted to continue in the direction he swam off, but it was time to turn the dive. Navigated my way right back to the anchor! Back on the boat, and chowed on some chicken and rice for lunch. I do have to say that both the Spectre and Peace do some great lunches. The chicken on the Spectre was awesome. The day before on the Peace, the cook put together some steak and beef for some killer burritos. Both also had brownie ice cream sundaes for dessert. #muchdelight Back in the water for our third dive after the crew rushed to fill tanks. Since we were running behind on the day's schedule, they kept the gates open for people to get back in the water as quickly as they wanted to get the third dive. We went in search of a reported octopus, but only found lobsters. I spotted a harbor seal cruise by twice. Lots more kelp swimming. Some decent size sea hares. But, about half-way through this dive, the visibility was getting to be awful. Decent surge on both of these dives too, and when we got to the surface, the swell and wind had come up considerably.

All in all, not the best day, but it was still fun.

 

[Ready4Launch]

Dive Site: Leo Carillo North Beach
Date: 15Aug2015
Conditions: Beach dive, 2.5' swell max, light wind, sunny, right before high tide
Water Temp: Low 60's?
Visibility: Poor
Dive Buddys: Two bodies
Comments: First time diving Leo Carrillo, and I was looking forward to diving Sequit Point. Unfortunately, I did not realize how far away the parking was from the trails to the stairs to get down to it. Actually, I would not have cared about making the walk in all the gear, but I had a whiner with me, who wasn't going to do it. That basically forced myself and coaxed the other into going off the beach. Visibility within the first 100 yards from the beach was terrible. It improved only slightly out to 150 yds from the beach at the surface. Once we made it out about that far, we dropped down in about 18' of water. Visibility at the bottom was probably 5'. Encountered some small lobsters. One even buzzed my shoulder. Kelp bass. Urchins. Kelp. Hardly anything else. We got down to 25' at our deepest, and visibility probably increased to about 10-12' at best the whole time. Swam through some kelp. Had some other drama occur during this dive that made this a one tank day instead of two that also made me realize how much more judicious I need to be in choosing who to dive with. Even without seeing anything, I would have enjoyed just blowing more bubbles and swimming through the kelp for a second dive, because there's a ton all along the coast here going west.

Also, I'm wondering if anyone has encountered the lifeguards at this area that only seem to want to dissuade people from diving here? The lifeguard told one of the others from my group that we shouldn't get in the water. Said the swell was terrible. Wind was picking up. Current would take us down the beach and into the rocks. Basically making it sound like the worst place ever. Yeah, viz was not good, but swell was hardly even 2'. We got 150 yds out, and we hung in the water right in front of the lifeguard buildings the entire time we were on the surface; no current at all. Even when we left around noon, the afternoon winds weren't even getting going. I was perplexed with the comments.

 

[geoff w]

Dive Site: Leo Carillo North BeachDate: 15Aug2015... Unfortunately, I did not realize how far away the parking was from the trails to the stairs to get down to it. Actually, I would not have cared about making the walk in all the gear, but I had a whiner with me, who wasn't going to do it. That basically forced myself and coaxed the other into going off the beach. Visibility within the first 100 yards from the beach was terrible. It improved only slightly out to 150 yds from the beach at the surface. Once we made it out about that far, we dropped down in about 18' of water. Visibility at the bottom was probably 5'. Encountered some small lobsters. One even buzzed my shoulder. Kelp bass. Urchins. Kelp. Hardly anything else. We got down to 25' at our deepest, and visibility probably increased to about 10-12' at best the whole time. Swam through some kelp. Had some other drama occur during this dive that made this a one tank day instead of two that also made me realize how much more judicious I need to be in choosing who to dive with. Even without seeing anything, I would have enjoyed just blowing more bubbles and swimming through the kelp for a second dive, because there's a ton all along the coast here going west.Also, I'm wondering if anyone has encountered the lifeguards at this area that only seem to want to dissuade people from diving here? The lifeguard told one of the others from my group that we shouldn't get in the water. Said the swell was terrible. Wind was picking up. Current would take us down the beach and into the rocks. Basically making it sound like the worst place ever. Yeah, viz was not good, but swell was hardly even 2'. We got 150 yds out, and we hung in the water right in front of the lifeguard buildings the entire time we were on the surface; no current at all. Even when we left around noon, the afternoon winds weren't even getting going. I was perplexed with the comments.[/FONT][/COLOR]

This summer a lot of days shore diving in Malibu has been poor, but the surfers have been really happy. Viz this year has been inconsistent. Typical viz at Leo Carrillo in close is awful, and it opens up as you get out to the reef structure, but there have been plenty of days lately with poor viz out past 30 ft depthWind normally picks up a lot mid-day this time of year, and it gets choppy. The lifeguards are there to help you, many of them dive, and on a a hot summer day like this past weekend they are busy. I've had a few of them tell me they wouldn't go out, but it's the ones who don't know me. Leo Carrillo can be one of the best dive sites, but when conditions are bad it's like anywhere else with crappy conditions - find something else to do. I wasn't around this weekend, but friends who dived there said it was just OK. As with any beach diving, check conditions and select your spot accordingly. Even on many crappy days, there are sometimes protected spots to be found in Malibu. And yes, we're lucky to have very healthy kelp beds to dive inIf the parking lot is still open for day use, it's worth it to spend the $12 and park at the edge of the sand instead of going hiking down the hill. The weekend before it was still open, and the rangers didn't know when construction would really start

 

[Ojai Diver]

Dive Site: Malaga Cove
Date: October 9, 2015
Conditions: Beach dive
Water Temp: 70
Visibility: 0-3
Dive Buddys: Solo

Headed out on my cherished Day Off with my non diving dive buddy. Went up to Deer Creek, then Leo Carillo, then El Matador. Surf 4-5 feet high, breaking into a fine white mist. Surfers out in force. Weather was well beyond what was forecast, and a great place to get hammered. No kelp visible. In desperation we got in the car and headed south through epic traffic to finally arrive at an old cherished dive site of mine from long ago, Malaga Cove. Only thing by then the weather was pushing 90 degrees, so putting on my wetsuit was like being dipped in hot rubber. Did the walk down the path, glad that I had an HP 80 on my back with 6 lbs of lead instead of the old AL 80 (with 22lb of lead) of my youth. Entered from the sandy beach, as the high tide had retreated somewhat, rendering the more direct rocky entry inadvisable. The surf was 2 feet, with long intervals. I was glad to be in the water, with cool water going at last through my suit, which felt great! But visibility was almost non existent. I surprised a ray from the silt, and fought off a garibaldi, but otherwise saw no other fish, nor much of anything else. I followed a compass course into 30 feet of water, about faced at 1500 psi, and came back. I've seldom seen water so consistently opaque.

Still, it was good to get wet again.