dive1bb
Contributor
Dove with Waterhorse Charters this past Friday and Saturday. First time diving in and around the San Diego area -- loved it!
Friday was a 4-tanker. We went to Scripps Canyon, NW La Jolla, and the HMCS Yukon (day and night). Scripps was 51°F, max depth 126ft, vis around 5-10ft. Saw a parade of tuna crabs dancing around 100-125ft. Haven't seen anything like that before! Next up was NW La Jolla which was 55°F, max depth 79ft, vis 10ft. We anchored in sand then made our way over to God's Rock. Great variety of fish flying around including Sheephead, Girabaldi, and Blacksmith. Juvenile Girabaldi were especially neat with their small iridescent blue spots. Last dive site was the Yukon. What an incredible wreck! 54°F during the day with max depth at 83ft, vis stayed around 10ft like most of the sites. I found a majority of the life to be around the 65-80ft range. Anchored right at the bridge which was a great starting point for the dive. Saw a variety of anemones, reef fish, and simply took in the beauty of my first wreck dive. Final dive of the day was with the full moon out. We jumped in around 7pm, 55°F with max depth at 79ft, vis was tough to tell. This was my second night dive -- didn't really care much about the vis as long as I could see something. Nightlife was similar to what I saw a few hours prior with the exception of large lobsters roaming the wreck. What a wonderful first day. In addition to my first set of dives in San Diego, this was the first time I dove past 65ft. Really appreciate the supportive crew and divers on the boat. They inspired me to pick up a last minute spot on the Coronados trip the following day.
Saturday was a 3-tanker at the Coronado Islands. We went to the North and Middle Islands. Specifically we checked out Lobster Shack, Three Fingers, and The Keyhole. Lobster Shack was up first with the sea lions showing off their skills throughout the dive -- 61°F, max depth 57ft, vis 40-50ft easily. I have never seen water as blue as it was that day. There was a large bull seal that seemed to be the king of the sea lion crew who paced back and forth. When he jumped out, the sea lions started swimming around us again. Looked like some of them may have been pups, too! Outside of the endlessly entertaining sea lions, we saw tons of fish, coral, anemones -- plenty of life to investigate! Next we went over to Three Fingers on the Middle Island which was a fairly shallow dive, 62°F, max depth 35ft, vis 50ft or so. Much like Lobster Shack, we saw plenty of marine life. There were tons of cracks to check for octos and morays. We even saw a swell shark hanging out on one of the shelves. Awesome spot. Felt like a drift dive at some points. Made it back to the boat OK though! Finished up with the Keyhole back on the North Island. The current was picking up at this point (around 2PM) so we didn't get to swim through the Keyhole itself. Still neat to see the afternoon light shining through and check out the surrounding area. 62°F, max depth 54ft, vis was 40ish. Saw more sea lions roaming around and familiar fish throughout the site. It was tougher to get back to the boat, but everyone made it on OK!
Overall it was a very successful diving weekend with warm [to me!] waters and excellent sights to see. Looking forward to heading out that way again soon.
Friday was a 4-tanker. We went to Scripps Canyon, NW La Jolla, and the HMCS Yukon (day and night). Scripps was 51°F, max depth 126ft, vis around 5-10ft. Saw a parade of tuna crabs dancing around 100-125ft. Haven't seen anything like that before! Next up was NW La Jolla which was 55°F, max depth 79ft, vis 10ft. We anchored in sand then made our way over to God's Rock. Great variety of fish flying around including Sheephead, Girabaldi, and Blacksmith. Juvenile Girabaldi were especially neat with their small iridescent blue spots. Last dive site was the Yukon. What an incredible wreck! 54°F during the day with max depth at 83ft, vis stayed around 10ft like most of the sites. I found a majority of the life to be around the 65-80ft range. Anchored right at the bridge which was a great starting point for the dive. Saw a variety of anemones, reef fish, and simply took in the beauty of my first wreck dive. Final dive of the day was with the full moon out. We jumped in around 7pm, 55°F with max depth at 79ft, vis was tough to tell. This was my second night dive -- didn't really care much about the vis as long as I could see something. Nightlife was similar to what I saw a few hours prior with the exception of large lobsters roaming the wreck. What a wonderful first day. In addition to my first set of dives in San Diego, this was the first time I dove past 65ft. Really appreciate the supportive crew and divers on the boat. They inspired me to pick up a last minute spot on the Coronados trip the following day.
Saturday was a 3-tanker at the Coronado Islands. We went to the North and Middle Islands. Specifically we checked out Lobster Shack, Three Fingers, and The Keyhole. Lobster Shack was up first with the sea lions showing off their skills throughout the dive -- 61°F, max depth 57ft, vis 40-50ft easily. I have never seen water as blue as it was that day. There was a large bull seal that seemed to be the king of the sea lion crew who paced back and forth. When he jumped out, the sea lions started swimming around us again. Looked like some of them may have been pups, too! Outside of the endlessly entertaining sea lions, we saw tons of fish, coral, anemones -- plenty of life to investigate! Next we went over to Three Fingers on the Middle Island which was a fairly shallow dive, 62°F, max depth 35ft, vis 50ft or so. Much like Lobster Shack, we saw plenty of marine life. There were tons of cracks to check for octos and morays. We even saw a swell shark hanging out on one of the shelves. Awesome spot. Felt like a drift dive at some points. Made it back to the boat OK though! Finished up with the Keyhole back on the North Island. The current was picking up at this point (around 2PM) so we didn't get to swim through the Keyhole itself. Still neat to see the afternoon light shining through and check out the surrounding area. 62°F, max depth 54ft, vis was 40ish. Saw more sea lions roaming around and familiar fish throughout the site. It was tougher to get back to the boat, but everyone made it on OK!
Overall it was a very successful diving weekend with warm [to me!] waters and excellent sights to see. Looking forward to heading out that way again soon.
