Tjack
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Southern California Diving Trip Report, San Diego, La Jolla and Ventura, July 17 through 22, 2010
This was my third Southern California dive trip in 4 years. Needless to say there is some world class diving to be had close to home here in SoCal. I am starting to think that Southern California diving is the best kept secret in North America. One note of warning though, it is cold water diving with variable visibility's ranging from 10 to 80 feet. What does make it great diving is the variety of marine life, these waters are incredibly rich in unusual critters.
San Diego
This trip started out down in San Diego, specifically to dive Wreck Alley, but Point Loma Kelp Beds also provided some good diving. I was joining RonFrank, who was on a family vacation with his wife and son. We dove off the Humbolt, a seemingly brand new boat, with Waterhorse Charters out of the Mission Bay harbor. The Humboldt is a 45 boat with lots of horsepower, at full capacity of 22 divers it never seemed too crowded. This is a day boat, no berths available so hotel costs were a consideration. Great Crew and captains, very friendly and accessible. My only complaint regarding the boat was the food served between dives, not up to California standards. Waterhorse is a great outfit, with a small dive shop right at the pier. Nitrox is available on shore for $12 a tank, air compressor on the boat, they provide tank and weights as part of the charter price. $99 for 3 tanks.
Our first day was Point Loma kelp beds where visibility was running between 15-30 feet and water temps were between 50 and 54 degrees. Maybe not the best SoCal Kelp diving out there but a good reintroduction to the Kelp realm. We did see many Horned Aeolid Nudibranch and Anemones growing on the Kelp fronds. The second dive was similar with some interesting topography, one large boulder with a contour of about 20 feet was covered in every kind of strange creature. The low visibility combined with thick Kelp on these dives provided a good navigational challenge.
Back on the boat the captain, addressing the concerns of some of the newer divers aboard, decided to make the 3rd dive on the NOSC tower. This weather station was used by the Navy to study oceanography, and blew down in a storm. A tangled mass of girders, this site is like an underwater jungle gym. What really impressed me were the 1,000s of Anemones covering the structure. I cant remember seeing Anemones in these kinds of concentrations anywhere. We also found a Ling Cod lurking on the bottom under some debris. Visibility on the Tower was down to about 10 feet.
This was the afternoon charter which left at 1pm got us back to the pier around 7pm, after a quick fish and chips at the waterfront restaurant next to the dive shop we headed back to the Motel 6, Hotel circle. Hotel Circle was only 15 minutes from the dive boat so ended up being a convenient location. Hotel rooms in San Diego were running around $100 a night on the weekend, slightly less on weekdays. I did get a discount by searching discount codes on line, ended up saving $20 a night. The cheapest Hotel I found in the San Diego area was the Economy Inn in San Ysidro for $55 a night.
The following morning we were scheduled for a 7am departure to do three tanks at Wreck Alley. The first two dives were on the Yukon, a 366 foot Canadian McKenzie-Class Destroyer. This wreck was planted back in 2000 as an artificial reef. The Yukon was extensively prepared for divers with cut outs placed throughout. She sits on her starboard side at 102 feet, with the port rail rising to about 60 feet. Visibility was a murky 20 and with overcast skies, the descent down the anchor line was a little dark. Good dive lights are a must here especially with all the penetration possibilities this wreck provides. Fortunately my buddy had his bright ass canister light. At the recommendation of one of our fellow divers we headed up through the two Dolphin shaped cut outs in the bow of the ship, this led us up to the port rail. Along the rail to the forward gun turret and the superstructure were lots of ghostly White-plumed Anemones. We could see some larger fish swimming along at the edge of our range of vision, a little spooky considering there are Great White Sharks in the area.
Between dives we watched various private and commercial dive boats jockeying for position on the moorings. We had switched to the stern mooring with ease, and headed down for our second Yukon dive. Attempting to head around the stern to view the props we were driven back by strong current. Headed along the a large cargo bay we entered a long interior passage called the Burma Road. As we were approaching mid ship, a big Sheep Crab came floating down right in front of me, then another, it was raining crabs deep inside the wreck. Far out!? As it turns out they had been dislodged by another dive team as they worked their way up out of the wreck in front of us. A final note in my log sums it up pretty well, intense diving on a complex wreck.
Our third Wreck Alley dive was on the Ruby E, a 130 planted coast guard cutter, which has been down there since 89. Man, talk about Anemones! The Ruby is covered in a blanket of Strawberry Anemones. These Club-tipped Anemones come in yellow, pink and red. The wheel house and bridge make for a nice easy swim through of color. Visibility was running 15-20 feet and it got down to 52 degrees on my computer. Rons computer registered 49 at one point, brrrrr. Glad we had our dry suits.
La Jolla Caves
The following day we were headed up to the legendary La Jolla for a shore dive. Fortunately we met John on the Humbolt who offered to dive with us at La Jolla. The SoCal divers I have met tend to be friendly and great hosts to visiting divers. John went above and beyond to show us the ropes. We stopped at OEX Scuba to rent weights for Ron which ran him $10 for the day. I had tanks as I had driven out from New Mexico. We met John at La Jolla Cove Park, dropped off our equipment, and after paying $15 for parking just up the hill we were ready to gear up. John our fearless guide makes sure we had lights and suggests we trim down our gear. We are headed for the La Jolla Caves.
After a decent surface swim we were at the mouth of the first cavern. This constituted a narrow crack in the sea cliff which led to a sunlit chamber where we could surface and sit on the rocks. As there was a strong surge pushing water through this constricted passage, it made for a wild ride. Exiting the cavern was like being shot out of a rifle barrel, woo hoo. At one point little lobsters were bouncing off me as we were all riding the surge in a confined space. Another cavern branched out in various directions linked by tiny passages, some so tight I didnt think we could fit through.
Amongst the boulders outside the caves we came across a Banded Guitar-fish which looks like a half shark half ray, very cool. As well we had three separate Sea Lion encounters, at one point surfacing right in front of a Sea Lion haul out. We gave a tour group out in kayaks quite a surprise as we popped up between them and the Sea Lions. Returning to the cove we were psyched. Great wildlife and some truly exciting dive exploration, this was our favorite dive of the trip.
After ascending the stairs up out of the cove we broke down our gear on the lawn. The park at La Jolla Cove has showers, and the presence of lifeguards and other divers allowed us to leave our gear without worries as we dove. La Jolla diving exceeded our expectations. This dive lasted 69 minutes with a maximum depth of 19 feet, temps ran 61 degrees and vis. was a good 20 feet.
San Miguel, Channel Islands
The next stop of my SoCal tour was Ventura to dive the Peace Boat. Saying good by to Ron and Family I headed up to Ventura Harbor. The Peace was scheduled to dive San Miguel on Wednesday, $150 4 tanks and Anacapa, on Thursday, $100 3 tanks. Sleeping on the boat saved me some cash for two nights. There is a good selection of restaurants at the harbor as dinner was not included on the boat for these back to back day trips.
The Peace departed the harbor at midnight Tuesday for the crossing to San Miguel. Others on the boat said it was a 1 in 4 chance of actually making it out to San Miguel, the most exposed of the Channel Islands. Waking up to the sound of the anchor dropping, we made it. Off in the fog we could see the west end of San Miguel. Scheduled for four dives we were at it early. Dropping into the rolling seas off this remote island shrouded in mist was a little intimidating so I buddied up with locals Eddie and Brit.
As we headed down the anchor line at Castle Rock it was dark and murky, like descending into a thick organic soup. When we reached the bottom I realized that contributing to the limited visibility were dense schools of Krill in the water. The rocky bottom was covered in Southern Sea Palm Kelp which was swaying in the considerable surge. Right away I spotted a big Vermillion Rock Fish, a deep red Rock Fish which can live to be over 50 years old. Unfortunately this was a hunting trip for most of the divers on the boat and Vermillion Rock Fish are fare game. The variety of life here was astounding, including a bright red Spotted Kelpfish, Warbonnets were also there but too quick to photograph. Working down into a crevasse in the reef to avoid the surge, we found lots of White-spotted Rose Anemones.
After a quick breakfast, we were off to Point Bennett. This dive was similar to the first but with the addition of jeweled Blue-ringed Top-snail. This spectacular snail appears to have purple and gold jewels adorning its shell. This was a species I had been looking for, and I was psyched to finally find it. One local diver with tons of SoCal dives said it was the first time he had seen one, so maybe we were lucky. San Miguel is known for having northerly species which are not found elsewhere in the Channel Islands.
Dive three put us on The Canyons, which I dubbed the land of the Giant Nudibranchs. Huge 3 Hiltons Aeolids were abundant as well as big White-spotted Porostomes. One of which was guarding its spiral floret of eggs. All in all there were at least 5 species of Nudi here, in addition to the big ones noted above we saw Clown Dorid, Horned Aeolid, and Noble Dorid. Most of this dive was accompanied by the sound of Sea Lions barking, can they vocalize under water?
Our final San Miguel dive was at Oil Springs, again tons of cool macro stuff. Here I was accompanied by a big friendly Sheepshead, unfortunately they are on the menu as well. Unable to relocate the anchor line in the murk, I was joined by Eddy for a free ascent. Back on the boat we were keeping an eye out for Brit. He surfaced soon after us with a huge stringer of fish, including the big Sheepshead which had been my dive buddy for most of the dive. The hunters had raked in the fish, the wells were full of Sheepshead and Vermillion Rock fish. One comment was that spearing Sheepshead is like hunting Cows, too easy.
At San Miguel difficult dive conditions were compensated for by the amazing abundance and variety of life. Visibility was 10-15 feet with temps of 52 degrees and strong surge on all 4 dives. One highlight of the trip was encountered on the ride back to Ventura. Somewhere off of Santa Cruz Island we began to see Whales spouting. At one point they were all around us. One pair were floating at the surface as we approached with the boat. Blue Whales, the largest living animal, Wow. All that Krill messing up the vis was providing a feast for these ocean giants.
Anacapa
After a good sleep on the Peace that night we were off to Anacapa at 7am the following morning. Other than the four or five people doing both days, we had totally different type of divers on the boat for Anacapa. Considered to be more novice diving there were two father daughter dive teams, and more fun divers.
Anacapa provided the best visibility of my SoCal trip, 20-40 foot vis. that was a nice change of pace. The balmy 63 degree water was OK as well, no swell but a light current at times made for some relaxed diving. We started off diving at Landing Cove, an underwater arch with lots of Spanish Shall Nudibranch. This leads to a small canyon filled with kelp and lots of interesting fish such as Deepwater Blenny and the mighty Garibaldi.
Fish Bowl Point was next with an incredible abundance of Spiny Brittle Stars in every possible color. Set among an array of Purple Gorgonians the blue water reminded me of the Caribbean. San Diego Dorids were rummaging around amongst the Brittle Stars which seem to come in every color of the rainbow. For photography this was a gorgeous dive.
Our final Anacapa dive was at Cathedral Gardens, of note here were 2 California Sea Hares. The improved visibility provided a great mid-level cruise through the Giant Kelp forest with rays of light illuminating the Kelp realm. The sound of the Peace Boats engine was helpful in navigating back to the boat. Once again the Peace was a great experience with the best food, friendly crew and captains who seem to really know their stuff.
Ventura is an interesting town, great food an a laid back vibe. I stayed at the Bella Maggiore hotel on California ave, for $55 which includes a great breakfast of Eggs Florentine. Bella Maggiore has a lot of character, and possibly a couple of ghosts as well. For the price it cant be beat. Sushi Marina across the street is excellent.
Overall the dive conditions on this trip were not the best, but provided a good challenge. Locals told me that September has the best conditions overall, but these were not typical conditions for July either. An unusual amount of upwelling had been keeping temperatures and visibility down this summer. I have found better diving conditions in California in August and November so late summer through fall seems to be the best time to go. Catalina, Anacapa and especially San Clemente tend to have better visibility year round.
Hope this provides some useful info, T.
Photos of the trip are posted at the gallery below..
ScubaBoard Gallery - Southern California, July 2010
This was my third Southern California dive trip in 4 years. Needless to say there is some world class diving to be had close to home here in SoCal. I am starting to think that Southern California diving is the best kept secret in North America. One note of warning though, it is cold water diving with variable visibility's ranging from 10 to 80 feet. What does make it great diving is the variety of marine life, these waters are incredibly rich in unusual critters.
San Diego
This trip started out down in San Diego, specifically to dive Wreck Alley, but Point Loma Kelp Beds also provided some good diving. I was joining RonFrank, who was on a family vacation with his wife and son. We dove off the Humbolt, a seemingly brand new boat, with Waterhorse Charters out of the Mission Bay harbor. The Humboldt is a 45 boat with lots of horsepower, at full capacity of 22 divers it never seemed too crowded. This is a day boat, no berths available so hotel costs were a consideration. Great Crew and captains, very friendly and accessible. My only complaint regarding the boat was the food served between dives, not up to California standards. Waterhorse is a great outfit, with a small dive shop right at the pier. Nitrox is available on shore for $12 a tank, air compressor on the boat, they provide tank and weights as part of the charter price. $99 for 3 tanks.
Our first day was Point Loma kelp beds where visibility was running between 15-30 feet and water temps were between 50 and 54 degrees. Maybe not the best SoCal Kelp diving out there but a good reintroduction to the Kelp realm. We did see many Horned Aeolid Nudibranch and Anemones growing on the Kelp fronds. The second dive was similar with some interesting topography, one large boulder with a contour of about 20 feet was covered in every kind of strange creature. The low visibility combined with thick Kelp on these dives provided a good navigational challenge.
Back on the boat the captain, addressing the concerns of some of the newer divers aboard, decided to make the 3rd dive on the NOSC tower. This weather station was used by the Navy to study oceanography, and blew down in a storm. A tangled mass of girders, this site is like an underwater jungle gym. What really impressed me were the 1,000s of Anemones covering the structure. I cant remember seeing Anemones in these kinds of concentrations anywhere. We also found a Ling Cod lurking on the bottom under some debris. Visibility on the Tower was down to about 10 feet.
This was the afternoon charter which left at 1pm got us back to the pier around 7pm, after a quick fish and chips at the waterfront restaurant next to the dive shop we headed back to the Motel 6, Hotel circle. Hotel Circle was only 15 minutes from the dive boat so ended up being a convenient location. Hotel rooms in San Diego were running around $100 a night on the weekend, slightly less on weekdays. I did get a discount by searching discount codes on line, ended up saving $20 a night. The cheapest Hotel I found in the San Diego area was the Economy Inn in San Ysidro for $55 a night.
The following morning we were scheduled for a 7am departure to do three tanks at Wreck Alley. The first two dives were on the Yukon, a 366 foot Canadian McKenzie-Class Destroyer. This wreck was planted back in 2000 as an artificial reef. The Yukon was extensively prepared for divers with cut outs placed throughout. She sits on her starboard side at 102 feet, with the port rail rising to about 60 feet. Visibility was a murky 20 and with overcast skies, the descent down the anchor line was a little dark. Good dive lights are a must here especially with all the penetration possibilities this wreck provides. Fortunately my buddy had his bright ass canister light. At the recommendation of one of our fellow divers we headed up through the two Dolphin shaped cut outs in the bow of the ship, this led us up to the port rail. Along the rail to the forward gun turret and the superstructure were lots of ghostly White-plumed Anemones. We could see some larger fish swimming along at the edge of our range of vision, a little spooky considering there are Great White Sharks in the area.
Between dives we watched various private and commercial dive boats jockeying for position on the moorings. We had switched to the stern mooring with ease, and headed down for our second Yukon dive. Attempting to head around the stern to view the props we were driven back by strong current. Headed along the a large cargo bay we entered a long interior passage called the Burma Road. As we were approaching mid ship, a big Sheep Crab came floating down right in front of me, then another, it was raining crabs deep inside the wreck. Far out!? As it turns out they had been dislodged by another dive team as they worked their way up out of the wreck in front of us. A final note in my log sums it up pretty well, intense diving on a complex wreck.
Our third Wreck Alley dive was on the Ruby E, a 130 planted coast guard cutter, which has been down there since 89. Man, talk about Anemones! The Ruby is covered in a blanket of Strawberry Anemones. These Club-tipped Anemones come in yellow, pink and red. The wheel house and bridge make for a nice easy swim through of color. Visibility was running 15-20 feet and it got down to 52 degrees on my computer. Rons computer registered 49 at one point, brrrrr. Glad we had our dry suits.
La Jolla Caves
The following day we were headed up to the legendary La Jolla for a shore dive. Fortunately we met John on the Humbolt who offered to dive with us at La Jolla. The SoCal divers I have met tend to be friendly and great hosts to visiting divers. John went above and beyond to show us the ropes. We stopped at OEX Scuba to rent weights for Ron which ran him $10 for the day. I had tanks as I had driven out from New Mexico. We met John at La Jolla Cove Park, dropped off our equipment, and after paying $15 for parking just up the hill we were ready to gear up. John our fearless guide makes sure we had lights and suggests we trim down our gear. We are headed for the La Jolla Caves.
After a decent surface swim we were at the mouth of the first cavern. This constituted a narrow crack in the sea cliff which led to a sunlit chamber where we could surface and sit on the rocks. As there was a strong surge pushing water through this constricted passage, it made for a wild ride. Exiting the cavern was like being shot out of a rifle barrel, woo hoo. At one point little lobsters were bouncing off me as we were all riding the surge in a confined space. Another cavern branched out in various directions linked by tiny passages, some so tight I didnt think we could fit through.
Amongst the boulders outside the caves we came across a Banded Guitar-fish which looks like a half shark half ray, very cool. As well we had three separate Sea Lion encounters, at one point surfacing right in front of a Sea Lion haul out. We gave a tour group out in kayaks quite a surprise as we popped up between them and the Sea Lions. Returning to the cove we were psyched. Great wildlife and some truly exciting dive exploration, this was our favorite dive of the trip.
After ascending the stairs up out of the cove we broke down our gear on the lawn. The park at La Jolla Cove has showers, and the presence of lifeguards and other divers allowed us to leave our gear without worries as we dove. La Jolla diving exceeded our expectations. This dive lasted 69 minutes with a maximum depth of 19 feet, temps ran 61 degrees and vis. was a good 20 feet.
San Miguel, Channel Islands
The next stop of my SoCal tour was Ventura to dive the Peace Boat. Saying good by to Ron and Family I headed up to Ventura Harbor. The Peace was scheduled to dive San Miguel on Wednesday, $150 4 tanks and Anacapa, on Thursday, $100 3 tanks. Sleeping on the boat saved me some cash for two nights. There is a good selection of restaurants at the harbor as dinner was not included on the boat for these back to back day trips.
The Peace departed the harbor at midnight Tuesday for the crossing to San Miguel. Others on the boat said it was a 1 in 4 chance of actually making it out to San Miguel, the most exposed of the Channel Islands. Waking up to the sound of the anchor dropping, we made it. Off in the fog we could see the west end of San Miguel. Scheduled for four dives we were at it early. Dropping into the rolling seas off this remote island shrouded in mist was a little intimidating so I buddied up with locals Eddie and Brit.
As we headed down the anchor line at Castle Rock it was dark and murky, like descending into a thick organic soup. When we reached the bottom I realized that contributing to the limited visibility were dense schools of Krill in the water. The rocky bottom was covered in Southern Sea Palm Kelp which was swaying in the considerable surge. Right away I spotted a big Vermillion Rock Fish, a deep red Rock Fish which can live to be over 50 years old. Unfortunately this was a hunting trip for most of the divers on the boat and Vermillion Rock Fish are fare game. The variety of life here was astounding, including a bright red Spotted Kelpfish, Warbonnets were also there but too quick to photograph. Working down into a crevasse in the reef to avoid the surge, we found lots of White-spotted Rose Anemones.
After a quick breakfast, we were off to Point Bennett. This dive was similar to the first but with the addition of jeweled Blue-ringed Top-snail. This spectacular snail appears to have purple and gold jewels adorning its shell. This was a species I had been looking for, and I was psyched to finally find it. One local diver with tons of SoCal dives said it was the first time he had seen one, so maybe we were lucky. San Miguel is known for having northerly species which are not found elsewhere in the Channel Islands.
Dive three put us on The Canyons, which I dubbed the land of the Giant Nudibranchs. Huge 3 Hiltons Aeolids were abundant as well as big White-spotted Porostomes. One of which was guarding its spiral floret of eggs. All in all there were at least 5 species of Nudi here, in addition to the big ones noted above we saw Clown Dorid, Horned Aeolid, and Noble Dorid. Most of this dive was accompanied by the sound of Sea Lions barking, can they vocalize under water?
Our final San Miguel dive was at Oil Springs, again tons of cool macro stuff. Here I was accompanied by a big friendly Sheepshead, unfortunately they are on the menu as well. Unable to relocate the anchor line in the murk, I was joined by Eddy for a free ascent. Back on the boat we were keeping an eye out for Brit. He surfaced soon after us with a huge stringer of fish, including the big Sheepshead which had been my dive buddy for most of the dive. The hunters had raked in the fish, the wells were full of Sheepshead and Vermillion Rock fish. One comment was that spearing Sheepshead is like hunting Cows, too easy.
At San Miguel difficult dive conditions were compensated for by the amazing abundance and variety of life. Visibility was 10-15 feet with temps of 52 degrees and strong surge on all 4 dives. One highlight of the trip was encountered on the ride back to Ventura. Somewhere off of Santa Cruz Island we began to see Whales spouting. At one point they were all around us. One pair were floating at the surface as we approached with the boat. Blue Whales, the largest living animal, Wow. All that Krill messing up the vis was providing a feast for these ocean giants.
Anacapa
After a good sleep on the Peace that night we were off to Anacapa at 7am the following morning. Other than the four or five people doing both days, we had totally different type of divers on the boat for Anacapa. Considered to be more novice diving there were two father daughter dive teams, and more fun divers.
Anacapa provided the best visibility of my SoCal trip, 20-40 foot vis. that was a nice change of pace. The balmy 63 degree water was OK as well, no swell but a light current at times made for some relaxed diving. We started off diving at Landing Cove, an underwater arch with lots of Spanish Shall Nudibranch. This leads to a small canyon filled with kelp and lots of interesting fish such as Deepwater Blenny and the mighty Garibaldi.
Fish Bowl Point was next with an incredible abundance of Spiny Brittle Stars in every possible color. Set among an array of Purple Gorgonians the blue water reminded me of the Caribbean. San Diego Dorids were rummaging around amongst the Brittle Stars which seem to come in every color of the rainbow. For photography this was a gorgeous dive.
Our final Anacapa dive was at Cathedral Gardens, of note here were 2 California Sea Hares. The improved visibility provided a great mid-level cruise through the Giant Kelp forest with rays of light illuminating the Kelp realm. The sound of the Peace Boats engine was helpful in navigating back to the boat. Once again the Peace was a great experience with the best food, friendly crew and captains who seem to really know their stuff.
Ventura is an interesting town, great food an a laid back vibe. I stayed at the Bella Maggiore hotel on California ave, for $55 which includes a great breakfast of Eggs Florentine. Bella Maggiore has a lot of character, and possibly a couple of ghosts as well. For the price it cant be beat. Sushi Marina across the street is excellent.
Overall the dive conditions on this trip were not the best, but provided a good challenge. Locals told me that September has the best conditions overall, but these were not typical conditions for July either. An unusual amount of upwelling had been keeping temperatures and visibility down this summer. I have found better diving conditions in California in August and November so late summer through fall seems to be the best time to go. Catalina, Anacapa and especially San Clemente tend to have better visibility year round.
Hope this provides some useful info, T.
Photos of the trip are posted at the gallery below..
ScubaBoard Gallery - Southern California, July 2010
