Roughwaterjohn
Contributor
La Jolla Shores
Conditions:
We dropped down at 7:19AM
Surface temperature was 65 degrees
Bottom temperature was 52 degrees, with a thermocline felt by 30
Visibility in the shallows was 5-8, with 15 the maximum at depth.
Our maximum depth was 89 fsw, with an average depth of 78fsw
Our total bottom time was 32 minutes.
Photos:
I took photos, but they are unavailable at this time. As Im using an archaic film camera and only shot half a roll, I need to wait for a subsequent dive before finishing the roll and processing.
The Report:
Standing on the bluff overlooking the aptly named Wipeout Beach, I took my time, checking conditions and watching patterns. The more I dive, the more able I am to catch the small, subtle signs that help me make the decision to dive or not. The signs were hard to identify at first, but I was determined to take the pulse of this beach, as it were. I started compiling the signs in my thoughts, gathering them together to form the pattern I sought. Lets see what weve got so far .. the sound of thunder every 10 seconds or so (thats a good one), 4-5 waves climbing out of the sea 10 from shore and crashing onto the beach with the aforementioned thunder, churning white water crashing into reefs, visible due to low tide, and shooting 8-10 into the air, before giving up their attack reluctantly, dropping back into the sea to try again.
Yes my friends, these are the subtle signs a trained diver such as myself uses to determine if its safe to dive. My thought at this point is, its doable. As my ordered thoughts progressed from there, I started thinking about equipment, and what would be most beneficial in this situation. Lets see, a Marine amphibious landing craft would be of some help I mused, I could probably get away with a Coast Guard helicopter drop, or I might be able to use..
At this point, Wayne walks up beside me and says, you want to meet up at the Shores, Ill wait here in case anyone else shows up. But Wayne! There are probably a couple of more pieces of government equipment we can use to get us out there. Seeing he was stubborn and set in his ways, my shoulders drooping, I turned back to my truck and the drive to the Shores.
Shortly after my arrival at La Jolla Shores, Wayne (darn him and his common sense) and Mickey showed up and found ample parking in the lot. We suited up and ambled over to the sand. Surprisingly, the same low tide that was at Wipeout Beach was also here at the Shores, what a coincidence! Here though, it gave us a nice long walk out to water and milder 2-3 waves with short, but beneficial lulls between sets. We soon found ourselves safely past the surf line, and kicking out to the buoy in front of the Sea Lodge. Although the swells were relatively large, coming from quite a distance beyond the buoy, there was no appreciable current to contend with. Once at the buoy, we set a course and dropped to the bottom.
We were (warmly?) greeted by 65 degree water temperature and 5-8 of visibility. Within moments, we turned our attention west and headed into the canyon. Visibility improved somewhat, but never passed the 15 mark. Once at depth, we headed south, exploring and photographing as we went. We stayed a short distance from the walls and slopes, not wanting to churn up the already murky water, so the sightings of Nudis and such were pretty much non-existent. We did see the usual small schools of 1-2 fish (Rockfish?), the normal Gobies and a variety of Shrimp, at least the larger ones that could be seen lurking in their holes from 8 away. We saw a lone Sarcastic Fringehead watching us warily from its perfectly sized hole in the rock wall. We also saw a very large California Lizardfish, resting on the bottom. At 12-14, it was easily the largest Ive seen, and now, I can more aptly understand how it got its name. Observing the normal 3-4 ones, of which there were a few today, the reason for the name is conceivable, but not obvious. With this foot long monster sitting on the bottom, the proportions fit the name, and the colorization and head shape screamed lizard.
As the green indicators on our computers tried sneaking their way towards the yellow, we set our course slightly upslope, leveling off at approximately 60 fsw. We continued on this course until the first diver in our group hit turnaround pressure. We all quickly turned around, and since we were now facing in a completely different direction, we decided to head up slope again and aim towards the beach.
Visibility dropped again before we made it over the rim, and continued to drop slightly with each decrease in depth. From 30 fsw and shallower, visibility dropped to 5 or less, and by the time we were under the surf zone, we were working with inches of swirling, sand filled visibility. We worked, rather than fought with the tide, as no progress could be made when the tide was flowing out, but great, albeit invisible, progress could be made on its return. When our depth gauges, which were currently being held against our respective masks, read the depth we were looking for, we turned to face the waves and stood up, still in the surf line, but shallow enough to make our escape.
John A.
Conditions:
We dropped down at 7:19AM
Surface temperature was 65 degrees
Bottom temperature was 52 degrees, with a thermocline felt by 30
Visibility in the shallows was 5-8, with 15 the maximum at depth.
Our maximum depth was 89 fsw, with an average depth of 78fsw
Our total bottom time was 32 minutes.
Photos:
I took photos, but they are unavailable at this time. As Im using an archaic film camera and only shot half a roll, I need to wait for a subsequent dive before finishing the roll and processing.
The Report:
Standing on the bluff overlooking the aptly named Wipeout Beach, I took my time, checking conditions and watching patterns. The more I dive, the more able I am to catch the small, subtle signs that help me make the decision to dive or not. The signs were hard to identify at first, but I was determined to take the pulse of this beach, as it were. I started compiling the signs in my thoughts, gathering them together to form the pattern I sought. Lets see what weve got so far .. the sound of thunder every 10 seconds or so (thats a good one), 4-5 waves climbing out of the sea 10 from shore and crashing onto the beach with the aforementioned thunder, churning white water crashing into reefs, visible due to low tide, and shooting 8-10 into the air, before giving up their attack reluctantly, dropping back into the sea to try again.
Yes my friends, these are the subtle signs a trained diver such as myself uses to determine if its safe to dive. My thought at this point is, its doable. As my ordered thoughts progressed from there, I started thinking about equipment, and what would be most beneficial in this situation. Lets see, a Marine amphibious landing craft would be of some help I mused, I could probably get away with a Coast Guard helicopter drop, or I might be able to use..
At this point, Wayne walks up beside me and says, you want to meet up at the Shores, Ill wait here in case anyone else shows up. But Wayne! There are probably a couple of more pieces of government equipment we can use to get us out there. Seeing he was stubborn and set in his ways, my shoulders drooping, I turned back to my truck and the drive to the Shores.
Shortly after my arrival at La Jolla Shores, Wayne (darn him and his common sense) and Mickey showed up and found ample parking in the lot. We suited up and ambled over to the sand. Surprisingly, the same low tide that was at Wipeout Beach was also here at the Shores, what a coincidence! Here though, it gave us a nice long walk out to water and milder 2-3 waves with short, but beneficial lulls between sets. We soon found ourselves safely past the surf line, and kicking out to the buoy in front of the Sea Lodge. Although the swells were relatively large, coming from quite a distance beyond the buoy, there was no appreciable current to contend with. Once at the buoy, we set a course and dropped to the bottom.
We were (warmly?) greeted by 65 degree water temperature and 5-8 of visibility. Within moments, we turned our attention west and headed into the canyon. Visibility improved somewhat, but never passed the 15 mark. Once at depth, we headed south, exploring and photographing as we went. We stayed a short distance from the walls and slopes, not wanting to churn up the already murky water, so the sightings of Nudis and such were pretty much non-existent. We did see the usual small schools of 1-2 fish (Rockfish?), the normal Gobies and a variety of Shrimp, at least the larger ones that could be seen lurking in their holes from 8 away. We saw a lone Sarcastic Fringehead watching us warily from its perfectly sized hole in the rock wall. We also saw a very large California Lizardfish, resting on the bottom. At 12-14, it was easily the largest Ive seen, and now, I can more aptly understand how it got its name. Observing the normal 3-4 ones, of which there were a few today, the reason for the name is conceivable, but not obvious. With this foot long monster sitting on the bottom, the proportions fit the name, and the colorization and head shape screamed lizard.
As the green indicators on our computers tried sneaking their way towards the yellow, we set our course slightly upslope, leveling off at approximately 60 fsw. We continued on this course until the first diver in our group hit turnaround pressure. We all quickly turned around, and since we were now facing in a completely different direction, we decided to head up slope again and aim towards the beach.
Visibility dropped again before we made it over the rim, and continued to drop slightly with each decrease in depth. From 30 fsw and shallower, visibility dropped to 5 or less, and by the time we were under the surf zone, we were working with inches of swirling, sand filled visibility. We worked, rather than fought with the tide, as no progress could be made when the tide was flowing out, but great, albeit invisible, progress could be made on its return. When our depth gauges, which were currently being held against our respective masks, read the depth we were looking for, we turned to face the waves and stood up, still in the surf line, but shallow enough to make our escape.
John A.
