The Lexy October '05 Dive Reports Thread

[Peter McGuinness]

Hmmm... I've lived on Catalina for 36 years and never heard of this spot... unless it is Black Point on the West End. Wonder why the boat captain would use a Spanish name for that site?

Nice report. Glad you enjoyed diving both islands.

I can't wait to go back there, now that I have been spoilt for good vis and great scenery so close to home.

The Boat Captain used both english and spanish for the divesite name - I just chose the one he wrote on the briefing board - so Black Point it is, just for you!

Peter

 

[Rickster]

Hey Everyone,
Well, my dive buddy and I met at Malaga Cove. Not the place to dive today. So, we drove down to Old Marineland. I am glad we did. What a beatiful day. We arrived there about 8:30am. got our gear together, and proceeded down the path. The first sight of the water was amazing. It looked like one of the lakes I used to dive in, back in Colorado. We went on down the walkway, to the cove area. Prepped and went in. We went out to about 15ft depth, then dropped down. The vis was a little cloudy at first, maybe 5-6 feet. We headed toward the point on the left. At about 20ft the vis opened up to 12-15ft. We proceeded to the reefs off the point. It was loaded with things to look at. We seen 6 black sea bass, numerous garibaldi, bass and senioritas. There was a few white starfish, and a bunch of others. We had a great dive.

depth: 41ft.
surge: 1ft
waves: 1-2ft
chop: none
vis: 12-15ft
temp: @41ft=58deg
weather: blue skys, no wind

Thanks, Rick

 

[pasley]

Terrannea Resort (old Marineland) is normally an excellent dive and it would appear your dive was no exception. Entry is usally made of the point and the exit at the pebble beach. Hard to go wring at the site. Enter and go West for bolders, pinacles and a ship wreck or go due south to a reef or the old boat dock (headhunter reef) or go east into the shallow cove around the point from the pebble beach. All will reward you with a nice dive. www.sandeaters.org for dive site descriptions.

 

[ICY ICE]

Date: 10/15/2005
Dive Location: Oil Rigs Ellen/Ely
Bottom Time: 56/35
Max Depth: 110/80ft
Avg Depth: 40ft
Vis: 15-25ft
Surface Temp: 70F
Temp at depth: 50-55F
Surface Conditions:2-4ft swells/strong eastward current


Another visit to the rigs, a bit dissapointed with the vis...my dive buddies (www.divevets.com) made it a great day at sea. Spotted a few nudi's, an overgrown Garibaldi, school of small blacksmith and as usual ton and tons of clams that can't be taken. Exit on the second dive was extremely difficult, the current was very strong durring the surface swim to the highly recommended (http://www.diveseabass.com/).

Fortunately I didn't lose any items on these dives....my buddy found a nice 1" Snap-ON wrench.

Bottom line it felt good getting back in the water, My next dive; Marineland tomorrow, Point dume on Tuesday and Vet's on Wednesday

 

[wetrat]

Date: 10/15/2005
Dive Numbers: 29/30
Dive Location: Diver's Cove, Laguna
Bottom Time: 51/59 minutes
Max Depth: 36/39 fsw
Vis: 20 or so
Temp at depth: 61F
Gas mix: Air
Surf: 1 to 2 feet

Mickeyroi and I met up at Diver's Cove and geared up pretty quick. I briefly coveted Mickeyroi's really cool big dive knife. We were in the water by 7:30 am or so and dropped down to about 15 ft. As we made our way across the sand toward the reef we came across a halibut. I started thinking what the world would be like if humans had both eyes on the same side of their head - our sideburns would run down the back of our heads and our noses. We would face sideways in our cars. It would be right turn only at every intersection. As we approached the reef, a squadron of bat rays lifted off the sand and swam away. Five minutes into the dive and we were completely stoked. The reef was covered with green aggregating anemones and purple sea urchins. It had a couple nice crevices to explore, each teaming with kelp bass, garibaldi, rock scallops, gorgonians, starfish and other splashes of color. We poked around the reef, exited in the light surf, and talked about life during our surface interval.

Our second dive at about 9:30 am was just as sweet. We saw another bat ray and a shy little octopus tucked into the rocks. Surge was picking up slightly which allowed us to fly through the crevices. We parted around 11:00 am I think, Mickeyroi heading north and me south. On the way home, I couldn't help thinking how incredible it really is to visit the undersea world. Oceans cover about 3/4 of our planet. As recreational divers we are only able to make brief forays into the edges of that vast wilderness. Yet, even those experiences leave me in absolute awe.

 

[divinman]

Date: 10/15/2005
Dive number: 304
Dive Location: Catalina Island/Casino Point
Bottom Time: 72 minutes
Max Depth: 65ft
Avg Depth: 37ft
Vis: 50-60ft
Surface Temp: 66f
Temp at depth: 66f
Surface Conditions:Some wind chop, easy kick out from the stairs

Date: 10/15/2005
Dive number: 305
Dive Location: Catalina Island/Casino Point
Bottom Time: 25minutes
Max Depth: 49ft
Avg Depth: 31ft
Vis: a little milkier but still a good 35-40
Surface Temp: 66f
Temp at depth: 66f
Surface Conditions:Calm but the tide was out so entry and exit at the stairs required some crawling.

Image Gallery: http://gallery.scubapost.net/v/terry/album10/101505/

Doug, Missy, Sean,Simon and I drove to Dana Point in the wee hours of the morning to catch the 7am ferry to Avalon. As we slurped coffee and nodded in and out of consciousness on the ride over, dreams filled our heads of aquamarine depths and warm water.... Sometimes dreams do come true.

At the pier at Avalon we met Phil and retrieved our gear. Dr. Bill was on the docks preparing to board another charter boat and hands were shaken and backs were slapped but before long it was time to head toward the casino and the waiting ocean. The sky was clearing and the wind was gusty but our spirits were high. We hired the dive sherpa's to haul our gear over and we enjoyed a nice easy stroll through Avalon and on to the Point. The jazz festival is this weekend so we were treated to smooth jazz as we geared up for the first dive.

The line was already building on the stairs but the crowd wasn’t too unruly and a light happy mood permeated the air. Having completed our final checks we join the other dive lemmings on their steady march into the sea. Fins on and mask in place is stepped easily out into the high tide and was soon fining toward the far west buoy. At the line we gathered. Excitement fed by the crystal clear water below us. A quick check showed the surface temp to be a toasty 66 degrees (on average). This reading would not change through the entire dive.

Our group was torn between just dropping in where we were and swimming over to the Valiant. Logistics sorted out, some when east and some when down. I was in the "hey, lets just drop in here group" so down we went. I will let the Valiant divers tell there tale.

I must mention here that contrary to popular San Diego belief, the ocean is actually blue. At 10 ft I could clearly see the bottom at 60ft. At 60ft I could see the waves and light on the surface. Nirvana was had. Turning ESE we swam slowly over the mostly sand and rubble bottom and through the kelp patches until we reached the swim platform. Life was abundant. Calico and sheephead, wrasse and blacksmith, opal-eye and sargo......the list goes on and on. We spent a good 15 minutes exploring the structure, over and under and up and down, it was amazing. Moving in a shallower we discovered huge boulders covered with life. More than I could hope to identify or describe here. HUGE gorgonians waved in the current while bass and perch eyed me from a not too far distance.

I could go on and on about this dive, and looking back it appears that I have. Dive two required a short surface interval for me as I was booked on 2pm ferry and it was already 1230 when I got out of the water. A small “donation” to the filling station got my tank bumped to next in line. Good thing too because the rest of our merry crew were still waiting for their tanks after having had lunch. I was nearly halfway back to the mainland before they were filled and ready to dive again.

With no dive buddy handy I tagged along with a couple from Laguna. We were a good threesome as they were taking pictures too. This dive was shallower and shorter. From the time we entered the water I had almost exactly one hour to dive, change clothes and get to the ferry. The dive gods were smiling on me today because I made it…..sweating profusely and embarrassingly out of breath I stowed my gear and was on my way.

I hear that the remaining divers had amazing encounters on the Sue Jack with eels and bat rays making an appearance. I can’t wait to read their report.

Terry S.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

The Valiant was covered so heavily with kelp that we barely saw the wreck at all, despite the great vis. We managed to find a few nudis and of course, the eels.

 

[wetrat]

Awesome pictures Phil and Terry!! Thank you.

 

[Stryker]

Date: 10/15/2005
Dive Number: 49
Dive Location: Martini Rock, Khor Fakkan UAE
Bottom Time: 52 minutes
Max Depth: 49 fsw
Vis: 20-25ft
Temp at depth: 82F
Surf: 6in

Well being my first dive in the area I was super excited as it was, but wasnt sure exactly what to expect.. The dive boat at the operation I went out of (DiversDown) was a piece of junk... just a small boat that could maybe hold 10 people if you want to bring the water level up to the edge of the boat.... But we got to the site quick and after having my 1st stage break, and having trouble with part of my harness, we were off....

The first thing I noticed was how much the structure reminded me of Deadman's Reef... then a tiny moray... couldnt have been longer than 8 or 9 inches.... And then another, and another, and another... this area is LITTERED with morays (all different kinds too)... The sea life is somewhat similar out here, but there are a few "superstars" out here that stand out... Saw some bright yellow and blue boxfish, a long pipefish, and a few small puffer fish... Then one of the highlights of the day, the guy I was paired with spotted a HUGE seahorse... just guessing I would say it was a foot long (maybe longer)... there was also a big surprise in that there is a lot of bright coral out here... After about 40 minutes or so we swam to the anchor line and did our safety stop, and then swam til we were under the boat.. there was a couple who were doing their first dive and were already on the boat, and we came underneath and tapped the hull with our knives to scare them... was quite fun.... Also diving with a t-shirt and shorts was quite a headtrip having learned with a 7mm....

Date: 10/15/2005
Dive Number: 50!!!!!
Dive Location: Anemone Gardens
Bottom Time: 42 minutes
Max Depth: 69 fsw
Vis: 20
Temp at depth: 82F
Surf: (not a shore dive)

So after the first dive I told them I wanted to see a shark (although it didnt happen), so we headed to "shark island" for my 50th.. The island is supposed to be a great place to see black tipped reef sharks (at certain times of the year)... We moored and dropped down to the anemone gardens... This time sea life was a little different.... Still a ton of morays (probably saw about 30 different ones throughout the day), quite a few shrimp (need help identifying what kind), a HUGE puffer fish (about the size of a basketball), some clownfish resting in an anemone, a strange nudibranch (need help with this too), and the biggest lobster ive ever seen (antennae were approximately 2 ft long.. if I hadnt seen them sticking way out from under the rock, I never would have seen him)... This area is close to where they are building a breakwall, so the area gets dark, but not really harder to see....

All in all a great dive and a great experience... After resizing, I will have quite a few pictures to share.....

 

[pasley]

Great dive report Stryker. Glad to hear you have found time to get wet duing your long "vacation" in the gulf. Stay safe and give us a shout when you get back.