The Mighty Lexy FEBRUARY 2006 Dive Reports Thread

[riguerin]

Date: 2/16/06
Dive Location: North Crescent Bay, Laguna
Buddy(ies): Glycerin
Time: 7:04am
Bottom Time: 56 min
Max Depth: 41 fsw
Vis: 15-20 ft
Wave height: 1-2 ft
Surge: 1-2 ft
Temp at depth: 55 F
Surface Temp: N/A
Tide information: Mid, low going high
Gas mix: 21%

Comments: Hooked up with Josh at North Crescent for an early AM dive. Conditions were great - clear skies with light offshore winds. Air temp were on the brisk side. We entered the water around mid tide. Upon descending, we encountered fair-good visibility and minimal surge.

We were out for bugs today. We nabbed one legal sized bug in approx 30 fsw just a couple minutes into the dive. Afterwards, we continued to work the cracks and crevices in reef as we made our way west, toward Seal Rock. Along the way, we encountered about 3-4 bugs. A couple of them were really nice sized; all well out of arms reach, of course. We made the turn when Josh hit approx 1500 psi. About mid way back, we came across a big rock with about 2-3 bugs tucked underneath it. I was able to reach and wrestle one of them out fairly quickly ... he measured just a tad short :crying2: The others were definite keepers. Josh and I tried double teaming them from opposite sides of the rock, however, we couldn't quite coax them into reachable range. We finally gave up after 5-6 minutes. We had a nice relaxed final leg which ended in the sandy shallows. We saw a cool little sting ray scooting along the bottom just prior to ascending.

 

[divinman]

Date: 02/16/2006
Dive Location: La Jolla Shores/ Boat Launch to the Canyon and South
Buddy(is): Rick, Donna, Tyler
Time: 6:19pm
Bottom Time: 66 minutes
Max Depth: 87ft
Vis: Solid 15ft with spots of 20
Wave height: 0-2, no power at al
Temp at depth: 56F (no thermocline) toasty indeed
Surface Temp: 56F
Tide information: Didn’t check
Gas mix: Air
Images: http://www.scubapost.net/forums/Scorpionfish/02162006/
Comments:

Rick, Donna and Tyler agreed to go dive with me tonight. Hopes were high that we would fine the elusive stubby squid. Eagle-eyed Rick found one but was unable to get my attention to share the love. Good job Rick. This dive was filled with large fringeheads, bat rays, scorpionfish, lobster, and nudibranchs-o-plenty. The water was a warm 56 from surface to bottom. Hardly any swell and no a current to battle on the way our or back. We entered well south by the boat ramp and after dropping in just shy of the canyon edge we continued south along the wall. We all explored slowly, every watchful for the stubby squid. At our turn pressure we headed back up over the wall and across the sand dollars, plethora of mating swimming crabs, across the rock piles and into the shallows. Just as I was clipping off the camera in about 5ft of water, a very small bat ray came by to see what I was doing. I managed one quick shot and then just watch him spiral around me and head north with no perceptible effort in the calm evening water. NICE!

I stood up and found that I was directly in front of the bathroom which was for the best, and planned as we had parked on Vallecetos Street. No break-ins in the vehicles was just icing on the cake.

Thanks to everyone for joining me for a nice relaxing end of the work day.

Terry S.

 

[wetrat]

Date: 2/17/06
Dive Location: Diver's Cove
Buddy(ies): Glycerin (Josh), wth (Andy), riguerin (Rick), saintsfan (Bobby)
Time: 8:00 am
Bottom Time: 65 min
Max Depth: 32 fsw
Vis: Up to 30 ft
Wave height: 1-2 ft
Surge: 1-2 ft
Temp at depth: Aeris 57 F
Gas mix: EAN 36% (almost useless at this depth, but I did look cool using it :14: )

Met at 7:30 am, discussed our dive plan, paired off, and hit Lake Laguna. We were pretty excited on the brief swim out when we saw the great visibility - we saw two bat rays resting on the sand before we even dropped down. After descending, we saw plenty of green aggregating anemones and a lone red one, octos, a moray, a sheep crab and a lobster or two. Fish species included the usual Garibaldi, Blacksmith, Senoritas, Barred Sandbass, and I saw what I think was a pair of Black Croaker "kissing". My new Jet Fins had great propulsion, but I was having trouble backing out of the nooks and crannies - a skill that wasn't a problem with my Mares but I'm sure will come. Saintsfan and I made a wide circle around the reef and back to the steps at Diver's Cove while the other guys surfaced at Fisherman's and climbed the stairs there. We emerged to find neophyte (Adam) waiting for us on shore. Traffic had got the best of him so he missed the first dive. :crying2: Poor Josh and Rick had to go to work. Josh wanted to stay for a second dive so bad I think he almost ditched work. Then he remembered he makes video games for a living and he was almost OK as he left.

Date: 2/17/06
Dive Location: North Crescent
Buddy(ies): wth (Andy), saintsfan (Bobby), neophyte (Adam)
Time: 10:30 am
Bottom Time: 52 min
Max Depth: 43 fsw
Vis: Up to 20 ft
Wave height: 1-2 ft
Surge: 1-2 ft
Temp at depth: Aeris 57 F
Gas mix: 21%

The water was a little more turbid here but vis still a respectable 15 to 20 ft. Saintsfan remarked these were among his best shore dives for him ever and the best ones he had ever done in Laguna. (Of course, he owns a boat!) Fish species were about the same only more of 'em and there were some Painted Greenlings too. Nobody was kissing either. Lots of gorgonians, tube worms and purple sea urchins. Andy and I lost Adam and Bobby early in the dive so we continued to fin to the end of the reef and then head for seal rock as planned. No sea lions or seals came out to greet us, but the reef structure was awesome. Reached our turn around pressure and lazily headed back to the beach. It was another fantastic day in paradise - great diving, good company, and Adam and I had a pretty delicious lunch at Pacific Whey Co. afterward. Thank you for a REALLY fun day gentlemen!!

 

[riguerin]

John, You forgot to mention the whale and pod of dolphin we saw before suiting up That was a really awesome first dive. Thanks for suggesting it. Here's a couple pics I took today:


Kudos to eagle-eye Josh for pointing out several octopi.

 

[JMdiver]

Great shots guys, keep em coming I really enjoy these pictures.

Happy Diving
John

 

[wetrat]

Great shots guys, keep em coming I really enjoy these pictures.

Happy Diving
John

Agreed. Great shots Rick! Thanks for taking them, and especially, thanks for joining us - you definitely added to my day!

 

[Peter McGuinness]

La Jolla shores: Secret garden
Depth 100ft
Time: 51 miins


I took a look out towards the secret garden today, although I spent
more time on the 50ft reef just above it (one of my favorite spots).
The surf was very moderate and the vis was a respectable 15ft or so.
There was a large shoal of fish which adopted me around the 90ft mark,
and stayed with me until I got into the shallows - which meant I had
company for most of the dive, and I got a nice movie of the shoal
feeding frenziedly on the remnants of the squid eggs.

I had a chat with a french diver (well, he sounded french; I didn't
actually ask) who got in at more or less the same time as I did, and we
met up again as we got out - except he dived at quast rock from his
kayak! Now that is something worth considering!

photos are at:
http://www.mcguinness-family.net/albums/diving/SanDiego//ShoresFeb06/

with the new ones starting at IMG_4452.jpg

Peter

This guy looks like he needs a shave and his morning starbuck's!

================================

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Date: February 18, 2006
Dive Location: Fog Wreck, Marineland twice and KOU (Condos)
Buddy(ies): Jeff Shaw and Marc Bacon
Time: 9:56, 12:35, 1:46, 3:03
Bottom Time: :24, :37, :29, :30
Max Depth: 103', 58', 67', 49'
Vis: 40'+ at the Fog Wreck, 20' elsewhere
Wave height: Waves? Ha!
Temp at depth: 54F
Comments: We headed out toward the Fog wreck this morning, hoping to get in at least one dive before the high winds and rain arrived. It turned out to be a sunny, beautiful day. We even had a pod of Risso's dolphin greet us at the wreck. Anyone who stayed home because of the weather report missed some of the best dive conditions we've had in awhile. The visibility at the Fog wreck was amazing. We saw a single squid making a ten foot safety stop on the anchor chain as we dropped down. The bottom was littered with dead squid. The Blacksmiths were having a feast, as were the large sandbass, crabs and maybe the only Wolfeel we found. Ross said later that he tried to feed it, but it wasn't hungry. We cut the dive short to stay out of deco and had an amazing ascent. There were mating squid everywhere in mid-water. from 70 feet up to 20 feet there were schools of squid going by.

We motored over to Marineland to try once again to find the hidden platform. I made search sweeps on two dives. I found a piece of the deck, one of the large fishing nets and a dozen Mantis shrimp, but no platform. Jeff's wife Sue said a pod of Common dolphin were all over us at the surface while we were diving.
We then headed over to the Condos near the Trump golf course, where Marc caught his lobster dinner for tonight. A great day to be on the water. Flat seas, sunny skies and good friends.

 

[mark99]

Date: 2/18/06
Dive Location: Oil Rigs Eureka, Ellen and Elly
Buddy(ies): Todd and Kyle from Calfornia Diving Company
Time: 8:00, 9:45, 11:30
Bottom Time: :38, :39, :37
Max Depth: 78, 95, 54 fsw
Vis: 100+
Wave height: 0-1 ft
Surge: nil
Temp at depth: 57 F
Gas mix: 21%

Since I had to bail on next week's Anacapa boat trip, my search for a repacement led me back to an old favorite, the Sea Bass. I was sort of a tag-along on the CDC trip, fortunately for me it was attended only by 5 other divers. We set out from San Pedro at 7, arriving at oil rig Eureka about 45 minutes later. We geared up, and as you probably know it's a live boat drop- with only 6 divers we were all in quick. Eureka has the most structure of the three rigs, pipes, cross beams and supports everywhere. There was a very little current running, just enough where you had to be watchful all the time of not running into the structure. The visibility was absolutely impressive, when we entered the water we could see all the way to the second platform, which I understand is at about 120 ft. We descended to the first platform at 50 ft, spent a little time there and a bit below, and swam around the inside of the structure. The entire thing is covered with bivalves of some sort (I wish I could tell a clam from a scallop) but since the whole thing is now a no-take zone, at least I won't run afoul of the DFG. The structure is also covered pretty much with anemones and other colorful plant life. There were plenty of big fish, sheepshead and bass etc. At the safety stop we were dive bombed by a number of playful sealions protecting their turf.

The second and third dives were at rigs Ellen and Elly, the two connected by the overhead catwalk. Ellen is the drilling rig, and has more internal structure than Elly. The vis was not quite as dramatic as Eureka, but at the first platform at 40 ft we could easily see the second platform. We descended toward the second platform down to about 90 ft, then thought the better of the depth being the second dive of the three. We slowly ascended swimming around the inside. The plant/fishlife was pretty similar to Eureka, but the structure was quite different. The first platform has a number of horizontal holes in the cross members, measuring maybe a couple feet in diameter. We also saw some interesting venting out of one of the pipes at about 50 ft., not something you'd want to get too close to.

Elly is the pumping rig, and has the least internal structure. The first platform at about 40 ft has just a few cross members. We did at least a couple laps around the outer edge, finally giving in to the cold water and ending the dive.

We arrived back at the dock at 1:30 pm. Kudos to Captains Drew and Richard, DM Scott and my new CDC diving buddies. Also got to meet fellow Scubaboarder- Diving Ron- Welcome to the boards and hope to see you at some of the So Cal outings.

 

[JMdiver]

Date: 2-18-06
Location: Old Marineland
Buddy: Rickster
Time: 8:40 & 10:45 AM
Bottom Time: 41min & 37min
Max Depth: 36 & 37fsw
Vis: 25 & 20ft
Wave Height: 1 to 2ft.
Temp. at Depth:53 deg.
Comments: Entered from the cove both times, swam out pass the point then decended. Headed about 40 to 50 deg. & hit the reef. I let Rick do the leading since he's been there many more times then I have. We saw alot of marine life, a bunch of Octopi hiding in little cervices & under ledges. I spotted a horned shark in a fish swim through. We seen only 2 lobsters in one hole but couldn't get them. All in all it was a great day of diving, I really enjoyed diving with rick. Rick we have to do it again soon. Sorry we missed you Maxbottomtime maybe next time. It was a great day to dive also, sunshine blue skies. BTW MaxB there was another group there looking for the platform & didn't find it.

Happy Diving
John