The Mighty Lexy MARCH 2006 Dive Reports Thread

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Date: 3/20/06
Dive Location: N. Crescent Bay, Laguna Beach
Buddy(ies): Glycerin
Time: 7:50AM
Bottom Time: 61min
Max Depth: 27FT
Vis: 10-15FT
Wave height: 1FT
Temp at depth: 52F
Tide information: Low
Gas mix: Air

Comments: Hooked up with Josh for an early morning dive before work. We decided to stay in shallow rocky area to try to find a few bugs before upcoming season end. Vis was around 10-15ft in the shallows … lower on the back side of the reef. Water temp was a chilly 52F at depth. There was some minimal surge, approx 1-2ft. We poked around the rocks to the west of the drop area. We encountered several bugs, mostly smaller ones. Bigger ones were holed up deep way out of reach. We did mange to wrestle a couple out, but all measured just short. Saw plenty of other cool stuff hiding in the holes, such as morays & octopi. Saw some rays in the sand on the way in. Not the greatest conditions, but still a fun little dive.


Date: 3/21/06
Dive Location: N. Crescent Bay, Laguna Beach
Buddy(ies): Glycerin
Time: 7:40AM
Bottom Time: 57min
Max Depth: 27FT
Vis: 10-12FT
Wave height: 1-2FT
Temp at depth: 51F
Tide information: Low
Gas mix: Air

Comments: Nearly a duplicate of yesterday’s dive. We had slight lower vis, some small swell energy, and some moderate surge (2-3ft). We saw several bugs … caught some … caught shorts … caught pieces of others … saw other cool stuff too (morays, crabs, octopi). We got buzzed by a sea lion just before making the turn. It followed us in playing behind us for a while. Dive ended with a nice relaxed swim over the sand shallows.

This was a nice milestone for Josh … dive #50 ! Cheers, dude … you’re doing good ! :beerchug:
 
riguerin:
This was a nice milestone for Josh … dive #50 ! Cheers, dude … you’re doing good ! :beerchug:

Thanks man... I have great partners :beerchug:
 
MaxBottomtime:
Thanks HBDiveChicaBabeSpotGirl. Your reports never lack entertainment value. :)
My pleasure, MaxPhil!! My reports do, however, lack photographs. Thanks for sharing so many of yours :D . I love seeing them all. When Mo2vation and I found all those beautiful nudibranchs on the Casino Point night dive 2 weeks ago, I was pretty sure of the ID due to your Janolus barbarensis photograph from OML last year. Ken's gorgeous photos confirmed the ID the next day. Pictures really are worth 1K words!
 
riguerin:
This was a nice milestone for Josh … dive #50 ! Cheers, dude … you’re doing good ! :beerchug:

Josh,

Way to go! Congratulations are in order:

:59: :rock_band :jump3: 50 :partytime :mooner: :dance_2: :dazzler1:

Rick
 
Last Lobster hunt of the Season.
Thanks to the generous invitation of HBDIVEGirl I joined here and several others from the board here for the last night of lobster season aboard the Pacific Star. My first time on that boat, nice operation. I will leave it to others to post the dive report. All I will say is we saw a few lobsters, and invided some home for dinner. In fact, one joined me for lunch a few minutes ago. The other, courtesy of HBDivegirl will be invited to dinner. Visibility was not too bad with me clearly able to see 10 to 15 feet depending on location. Spotted a bunch of Horn Shark including a very fat (about 7 inch diameter) large guy up in a cave. Surge was on and off and at times very interesting. I needed the dive but got cold (52­° Suunto) and I opted out of the second dive as I was chilled already and the surface interval was sufficiently short that I did not warm enough to go again. I would provide more details, but I have not yet downloaded the computer.

Thanks everyone for the dive and the chance to hunt bugs.
 
Date: 3/22/06
Dive Location: Redondo Canyon
Buddy(ies): Evil Jeff Shaw
Time: 6:35
Bottom Time: 36 minutes
Max Depth: 67'
Vis: 5'
Wave height: 2-4'
Temp at depth: 51F
Comments: Jeff and I got a late start because we were yakking in the parking lot with some of the early arriving DiveVets. I finally got to see an octopus on the fake coral I planted last week on the Monument, but my camera refused to cooperate. It probably didn't matter. There was so much sediment stirred up in the water that the photos I did take are nothing but backscatter. I played Pipefish Whisperer for a few minutes, and Jeff saw a siphonophore floating above me as I tried in vain to take a shrimp's picture. Lots of baby Batrays in the surf. I ended up spending the evening and then some with the DiveVets group. Now I need a nap. :)
 
Date: 3/22/06
Dive Location: Calumet Park, La Jolla
Time: 10:55 PM
Bottom Time: 45min
Max Depth: 19FT
Vis: 10 ft+/-
Wave height: 1 - 3 FT
Temp at depth: 55F
Tide information: Mid
Gas mix: Air

Comments: Beach report said visibility had improved enough to sneak in an end of the season lobster dive so I hit the reefs, timing it to be out before midnight. Viz was good enough to hunt, although the surge was an issue. Saw a lot of large opal eye, a few morays lurking in the holes, crabs and lobster, of which 5 were big enough to invite home. Even saw an abalone big enough to be legal, if abs were legal. ( Boy, I sure miss abs).

Now that the season is closed I have to come up with a justification for diving; maybe I can say I'm going hunting for all the equipment I lost while lobster hunting.
 
Shaw's Cove in Laguna Beach 3/23/06

What a great day to play hooky! And to think just last week it was WINTER here. Today was definitely a spring break kinda day. The conditions bode well for this coming weekend.

Surf: flat except for an occasional whomper (like the one that got me!)
Surge: periodic and 2 feet or so
Viz: 10 feet in flats and 15-20 inside the reef with occasional lower viz
Temp: a comfy 53 or so (mine said 43 if you can believe it - Oceanic will be hearing from me)
28 feet for 48 minutes (lots of air left after that short shallow dive!)

Today, the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The cool water was actually a relief from our sweaty neoprene! I promptly showed a friend who was watching from the shore how we get back up after getting tossed by a wave in 5 feet of water.... Anything I can do for the instructional component of the afternoon. ;-) (Next time I WILL go under the wave like Kevin did so deftly.)

I had low expectations for the dive with the recent low temps and lower viz. We dropped into green water and lots of floaties at 3:30ish, just outside the entry to the reef. Just as I expected... At least we could easily see the ends of our fin tips and more.... 10 feet of viz right there.

We spent a few minutes getting acclimated around there and then entered the reef. Inside it was amazingly clear and bright!!! It had opened up to 20 feet immediately upon entry!

Critters observed and shared with Ruth and Larry:
Sheep crab
Tylodina fungina (an opisthobranch) or as Rick likes to call them... yellow snot snails. Giant keyhole limpets of many colors (Megathura crenulata)
Grey moon sponge
Cleaner shrimp (no accompanying eel)
Halibut (2)
Another flatfish of some sort
2 baby bat rays
California sea hares
Black croakers in the crevice

All the other usual suspects.

Ruth and others saw Hopkin's rose nudibranchs but I didn't see them. Those are always a treat! I think Kevin mentioned a San Diego dorid. He dived much longer than we did so I'm sure he saw more.

It was truly a great day to be diving. The crew from that Laguna Beach reality show was filming while we exited. They seemed more interested with the hotties on the beach than with divers full of sand and snot. Go figure.
 

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