The Mighty Lexy MARCH 2006 Dive Reports Thread

[HBDiveGirl]

Last Lobster hunt of the Season.
Thanks to the generous invitation of HBDIVEGirl I joined her and several others from the board here for the last night of lobster season aboard the Pacific Star. ....

Mel, it's me that needs to send a "Thank YOU" right back your way. This was my first experience on a dedicated HUNTING boat dive. Like the surge, it was... uhm, interesting. Who knew so many people could smoke on one boat? Who knew there are "divers" who won't dive at all from March 23 to October 2006? Dedicated 'hunters' are different from sport/rec/tech/photog divers who happen to like catching lobster. I was grateful to be diving with you, sharing the appreciation of finding all those beautiful sleeping sharks. We must have seen at least 10!!! Your team skills made the dive more fun, safe, and enjoyable. And, HEY!, we caught some bugs.

The Stats:
3/22/06 Palos Verdes mystery cove, from the Pacific Star
8:00PM, 34fsw max (mostly around 20fsw), 69 minutes, 54F, Viz: 10 feet
We dropped down and headed towards shore. Lots of kelp and great rock formations and sleeping sharks Everywhere!! I grabbed a nicely legal bug. Mel nabbed a legal bug. We got closer in towards shore and the surge got frisky... like 8 feet swing to the left and then back right. Got another bug. Got cold! We watched a beautiful octopus prowling around with magic camoflage.. great sight. Mel and I tracked each other very well while hunting for fun. Back on board, the results of more aggressively skilled and flinty-eyed hunters were stuffed into bulging bags. They had gone very shallow, with greater surge and covered huge swathes of territory.

10:10PM, 26fsw max (mostly around 16fsw), 51 minutes, 54F, Viz: 10 feet
My drysuit allowed me to warm quickly and head for another dive. Missing Mel, I tagged on with another pair of drysuited divers, planning to stick with them and hunt as much as I could while not losing them. I saw not one pair of antennae sticking up out of an algae patch... but Two Pair of legal looking antennae. I was very glad for my tiny mask-mounted light, as I set my bigger light down and BAM, grabbed them both... And then laughed. Ha! How did I think I was going to measure and bag? With my third hand??? I am such a newbie at this, it is to laugh!!! I convinced Bug 1 to clutch onto Bug 2, and I bear-hugged them both while freeing my gauge. Into the bag they went.
I saw dozens of fat and sassy bugs, waaaay back in lovely caves. I grabbed and missed as bugs vanished away into deep holes. I tried getting in more shallow, but the crazy surge unhinged me a bit, and I went back out to around 16-18 feet. I finally tired at 11PM and surfaced near the boat to big glassy swells and stars galore. It was fun to talk with Mel, Roger, Sumit and Amber on deck, and think about all the fun we would have diving between now and the next lobster season. Interesting experience. I have a new respect for the skill and hardiness of dedicated lobster hunters. "Shallow, surgy, bad viz, cover alot of ground." Me? Love to dive. Happiest sharing the fun. Like to hunt in fun places with good teammates. Non-flinty-eyed, non-smoker.
I can't wait to go diving again Lots of fun to have between now and October.
Thanks, Mel, for sharing the fun. The first dive was the best.

Let's get some more diving in before your 18 month dry-spell begins at the end of April. And I call dibs on hunting lobster with you, again, in October, 2007.
~~~~~~~
Claudette

 

[pasley]

...
Let's get some more diving in before your 18 month dry-spell begins at the end of April. And I call dibs on hunting lobster with you, again, in October, 2007.
~~~~~~~
Claudette

Claudette,
Thank you so much for the dive. I really need it, physically and mentally. When I am under, I think only of what I am doing and enjoying the beauty. I needed that.

When I return, we will go bug hunting. Once I get everything aranged I plan to spend my remainging time diving my...um....well you know off.

For now there is so much to do, every day I think of new stuff. At least I now know exactly what I will be doing over there. I will not be bored that is for certain. Yesterday I incorporated my business, so I might be able to save some customers. Trying to get everything situated so my wife will have as few worries as possible until I return and if necessary after.

I was informed of the details of my assigment Thursday. I will not be bored that is for certain. If I have to do somthing, this is a good assigment to do, might as well be were the rubber meets the road I guess.

 

[Frank O]

Date: 3/25/06
Dive Location: Vet's Park, Redondo Beach
Buddy(ies): Gina C
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Run time: 28:40
Max depth: 70 ft
Vis: 5 ft shallow, 6 inches deeper than 50
Wave height: Middling-largish
Min temp: 53.6 F Uwatec, 52 F Suunto
Tide information: Headed toward low
Gas mix: 32%
Comments:

Here was the quandary. Too many "gotta do's" this weekend to devote a day to diving, so no Pac Star Scubaboardfest for me. But with my last dive nearly three weeks ago, I was loathe to see another weekend go by without working the muscle memory. Hearing that a few folk would be at Redondo Saturday morning, I headed down with the thought of knocking out a quick "check-the-box" dive -- probably swimming circles around Nick and Pete doing drills in preparation for their upcoming tech class. Nick and Pete indeed showed up to drill, but Gina also arrived with single tank looking for an easy sightseeing dive -- so out we went.

After slogging through middling-big surf we dropped shallow in green water, finding about 5 ft of vis around 30-40 ft. As we headed down the slope, the depths ahead looked very dark and dingy. After 50 ft, vis dropped to maybe 6 inches -- lots of big, fluffy white particulate matter, which I'm told is the alien spawn of some critter or another. (Well, maybe not that alien -- I'm sure that these bits of fluff and I share a common ancestor back in the Proterozoic maybe 3 billion years ago.)

So up the slope we headed. Along the way we spent some time with a couple of large stars, a sheepcrab, 2-3 flatfish, a baby horn shark and a small patch of squid eggs. Exit was uneventful. Yes, the box was checked and muscle memory exercised, but not too much more beyond that!

 

[Jake]

Date: 2006-03-25
Dive Location: Casino Point
Buddy(ies): Class partners
Time: 11:30-15:00
Max Depth: 62fsw
Vis: 30-40, murky at times (lots of particulate matter floating around)
Wave height: none
Temp at depth: 53
Surface Temp:
Tide information: low to rising
Comments: Diving was great. Visibility was better later in the day, although it wasn't too bad earlier.

 

[JMdiver]

Date: 3/25/06
Dive Location:Leo Carillo
Buddy(ies):Scott & Robert
Time: 10:30AM
Bottom Time: 29 min.
Max Depth:28fsw
Vis: 3ft in shallows 10-13ft at 2nd reef
Wave height: 2-3ft
Temp at depth: 49
Surface Temp:?
Tide information: -2ft low
Gas mix:air
Comments:I was there helping out some friends do a rescue class. After we did a the find a lost diver we headed out to the 2nd reef & deeper water where the vis. was a little better but not much. We seen a few sheep crabs, a school of kelp bass & a leopard shark about 2ft long just sitting on top of the rocks. I was the only one that was him by the time I got anyones attention he was gone.

Happy Diving
John

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Date: March 28, 2006
Dive Location: Marineland
Buddy(ies): Jeff, Shanon, Ted and Merry
Time: 9:26
Bottom Time: 1:00
Max Depth: 62'
Vis: 8-15'
Wave height: 1' in the cove, 4-5' at the point
Temp at depth: 50F
Surface Temp: 55F
Comments: Took Merry and Shanon to the main reef for their first time. Due to the high surf at the point we entered in the cove and made the surface swim. I don't think Shanon loves surface swims much. We found an abundance of nudibranchs, hydroids, sponges, sea fans and sea cucumbers. It was a little chilly and dark in places, but I had such a great time sharing the reef with everyone today.

 

[Mo2vation]

Date: 3/25/06
Dive Location: Vet's Park, Redondo Beach
Buddy(ies): Gina C
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Run time: 28:40
Max depth: 70 ft
Vis: 5 ft shallow, 6 inches deeper than 50
Wave height: Middling-largish
Min temp: 53.6 F Uwatec, 52 F Suunto
Tide information: Headed toward low
Gas mix: 32%
Comments:

Here was the quandary. Too many "gotta do's" this weekend to devote a day to diving, so no Pac Star Scubaboardfest for me. But with my last dive nearly three weeks ago, I was loathe to see another weekend go by without working the muscle memory. Hearing that a few folk would be at Redondo Saturday morning, I headed down with the thought of knocking out a quick "check-the-box" dive -- probably swimming circles around Nick and Pete doing drills in preparation for their upcoming tech class. Nick and Pete indeed showed up to drill, but Gina also arrived with single tank looking for an easy sightseeing dive -- so out we went.

After slogging through middling-big surf we dropped shallow in green water, finding about 5 ft of vis around 30-40 ft. As we headed down the slope, the depths ahead looked very dark and dingy. After 50 ft, vis dropped to maybe 6 inches -- lots of big, fluffy white particulate matter, which I'm told is the alien spawn of some critter or another. (Well, maybe not that alien -- I'm sure that these bits of fluff and I share a common ancestor back in the Proterozoic maybe 3 billion years ago.)

So up the slope we headed. Along the way we spent some time with a couple of large stars, a sheepcrab, 2-3 flatfish, a baby horn shark and a small patch of squid eggs. Exit was uneventful. Yes, the box was checked and muscle memory exercised, but not too much more beyond that!

'Dette and I did almost the same thing on Thursday night.

We went in search of the PG Super Coral Monument project. Oy.

It sucked so bad we bagged it after 27 minutes. We couldn't see a bloody thing.

Here was the Wetnotes notation I penciled to her at about minute 19 or 20:

a) Where the hell'd they put the monument?

b) Viz Suxxxx!

C) HT Grille, Hess Cabernet, Grilled Romaine Salad, Dessert?

So we went and watched the last 14 minutes of the UCLA game and had a great dinner!

---
Ken

 

[HBDiveGirl]

'Dette and I did almost the same thing on Thursday night.

We went in search of the PG Super Coral Monument project. Oy.

It sucked so bad we bagged it after 27 minutes. We couldn't see a bloody thing.

Here was the Wetnotes notation I penciled to her at about minute 19 or 20:

a) Where the hell'd they put the monument?

b) Viz Suxxxx!

C) HT Grille, Hess Cabernet, Grilled Romaine Salad, Dessert?

So we went and watched the last 14 minutes of the UCLA game and had a great dinner!

---
Ken

There I was, hovering at 63 feet in a snowstorm of particulates, having mowed back and forth looking for the monument, trying to think of SomeThing fun to do on this dive, when up in my grille comes Your note!!!
I 'bout spit my reg out laughing!!

First they move Phil's platform?
Now they've moved the monument??? "Hey, Put it Back!"

Viz Sooooo bad it takes 4 X's to describe??

A dive so bad that even Mr. Enthusiasm has moved on to dessert???

Wow... I came to the party fast and we bolted for the parking lot.
That night, truly, first one to the surface, wins.

Go Bruins!!

Now, where DID they move the monument to??
hbDiveNDinner'Chica

 

[Rickster]

Date: 3/26/06
Dive Location: Deer Creek Rd
Buddy(ies): solo
Time: 9:05am, 11:55am
Bottom Time: 66min, 58min
Max Depth: 35ft, 32ft
Vis: 6'-12'
Wave height: 1-3'
Temp at depth: 54F
Tide information: low
Gas mix: 21%

Comments:
Didn't get enough diving in on the Pac Star Sat, so I headed out Sun morning. Teresa and I drove down the coast and stopped at Deer Creek Rd. One of my favorites.

1st dive:
I suited up and headed into the surf. There were 1 footers with erratic 2-3 footers, every once in awhile. I went out pretty quick, surface swam to the kelpbeds, seeing dolphins on the way out, not close enough to swim with. Once at the kelp, I decended. The vis was 6-8 ft. I heded out to the bigger growth of kelp, where the vis opened up alittle. On the way out, I seen a shadow to my right, out on the sand. I stopped and it came back. I am not sure if it is the same one or not, but, I seen my second huge angel shark in this area. I am talking 7' easy. It came within 6' ft of me then darted away, What a magnificent sighting! The rest of the dive seemed trivial to this. I seen the usual guys, lobster, octos, kelp bass, a couple cabazon, a horned shark, and starfish and urchins. My exit was flawless.

2nd dive:
I had such a great time, I decided to do a second. Out thru the surf and decended. This dive was alittle more surgy, but, no problem. Just a mild ride at the theme park I explored around, seen an huge amount of octopus this dive. They were everywhere I looked. One was even out for a swim. I watched him, until he ducked back into his house. My exit wasn't as graceful this time. I got to the sand bar, took off my fins, and proceed to the rut, before the exit. All of a sudden, the dive gods said you had too much fun. Here comes a 3footer from nowhere. I am in 2 feet of water, no problem, I thought. Boy those little waves have alot of power. Well, needless to say, I sand surfed on my belly up onto the shore. Got up, looked around to see if anyone seen me. Up on the road Teresa, had a big grin from ear to ear.

Over all this was a good day.

Rick

 

[Frank O]

HT Grille, Hess Cabernet, Grilled Romaine Salad, Dessert?

Redolent of detail! Though being a little lazy to deploy the wetnotes, I'm working on perfecting what I've come to call the "10-fathom shrug" -- a quick body gesture meant to signify, "Now why again is it that we're still underwater??"

On the meal front, most of the Saturday morning crew did say they were going off to a nice lunch, though due to schedule compression it was my lot to go with the pier fries .... :huh: