orangelion03
Contributor
John forgot to mention the highlight of our Leo dive...we were shadowed by a Harbor Seal for most of the time we spent at the point. Very cool.
The Pasley Aug 06 Dive Report Thread
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HBDiveGirl:
Am I missing something?
I can't believe I forgot about the seal, maybe it was the sun I was sitting in afterwards
Happy Diving
John
Happy Diving
John
Roughwaterjohn
Contributor
LJS North Wall, Tuesday night August 15th
Info:
Cool, slightly overcast evening with a 4-6 knot breeze from the N/W
Swell height 1'-2'
2.5' tide at 1930 hrs, diminishing on a 1.5 knot ebb
Sea surface temperature was 65 degrees
Temperature at max depth was 59 degrees
Visibility 5'-10'
Sea surface was confused, with 1'-2' waves continuing well past the buoy
Max depth 90'
Total bottom time 52 minutes
The Report:
I met up with a whole crowd of people to dive the canyon tonight. Kim, Jen, Marianne, Steve, Jesus and I geared up and split into 3 2-person buddy teams for the nights adventures. The North wall was our destination, so over the hills and through the woods we went, with grandma waiting for us at 70'. Staring into the setting sun, we trudged across the sand, eventually encountering a very confused sea. Waves were coming from all angles, which didn't make it any more difficult, but everyone got a chance to rub saltwater out of their eyes and enjoy the taste of the sea until well past the buoy. The sea surface reminded me more of the Marine Room at high tide, than the Shores. Even at our drop site, waves were breaking as they encountered the floating reef made up of 6 black clad heads.
When our fancy 'Whamo' depth indicator said 30', we gave up the thrill of surface life for a quieter existence below the sea. In very short order, our fins were facing East and our masks West. Westward ho and down into the canyon we went, leveling off at approximately 85'. Visibility was poor on initial landing, with that gift staying with us throughout the dive. Life was very abundant today, even though it got off to a slow start. It wasn't until we were at max depth and heading North that we spotted our first indication of life. Ocean Whitefish, Lizardfiish and juvenile Rockfish were prolific, with multiple sightings throughout the dive. A couple of Plainfin Midshipman spiced things up as we progressed slowly up slope. Sanddabs, a C-O Sole and a couple of Horneyhead Turbot kept us entertained en route to the wall.
Once at the Brittlestar encrusted wall, life truly blossomed in all it's glory. The Brittlestars were a convention of Walmart greeters, as everyone shook everyone else's hand with every appendage they had at their disposal. Every hole held a bounty of life. Blacksmiths forged their way into and out of their stalls, Painted Greenlings flitted artistically around, while huge Cancer Crabs sat grumpily in their lairs. Two Spot Octopus occupied a few of the holes, while a couple of very large Vermillion Rockfish wedged themselves comfortably in for the night. A few Coonstripe Shrimp popped out of their holes to see what the commotion was, including one who dragged junior out, well passed his bedtime. We were also able to glimpse a small portion of a pair of Catalina Triopha, as they were stuffed like sausages into small crevices.
Everyone seemed to hit turn around pressure within a minute of each other, so with that consensus, we headed over the wall towards shore. Leaving the wall behind, the sloping sand gifted us with Barred Sandbass, more Ocean Whitefish, including one behemoth who was easily 16"-18" long. We saw several sizes of Halibut, including one very large Pacific Halibut. I had never seen a Pacific before, and was surprised by how vividly their spots and markings stand out compared to the more subdued California variety. Continuing shallower, we saw a very cute juvenile Pacific Sanddab, also brilliantly colored, and only 2" long. 3 different Pipefish in 3 different sizes greeted us at 3 different locations on the swim in. Stingrays, Cusk eels, a Batray flyby and several baby Shovelnose Guitarfish rounded out our evening.
Amazingly enough, our animal encounters didn't stop at the waterline. Once ashore, we found the beach awash with youths littering the beach in a wealth of hormones and loud music. They were grouped by the hundreds it seems around various fires. As we approached one group, I thought my HID light had gone out, before quickly realizing, it had simply been overpowered by the blue glow of cellphone LCDs. If evolution stays it's current coarse, future generations will surely have atrophied vocal chords, and thumbs the size of sausages. In spite of my fears over the future of our species, it was a wonderful dive with a wonderful group of dive buddies. I can't wait to do it again.
John A.
Info:
Cool, slightly overcast evening with a 4-6 knot breeze from the N/W
Swell height 1'-2'
2.5' tide at 1930 hrs, diminishing on a 1.5 knot ebb
Sea surface temperature was 65 degrees
Temperature at max depth was 59 degrees
Visibility 5'-10'
Sea surface was confused, with 1'-2' waves continuing well past the buoy
Max depth 90'
Total bottom time 52 minutes
The Report:
I met up with a whole crowd of people to dive the canyon tonight. Kim, Jen, Marianne, Steve, Jesus and I geared up and split into 3 2-person buddy teams for the nights adventures. The North wall was our destination, so over the hills and through the woods we went, with grandma waiting for us at 70'. Staring into the setting sun, we trudged across the sand, eventually encountering a very confused sea. Waves were coming from all angles, which didn't make it any more difficult, but everyone got a chance to rub saltwater out of their eyes and enjoy the taste of the sea until well past the buoy. The sea surface reminded me more of the Marine Room at high tide, than the Shores. Even at our drop site, waves were breaking as they encountered the floating reef made up of 6 black clad heads.
When our fancy 'Whamo' depth indicator said 30', we gave up the thrill of surface life for a quieter existence below the sea. In very short order, our fins were facing East and our masks West. Westward ho and down into the canyon we went, leveling off at approximately 85'. Visibility was poor on initial landing, with that gift staying with us throughout the dive. Life was very abundant today, even though it got off to a slow start. It wasn't until we were at max depth and heading North that we spotted our first indication of life. Ocean Whitefish, Lizardfiish and juvenile Rockfish were prolific, with multiple sightings throughout the dive. A couple of Plainfin Midshipman spiced things up as we progressed slowly up slope. Sanddabs, a C-O Sole and a couple of Horneyhead Turbot kept us entertained en route to the wall.
Once at the Brittlestar encrusted wall, life truly blossomed in all it's glory. The Brittlestars were a convention of Walmart greeters, as everyone shook everyone else's hand with every appendage they had at their disposal. Every hole held a bounty of life. Blacksmiths forged their way into and out of their stalls, Painted Greenlings flitted artistically around, while huge Cancer Crabs sat grumpily in their lairs. Two Spot Octopus occupied a few of the holes, while a couple of very large Vermillion Rockfish wedged themselves comfortably in for the night. A few Coonstripe Shrimp popped out of their holes to see what the commotion was, including one who dragged junior out, well passed his bedtime. We were also able to glimpse a small portion of a pair of Catalina Triopha, as they were stuffed like sausages into small crevices.
Everyone seemed to hit turn around pressure within a minute of each other, so with that consensus, we headed over the wall towards shore. Leaving the wall behind, the sloping sand gifted us with Barred Sandbass, more Ocean Whitefish, including one behemoth who was easily 16"-18" long. We saw several sizes of Halibut, including one very large Pacific Halibut. I had never seen a Pacific before, and was surprised by how vividly their spots and markings stand out compared to the more subdued California variety. Continuing shallower, we saw a very cute juvenile Pacific Sanddab, also brilliantly colored, and only 2" long. 3 different Pipefish in 3 different sizes greeted us at 3 different locations on the swim in. Stingrays, Cusk eels, a Batray flyby and several baby Shovelnose Guitarfish rounded out our evening.
Amazingly enough, our animal encounters didn't stop at the waterline. Once ashore, we found the beach awash with youths littering the beach in a wealth of hormones and loud music. They were grouped by the hundreds it seems around various fires. As we approached one group, I thought my HID light had gone out, before quickly realizing, it had simply been overpowered by the blue glow of cellphone LCDs. If evolution stays it's current coarse, future generations will surely have atrophied vocal chords, and thumbs the size of sausages. In spite of my fears over the future of our species, it was a wonderful dive with a wonderful group of dive buddies. I can't wait to do it again.
John A.
nilsdiver
Contributor
Date: 8/15/2006
Dive Location: Thousand Steps, Shell Beach, CA
Buddy(ies): Larry 'Dryglove'
Time: 7:30pm
Bottom Time: 50 minutes
Max Depth: 20 fsw
Vis: 3 to 15 feet
Wave height: flat
Temp at depth: 57 to 59
Surface Temp: nice
Tide information: Out going, 2 hours after high.
Gas mix: 32%
Comments:
I met up with Larry at the dive site after work. The water was flat so we gave the site a try. The vis was off and on with 15 feet in one or two spots, but 10 feet average. In some spots the vis got pretty bad. Light surge. Spotted a 3 or 4 rock fish, a few nudibranches, and a lot of perch. The sun set turning the end of out dive into a night dive. Was great to get a mid week dive in.
Dive Location: Thousand Steps, Shell Beach, CA
Buddy(ies): Larry 'Dryglove'
Time: 7:30pm
Bottom Time: 50 minutes
Max Depth: 20 fsw
Vis: 3 to 15 feet
Wave height: flat
Temp at depth: 57 to 59
Surface Temp: nice
Tide information: Out going, 2 hours after high.
Gas mix: 32%
Comments:
I met up with Larry at the dive site after work. The water was flat so we gave the site a try. The vis was off and on with 15 feet in one or two spots, but 10 feet average. In some spots the vis got pretty bad. Light surge. Spotted a 3 or 4 rock fish, a few nudibranches, and a lot of perch. The sun set turning the end of out dive into a night dive. Was great to get a mid week dive in.
wetrat
Contributor
Date: 8/16/06
Dive Location: Fisherman’s Cove to Diver’s Cove, Laguna
Buddy(ies): riguerin (Rick) and B-boy (Brandon)
Time: 7:22 am
Bottom Time: 104 minutes
Max Depth: 36 ft
Vis: 20 to 30 ft
Swell height: 1-2, slight surge in the shallows
Temp at depth: 63F
Surface Temp: 68F
Gas mix: 21%
After WAY too long, finally hooked up again with Rick and his son Brandon to blow a few bubbles in Laguna. We were hoping Josh (Glycerin) could make it too, but work obligations called. He was missed. Holy cow, what a dive! We had an incredible bottom time of 1 hour, 44 minutes, visibility was stellar, we were all WARM and dry in our new dry suits, and we parked for free right next to the dive site!! Life was sweet in Laguna this AM!
Thanks to Rick’s excellent navigation skills, we executed our dive plan perfectly. We entered at Fisherman’s Cove and explored the reef to the right. Then we traversed across the sand to the reef at the left, followed it around past Mermaid’s Grotto, into Diver’s Cove, then exited at Diver’s Cove. We saw a gaggle of gregarious Garibaldi, a slew of sociable Senoritas and a few brazen bass and Blacksmith. There were lots of babies in the aforementioned species. We also saw a few Sargo, and interestingly, a Rock Wrasse. I noticed the Rock Wrasse at Diver’s Cove on yesterday’s dive too, and finally identified it today. We also encountered a couple California Sea Hare orgies and Rick gave me the very special underwater hand signal he knows for indicating when marine creatures are mating. Saw a few lobster – most of ‘em kindergartners but a couple mobstah lobstahs too.
All in all, a really fantastic morning of diving. It’s always a pleasure to dive with solid divers and quality guys like Rick and Brandon.
John L.
Dive Location: Fisherman’s Cove to Diver’s Cove, Laguna
Buddy(ies): riguerin (Rick) and B-boy (Brandon)
Time: 7:22 am
Bottom Time: 104 minutes
Max Depth: 36 ft
Vis: 20 to 30 ft
Swell height: 1-2, slight surge in the shallows
Temp at depth: 63F
Surface Temp: 68F
Gas mix: 21%
After WAY too long, finally hooked up again with Rick and his son Brandon to blow a few bubbles in Laguna. We were hoping Josh (Glycerin) could make it too, but work obligations called. He was missed. Holy cow, what a dive! We had an incredible bottom time of 1 hour, 44 minutes, visibility was stellar, we were all WARM and dry in our new dry suits, and we parked for free right next to the dive site!! Life was sweet in Laguna this AM!
Thanks to Rick’s excellent navigation skills, we executed our dive plan perfectly. We entered at Fisherman’s Cove and explored the reef to the right. Then we traversed across the sand to the reef at the left, followed it around past Mermaid’s Grotto, into Diver’s Cove, then exited at Diver’s Cove. We saw a gaggle of gregarious Garibaldi, a slew of sociable Senoritas and a few brazen bass and Blacksmith. There were lots of babies in the aforementioned species. We also saw a few Sargo, and interestingly, a Rock Wrasse. I noticed the Rock Wrasse at Diver’s Cove on yesterday’s dive too, and finally identified it today. We also encountered a couple California Sea Hare orgies and Rick gave me the very special underwater hand signal he knows for indicating when marine creatures are mating. Saw a few lobster – most of ‘em kindergartners but a couple mobstah lobstahs too.
All in all, a really fantastic morning of diving. It’s always a pleasure to dive with solid divers and quality guys like Rick and Brandon.
John L.
Date: August 16, 2006
Dive Location: Marineland
Buddy(ies): Merry
Time: 3:02
Bottom Time: 1:06
Max Depth: 52'
Vis: 15-30'
Wave height: Flat, flat, flat!
Temp at depth: 59F
Comments: Merry and I took some cod fillets down to visit the Mantis shrimp, but he wouldn't cooperate today. Neither would my camera. I didn't screw it onto the tray in the housing very well and it moved just enough so that I couldn't access any of the settings. Everything I managed to get today was in Auto mode.
As we neared the shrimp's hole a large school of Jack mackerel surrounded us. They remained in the area and covered us again at the end of the dive. I took a picture of a large White Porostome nudibranch and when I downloaded it, I discovered another nudi in the picture. It is a Rostanga pulchra, and can only be found near red sponges. We've been looking for one for months and didn't even see it underwater. Now I have something else to look for on the next dive.
The visibility was the best I've seen at Marineland this year. From the beach to near the Point it was at least thirty feet. I told Merry I actually would have enjoyed having a snorkel with me today. She's feeling better now, after her fainting spell.
One of the unusual finds was a Rockfish with a blind eye.
Dive Location: Marineland
Buddy(ies): Merry
Time: 3:02
Bottom Time: 1:06
Max Depth: 52'
Vis: 15-30'
Wave height: Flat, flat, flat!
Temp at depth: 59F
Comments: Merry and I took some cod fillets down to visit the Mantis shrimp, but he wouldn't cooperate today. Neither would my camera. I didn't screw it onto the tray in the housing very well and it moved just enough so that I couldn't access any of the settings. Everything I managed to get today was in Auto mode.
As we neared the shrimp's hole a large school of Jack mackerel surrounded us. They remained in the area and covered us again at the end of the dive. I took a picture of a large White Porostome nudibranch and when I downloaded it, I discovered another nudi in the picture. It is a Rostanga pulchra, and can only be found near red sponges. We've been looking for one for months and didn't even see it underwater. Now I have something else to look for on the next dive.
The visibility was the best I've seen at Marineland this year. From the beach to near the Point it was at least thirty feet. I told Merry I actually would have enjoyed having a snorkel with me today. She's feeling better now, after her fainting spell.
One of the unusual finds was a Rockfish with a blind eye.
Left Redondo at 7 PM on Pac Star. First dive at 7:45 near wreck of the Avalon. Stayed at 65 ft. until we ran out of NDL. Boat had hooked some distance from wreck. We found scattered debris and were homing in on the hull but we turned shy of the main body. Big bugs all over the bottom. 35 ft. viz.
Second dive at about 9:30. In closer to shore in very heavy kelp - 30 ft. Simulated lobster dive. Viz was maybe 15+ but we rarely could see further than 5 ft. due to the kelp. After a long while we gave up on navigating back to the boat through the kelp, shot a bag and did surface swim back.
Back at dock at 11:20. In bed at about 12:45. Cool evening.
Second dive at about 9:30. In closer to shore in very heavy kelp - 30 ft. Simulated lobster dive. Viz was maybe 15+ but we rarely could see further than 5 ft. due to the kelp. After a long while we gave up on navigating back to the boat through the kelp, shot a bag and did surface swim back.
Back at dock at 11:20. In bed at about 12:45. Cool evening.
Diver_Jan
Contributor
Qickie Report here.
Wednesday Twilight/ Night Dive
Parking lot at Vets was closed due to movie biz taking it over with
it's massive rigs, trailors, ect. So we opted for Sapphire Street.
0 Surf
minimal to 0 swells
0 Surge
20-30' viz over the sand; deteriating to 10-15 in the depths of 100+
Temp: 68' in the shallows; 57' at depth
Encounter several critters including baby octos; large Lizard Fish;
Scorpions; amourous sand crabs; elbow crabs; sea pansy's; sea pens;
sarcastic fringeheads; hermit crabs; kellets welk; ect.
Found several masks (3) so if you have lost one there in the past,
send me a private email with description(s).
Wednesday Twilight/ Night Dive
Parking lot at Vets was closed due to movie biz taking it over with
it's massive rigs, trailors, ect. So we opted for Sapphire Street.
0 Surf
minimal to 0 swells
0 Surge
20-30' viz over the sand; deteriating to 10-15 in the depths of 100+
Temp: 68' in the shallows; 57' at depth
Encounter several critters including baby octos; large Lizard Fish;
Scorpions; amourous sand crabs; elbow crabs; sea pansy's; sea pens;
sarcastic fringeheads; hermit crabs; kellets welk; ect.
Found several masks (3) so if you have lost one there in the past,
send me a private email with description(s).
Empty V
Contributor
Awesome photos Phil!!
Billy
Billy
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