La Jolla Cove, Saturday 03-17-07
Info:
Dark and foggy
Surf was minimal in the Cove
Swells were 2’, spaced pretty close together
5.2’ high tide, arriving on a 1.9 knot flood
Air temperature was 56 degrees
Sea surface temperature was 59 degrees
Temperature at max depth was 56 degrees
Strong consistent surge throughout the dive
Visibility peaked at 10’, averaged 5’, at times 0’
Max depth 36’
Total bottom time 1 hour, 4 minutes
Photos:
Pictures are few as I did not notice the flash diffuser had slipped, blocking most of the flash until the dive was almost over. I lightened a few to make them…OK. Here’s a link if you must.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v116/krowsea/LJC 03-17-07/
The Report:
Walking off the boat early this morning it was cold and breezy, with the wind singing through the halyards of the sailboats. The palm trees rustled a whispered goodbye as I left. I arrived at the Cove around 6:00AM to find it foggy and dark, with that same cool breeze. My hope was to dive off the rocks at Alligator Head but the waves were pounding it pretty hard. After watching wave after wave shooting vertically up 8’-10’ then come crashing down on my intended entry point, I decided the Cove would me more apropos.
Even in the foggy dark, the Cove looked more inviting, confirming the brilliance of my choice. Sets were coming in pretty steady, but the beating Alligator Head was taking seemed to be taking a bite out of the surf before it entered the Cove. I geared up fairly quickly because the palm tree I parked under was raining foggy residue all over me every time the wind shook it, which was pretty frequent this morning. My parking choice didn’t seem to be as brilliant as my dive choice.
I entered at the base of the stairs and kicked straight out, well past the Cove proper, but not close to where the buoys used to be. I dropped into 8’ - 10’ of visibility and strong surge. Heading N/E from my starting depth of 17’, I hoped to find better vis and lesser surge. My hopes were dashed, as the only thing I got was deeper, both my wishes being denied me.
There was not a wealth of life out this morning, but there were signs of it. Throughout the dive, I saw and enjoyed Sheephead, lots of big Senoritas singly and in groups of 5-6, big Kelp Bass, Sargo, Opaleye, the occasional Blacksmith, Lobster, a few Giant Stars and of course, Garibaldi. Towards the end of the dive, a beautiful 4’ Horn Shark swam passed me in open water, about 6’ off the bottom. He was pretty fast and I was still contending with the surge, but I did manage to get an excellent picture of where he had just been in the water column. Obviously, lacking the shark itself, it would be hard for you to visualize him in the picture, but he was there. I knew I wasn’t going to see any market squid, but I had hoped to see their much bigger brother, the Bah-Humbug Squid, but none appeared to be present. Off course with the surge and low vis, they could have been clacking their beaks and giving me (many) rude hand gestures, and I wouldn’t have known.
After about 45 minutes of fighting the surge, I decided I’d had enough. The surge had consistently kept me moving quite a distance in a variety of directions, and I was done with my crazy flight path along the bottom. In addition to the flash issue, the surge made it pretty much impossible to photograph anything, especially anything moving. Even sedentary or fixed objects were difficult with the surge. I made several attempts, but it was similar to taking pictures of sign posts out of the side window of a moving car. Artistically they were stunning, but as descriptive evidence of what was seen, they tanked.
Turning around (yeah, like I hadn’t been doing that this whole dive, thank you very much surge), I headed towards shore. Every 20’ or so, the visibility would become a swirling mass of 0 visibility for 5’ or so, but I just kept swimming through it, coming out each time to a much improved 5’-8’. At 15’, I popped up to see what corrections I needed to make for my lineups and surprised myself by being directly in line with the stairs. Not through skills certainly, as I had been blindfolded, spun around and told to hit some stooopid piñata too many times during this surgy dive. I guess even drunks can walk a straight line during an earthquake and as such, I somehow managed to correct enough times to remain on course.
It was an easy exit, using the incoming swell to propel me up the beach in an upright position, up the stairs to the showers, and back to the truck. Well, the swell didn’t do all that, it only got me out of the water. Several divers asked how conditions were. I sent them to the Shores, I hope you enjoyed the company.
