Date: 3/23/07
Dive Location: Anacapa
Buddy(ies): David, Jeanine, Claudette, Tevis
Time: 3 dive 3/4 day boat
Bottom Time: uh...
Max Depth: maybe 40 feet
Vis: not great. Surge, Current, not the best conditions
Wave height: Boat dive... who cares
Temp at depth: 54 to 55
Surface Temp: drysuit - whatever
Tide information: bi8g swing, lots o' water moving
Gas mix: shhh....
Top reason Pasley should hurry home: Even when conditions suck, the hang can still be pretty good.
Comments:
D & J, our adopted SoCal homies from Fresno were down for the weekend looking for some dives. Some of us got together on the Spectre on Friday morning.
As this was a 3/4 day boat, it was mercifully leaving at 8:00 AM. So 'Chica picked me up at too-damn-early o-clock and we headed up Friday. We hit the boat around 7:00 AM-ish, set up and prepare for what looked like would be a gorgeous day.
A pretty flat ride out to 'capa - with a double whale siting about 30 minutes from the island. They popped up twice just off the bow, to the excitement of the very full boat.
As we got to Anacapa, the current was pretty fierce. And the surge wasn't cooperating either. So the choices facing Capt Ted:
1) Escape the surge, and dive out from the island a bit - putting us in the current
2) Escape the current, and dive closer to the island - putting us in the surge.
With a boat loaded with students and some newbies, he elected Surge over Current. So we were in mild current and considerable surge most of the day.
DIVE 1 - Chica and I buddy up with Jeanine (I will go back and learn to spell your name soon... promise!) We splash into the Arch with pretty poor vis, several Sea Lions wanting to play and a cloud of silt from the surge and wacky Sea Lions. While 'dette and Jeannnnnneannne did some drills I ran across the Cockerell's. He was so tiny, and I was getting slammed in the surge - so the pics and nice a fuzzy. My favorite.
Chica soon found a little San Diego Dorid jammed into the side of a rock, chewing hydroids. I could not get him to come out, so I took a nice fuzzy shot of his butt. I stumbled onto a very large Bat Ray, who exploded off the bottom in front of us... more silt. We kept heading into the current so we can float back to the boat. The plan worked and dive 1 came to a silty surgey, swift current end.
DIVE 2 - Jennneeaaane and I buddy up. We're first in and splash into Goldfish Bowl. We're descending and I look over at her, and we're all good. I put us into the current again, and along the reef - looking for something to shoot. About 4 or 5 minutes into the dive, Jeanine comes over and makes a sign I've never seen before. Hmmmm... She makes it again, and I get it: Severe Neck Seal Flood. We slowly surface and kick back to the boat. Claudette, Tevis and David are still on deck, so 'Chica and her get the neck seal sorted out, and the 5 of us drop. I find the coffee bean in the surge for another fuzzy photo. But seeing as its only the 3rd coffee bean I've seen alive in nearly 800 dives (I have about 5 or 6 shells at home... the live ones are rare for me) I did a little dance and shaked my booty. :banana: The other four divers weren't impressed - Although I think Tevis stole some of my moves for dive 3 (see below.)
DIVE 3 - David sitting this one out, so it was me and 'chica, Sweet-T and Jeanenenenenne. 'Dette and I drop first. More current, more surge. OY. Caudette spots this really big Horn Shark in a cave, so I get a shot. A few moments later we're in a channel and Tevis and Jenineiieene come over. As we're in the channel, Tevis spots this cute little horn shark and shakes his booty and thinks he's all that. I'm all "come here, folks..." I lead them to Chica's giant shark and induce immediate Shark envy. We split up, and Claudette and I spend the rest of the dive with a pair or Harbor Seals under the kelp canopy.
On the ride back, I got some sleep. Anacapa just wasn't into us today, and I just wasn't into it. Jaye was waiting on the dock when we arrived - the plan was Chica would mule my stuff home ( :10: ) so Jaye and I could go wine tasting Saturday and just leave from Ventura Harbor. Before leaving for dinner at the Los Olivois Cafe, we all hung out for a bit at the Greek place in the harbor. Flaming cheese, hummus and calamari.
Marginal diving, but great friends and yummy snacks - so it totally balanced out.
Fuzzy pics below.
---
Ken
Fuzzy Cockerells
My Booty Shaking Fuzzy Coffee Bean
The Bigger Shark ( :mooner: )
Fuzzy Sandy Butt
CT worms were everywhere. Impossible to get a good, sharp shot of any in the blasting surge. But that didn't stop me from shooting these... they seemed to glow.
Fed Ex and Purp.
If you get the Red X of Death, you are missing nothing. The pics are painfully weak. Power down your computer and go outside.
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