La Jolla Shores, Sunday 03-04-07
Info: Secret Garden
Cool morning with mostly clear skies
Winds from the west at 10-12 knots
Surf 1’- 2’ at best at 10 second intervals
4.5’ high tide
Sea surface temperature was 60 degrees
Temperature at max depth was 51 degrees
No noticeable surge at depth
Visibility averaged 15’, with 10’ in some locations
Max depth 111’
Total bottom time 51 minutes
Buddies: Terry, Kim
Photos:
Here is a link to the 2 page photo album
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v116/krowsea/LJS 03-04-07/
The Report:
Terry, Kim and I found ourselves at the Shores this morning to spend a little quality time underwater. It was cool but sunny, so we chatted it up a bit before gearing up and heading to the water. Stepping lightly over the pounding surf, we continued west to chest deep water to put on our fins, before starting a slow leisurely swim out. With Terry occasionally pinging the bottom with his handy dandy depth finder, we stopped our westward migration at the top of 45’ of water.
We spent a few moments admiring the Sea Lions that were basking in the sun further west before starting our decent. Stopping a foot or two above the bottom and taking into consideration a mild drift during decent, we started towards the canyon from 47’. The bottom was covered in blankets of Squid eggs as far as the eye and visibility would allow. Huge white patches gave way to complete white carpets, looking more like Big Bear Mountain on a ski trip than the bottom of an ocean. The sand was also littered with dead squid, with the occasional mating pair finishing up their romantic frenzy just above, before joining their comrades on the bottom.
Heading west, the bottom soon started dropping away. Thinking this was a splendid idea, we followed suit. We followed the bottom for quite some time, but it eventually got the better of us, for the drop’r we went, the away’r it got. At 100’ or so, we left the bottom to its own devices and turned south along the slope. Turning south turned out to be another splendid idea, for we soon found ourselves at The Area Formally Known as the Secret Garden. Seeing as how it isn’t much of a secret and little of the original garden remains, I’m not sure what else to call it.
We snooped around for a while, taking pictures of various nudi’s that Terry can identify and I can not, lots of Gobies, an occasional Ronquil, a Southern Kelp Crab, a nice Hemphill Crab on a Red Gorgonian and various sizes of Moon Snail trudging through the sand. The Sea Lions could be heard barking of in the distance, with the occasional curious juvenile, singly and in pairs, buzzing us and stopping on the sand to see if we could come out and play. Knowing we couldn’t match either their underwater gymnastics or their stamina, we waved and continued on our way.
It seemed we had been at T.A.F.K as the S.G. for quite some time when I heard a banging sound. Looking around, I was unable to discover its source before realizing, it was just me, banging up against my NDL’s. Heading upslope silenced the mental alarm. We took our time meandering upslope, stopping to take pictures or checking out interesting creatures like Graceful Crabs, Kellets Whelks and such. I also found a large crab of unknown type almost completely buried in the sand. Since I didn’t want to disturb it just for the sake of identifying it, I’m going to go with Buried in the Sand Crab.
The swim in was uneventful, although no less enjoyable in spite of that. The sun was shining down, the myriad of bottom dwellers were dwelling on the bottom, the kick in was easy and we were in good company doing something we enjoyed. Not wanting to destroy the beauty and symmetry of the monster waves above us, we chose to come in along the bottom, which stayed with us this time, before surfacing in just enough water to take our fins off without falling over. A quick stroll across the sand and an equally fast gear removal was followed by a wonderful breakfast at a land based restaurant. Thanks to my two pals and all the creatures great and small that made this dive such a joy.
But the Steve's have a great video of it on their website- 
