The Pasley October '06 Dive Report Thread

[Mo2vation]

Date: 10/11/06
Dive Location: Lobstah Spot - North of Gladstones, South of Santa Barbara
Buddy: Arnaud (you read this correctly!)
Time: 7:45 PM Splash
Bottom Time: 1:59
Max Depth: 12
Vis: Nice... probably 15' in the open to 3 feet in the surge zone
Wave height: none. Slack tide... completely still water. Unreal
Temp at depth: 60
Surface Temp: whatever
Gas mix: Pirelli

We tried this on Monday, but my tank rolled off my tail gate at the site and I shaved off the knob... so we re-scheduled for Wednesday.

A late moon rise, combined with the slack tide provided the perfect night for local bug hunting. Just amazing conditions.

We were in very shallow water - 4 to 11 feet, and we killed 'em. Great night to be back in the water with one of my best dive buddies (and ScubaBoard MIA) Arnaud.

We danced in over the low tide... stumbling over the reef we were soon to be diving. Most of the dive was spent on a slow rising tide, then it crested in the middle of our dive (8:45) and everything got still. We got very shallow, everything cleared up when the water stopped moving and we we able to catch the majority of the bugs in about a 20 minute span in the slack.

My capper was a 3 pound 8 ouncer - my largest local of the new season. I had another just over 2 pounds, followed by a full bag of "keepers". I must have released a dozen or so that I grabbed, as my rule is "tie goes to the bug"... This will be an excellent winter spot, as there were tons in the legal-ish range that will be perfect for the holidays.

Lovely night, a good friend, a couple of full bags. Life is very good.

---
Ken

 

[alaity47]

Date: Wednesday, Oct 11
Boat: Magician
Location: Catalina frontside
Water temp: 60
Weather: sunny and warm, no wind!
Swell: ZERO. Totally glassy and flat all the way across the channel.
Visibility: 50' plus on all dives. Seriously.
Dive Sites: Blue Cavern, Sea Fan Grotto, Bird Rock

What an amazing day! Some friends and I decided to do a midweek "ditch day," and we wound up with about 16 divers on the Magician, most of whom knew each other already. The ride across was quick and easy (did I mention the zero swell), and we pulled up at Blue Cavern to see kelp lying down on the surface, and water that was amazingly clear. My buddy and I opted for a fairly shallow dive, not going into the cavern. It was absolutely gorgeous: clear water, kelp (slightly unhealthy-looking, but there), plenty of fishies and lobsters.

At Sea Fan Grotto, we went the wrong way for the wall-of-fans (doh), but had a great dive anyway. In 15' of water right by the anchor line, we discovered a whole bunch of bright blue juvenile garibaldis (the super-little kind). And miracle of miracles, they weren't shy! The darn things actually darted at my camera lens: finally, decent video of baby garibaldis!

Our third dive, at bird rock, was spent poking around all the walls and boulders and swim-throughs. The visibility made it a really magical dive site, full of huge schools of baitfish.

We headed for home, but the excitement wasn't over yet! Halfway across the channel, we stopped to check out a pair of blue whales, at least as big as the boat. They hung out long enough to give us a few water spouts and one good tail sighting.

Back in San Pedro, Captain Jerry motored by the Black Pearl and then brought us home. Back at the slip, we were entertained by the resident bull sea lion, jumping up out of the water for handouts from the neighboring fishing boat.

Seriously. Freaking. Awesome. Day.

Awesome.

 

[divinman]

Dive Location: Scripps Canyon/Sumner Branch
Buddy(ies): George and the 'Duecers
Time: 19:09
Bottom Time: 51 minutes
Max Depth: 121ft
Avg Depth 59ft
Vis: 20-25ft at depth. Unlimited shallow
Swell height: NONE- think bath tub calm
Surface Temp: 64F
Temp at depth: 56F
Avg Temp: 59F
Gas mix: 28%
Album: http://tinyurl.com/ud5sk


George stated in no uncertain terms that if someone would bring him a tank, he would go diving tonight. "HEY! I GOT TWO" I thought.

We all met up at Downwind and geared up for the dive. Surf was flat when we got down the hill. REALLY REALLY WONDERFULLY FLAT! Easy kick out to the buoy and off we went. Vis was a respectable 20-25ft I would guesstimate. Warm enough to work up a sweat in the drysuit for our 30+minutes at 110+ft with no deco. "THANK YOU NITROX!!!" Eventually we had to come back though and soon we were back in the parking lot talking about how "it didn't suck."

Terry

 

[LLKZ16]

Date: 10/13/06
Dive Location: OML 120 Reef
Buddy(ies): Angelique , Jimmy & David
Time: 10:0 am
Bottom Time: 1:00
Max Depth: 45 feet
Vis: 10-15
Wave height: 1 ft
Temp at depth: 62F (WARM)
Surface Temp: 68F
Tide information: High
Comments:

Met up with Angelique at OML for our normal Friday morning dive. We also had Jimmy and David show up. I REALLY wanted to do the point but since both guys were relatively new divers, we opted to go to the 120 reef (AGAIN &#61516. The weather was overcast and a bit cloudy.

To start the day right, Angelique (Always Dependable) forgot to fill the tank she brought for me. YIKES! Luckily, Jimmy (Lifesaver) had a spare 119 available to use.

When we were walking down the path we noticed the water looked a bit choppy but the waves were pretty small at the cove. After an easy entry Jimmy and I kicked out a bit and waited for Angelique and David. After waiting for them to get to us, I found out that David broke a fin strap so Angelique helped him in and they both scrubbed the dive.

This time, there were almost no Nudi’s out today. We did the regular 120 – 0 – 240 plan and took our time enjoying the scenery. Below are the assorted pictures from the dive. When we were in the kelp area in the shallows on the other side of the rocks, I saw the biggest black sea hare I have ever seen. It was about 3 feet long. The picture I got has too much back scatter but try to notice the head and size.

 

[riguerin]

Date: 10/11/06
Dive Location: Deadman's Reef, Laguna Beach
Buddy: Rick (riguerin)
Time: 6:48 pm descent
Bottom Time: 1:47 (A new record for me!! )
Max Depth: 46 ft.
Vis: 30+ (as far as my light could shine)
Wave height: 1-2 ft.
Temp at depth: 59F
Surface Temp: 65F
Gas mix: EAN 28%

Rick and I met at North Crescent about 6:00 pm and conditions looked awesome. We were greeted by flat seas, the silhouette of Catalina behind the dropping sun, and sea lions barking in the distance. Although we carefully timed our surf entry between sets, a wave actually slapped my ankle, but I managed to stay upright. We had an enjoyable surface swim out to Deadman's, did our best to find the lineups in the waning light and dropped down to about 40 ft.

We finned SW and soon hit Deadman's. Visibility was awesome, and right away we saw tons of fish. Aside from the usual Garibaldi and Blacksmith, we saw several large Treefish and Scorpionfish, the biggest Horn Shark I've ever seen, a Leopard Shark, several Thornback Rays, a Sheep Crab, lots of bugs, a couple industrious octopus, a lone Spanish Shawl and plenty of Sea Hares.

We worked our way from Deadman's back into North Crescent Bay. Rick was hunting. At one point we saw a big ol' bug that we both knew was a keeper. Armed with light, gamebag and lobster gauge, Rick wedged himself down into the crack and strained to get him. Despite Rick's highly developed hunting skills, he escaped. We commented after the dive that he probably had quite a bit of experience escaping from divers. Rick did catch one bug that was just a tad short, but I think because I wasn't hunting with him, he just didn't have his game face completely on.

After setting a new record for bottom time for me, we surfaced in about four feet of water and trudged up to our cars. Our fantastic dive was topped off by dinner at a cool 50s diner in San Clemente. I finally got home about 11:00 pm and also set a new record for gear rinsing. Thanks Rick for your flexibility yesterday, sharing your local Laguna knowledge, being an excellent dive buddy, and for leading us on the most important part of the dive - dinner!!!

John L.

John, you're very kind. You left a few parts out : My primary crapped out in the first 10 minutes of the dive ... my backup 10 minutes after that. I'm stuck at Deadman's, a couple hundred yards offshore, in the dark. Had it not been for an awesome buddy and the generous extension of a backup light, the 107 minute night dive would have been over very quickly. Hunting bugs drops way off the priority list at this point. Getting the team home safely is what matters. The leopard shark was a definite highlight ... first time I've seen one at Crescent Bay. I had an awesome dive, despite the equipment issues. Glad you enjoyed the eats. Thanks for coming up.

For what it's worth, my primary (UK light canon) now appears to work fine. I put a VOM on the C cell batteries and they average ~1.42V. Not sure what's going on here. I'm going to try Terry's suggestion to shim the springs.

 

[Jake]

Date: 10/13/06
Dive Location: North Crescent
Buddy(ies): Rocket, Sonja, and Ben
Time: 11:19 and 13:15
Bottom Time: 51m and 60m
Max Depth: 29ft and 30ft
Vis: 20-30+
Wave height: 2 ft (easily managed)
Temp at depth: 63F
Comments:

This was the first time out at Crescent for anyone in the group. Our plan was to kick out to the edge of the initial reef and head down for a trip over to seal rock. We got there, but there were no seals! Jerks! Actually, there were lots on the rock, but none in the water.

Oh well. Didn't matter. Crescent has one of the more interesting (and large!) reefs in the area and life was out in full force today. The first dive was fairly uneventful, until we were finally joined by two female seals near the end. What great fun it is to have them twirling about!

The second dive was the same plan, but we did a longer surface swim to have more time with our new friends. We also took a baggie of some meat chunks to feed the fish with. We had two seals with us for most of the dive this time, which was awesome. About half way through, a big ol' bull male decides to head in and nearly landed right on top of us. I'm not sure who was more surprised: him, or us.

After they got bored with us, we headed around the rocks a little further and came across a 3-4' long shark of some sort. It was wedged well under a rock, so I couldn't quite make out an ID. If I had to guess based on the color and the markings, I would say it was a horn shark. Coincidentally, we also came across a juvenile horn shark sitting quite out in the open on the way back in. He was only too happy to pose for some photos.

The conditions, by the way, were marvelous. Viz was probably 20-30 for most of the dive time, with 30+ in some areas. Surf was nothing, surface was calm, and water was warm. The weather wasn't bad either. I might be back there tomorrow, so here's to hoping it holds!

 

[divinman]

My report...hmmm

Rain rain, dive dive, vomit vomit , feel better. Back to the dock.

T.

Seriously though, great time on the boat today. I thought I was quick to gear up till I watched Mikey. Man he is fast. So is Barb. I gotta get faster if I want them for a buddy. Have to work on that.

Water was nice and blue. Vis a nice and clear but little ambient light with the cloud cover.


Album: http://www.scubapost.net/forums/Scorpionfish/101406/


Stats:


Dive 1:
Location: Nudibranch Grotto (You call it what you want....)
Time: 11:02a descent
Temp: 57 F at 110ft toasty
Vis: 20-30ft
Max Depth: 110 feet
Bottom Time: 51 mins

Dive 1:
Location: Nudibranch Grotto (You call it what you want....)
Time: 13:04p descent
Temp: 58 F at 110ft toasty
Vis: 20-30ft
Max Depth: 101 feet
Bottom Time: 50 mins


Oh yeah...the pictures.

 

[Jake]

Date: 2006-10-15
Dive Location: North Crescent
Buddy(ies): bruce3
Time: 9:56
Bottom Time: 2,940 seconds give or take
Max Depth: 33
Vis: 20-25'
Wave height: 2-3'
Temp at depth: 63F
Gas mix: N₂O₂
Comments:

I wanted to go play with the seals again, so dive 1 today was a nice swim out to seal rock. Conditions weren't quite as nice as yesterday, although they were still pretty darn good. The surf was a little more troublesome today, but very manageable.

Viz was still really nice, and was probably 20+ for most of the dive. In the shallows it was even better. Unfortunately, the seals didn't want to come down to play today. Using our highly developed seal linguistics, we implored them to come down from their rocky throne, but alas, we must speak a different dialect. They instead just stared at us.

Oh well. The rest of the community was out in force. I swear to Bob, the area at the base of the seal rock is full of the most fearless fish. I'm guessing that divers feed them a lot while waiting for the pinnipeds to jump in. As soon as you hit the area they're all over you.

On the way back we found a little octopus hanging out, but beyond that, the swim back was pretty uneventful.

Date: 2006-10-15
Dive Location: South Crescent
Buddy(ies): bruce3
Time: 11:21
Bottom Time: 45 minutos
Max Depth: 46 feet
Vis: ~15'
Wave height: 2-3'
Temp at depth: 63F
Comments:

We hit the south Crescent reef to crawl around to the back side. It's too bad viz is so relatively poor on the outer edge of that reef; the landscape is really impressive. So many large, towering boulders and gashes.... In any event, there were bazillions of fish on this reef, so that was cool. Nothing particularly eventful. While conditions were not nearly as good as on the north reef, they were still really fun here. On the way back in, a current started up and stayed quite strong. We had to work pretty hard against it, but it wasn't terrible. The surf was still in the 2-3 foot range when we surfaced, but fortunately had some decent lulls and exit was easy.

 

[JMdiver]

Date:10-15-06
Dive Location: OML
Buddy(ies):Robert & Iyun
Time: 9:11 AM
Bottom Time: 64 min.
Max Depth: 28 ft.
Vis: 8-10 ft
Wave height:.5-1 ft.
Temp at depth: 62 deg.
Surface Temp:?
Tide information:low
Gas mix:air
Comments:This dive was for Urchin sizing Robert & I finished up the Red Urchin sizing & had some time to explore, seen a huge Kelp Rockfish & a bunch of Rock Scallops.

Date: 10-15-06
Dive Location: OML
Buddy(ies):Robert, Iyun, Brian & Paul
Time: 11:57 AM
Bottom Time: 62 min.
Max Depth: 31 ft.
Vis: 10-12 ft.
Wave height:.5-1 ft.
Temp at depth: 63 deg.
Surface Temp:66 deg.
Tide information: very low
Gas mix:air
Comments:This was a fun dive, the five of us hit the water & headed back over to the 120 reef & descended. We kind of just went all over & seen a lot of octo's. One was in a crack in the rock & I was trying to get it to came out it spit out some ink at us & disappeared under the rocks. We saw one of the largest Rock Scallops I've ever seen. Amazing the five of us actually stayed together for the whole dive. All in all two great dives. Thanks for the great company guys, can wait for the next survey.

Happy Diving
John

 

[JMdiver]

What happened did everybody stop diving this week ?

Happy Diving
John