The Pasley October '06 Dive Report Thread

[HBDiveGirl]

Date:
Dive Location:
Buddy(ies):
Time:
Bottom Time:
Max Depth:
Vis:
Wave height:
Temp at depth:
Surface Temp:
Tide information:
Gas mix:
Comments:

 

[scubapro5]

Date: 10/2
Dive Location: Redondo breakwall
Buddy(ies):Chris and Sheldon
Time: 8pm
Bottom Time: 40min
Max Depth: 45ft
Vis: 8-10ft
Wave height: 3-5 choppy and windy(12-15kts)

Comments:I did not dive last night but took a few friends out on the breakwall to bug hunt. We were out from 8pm till 11pm and the wind and swells never calmed down.

Lots of surge on the wall so you had to stay deep but they still managed to catch some bugs.

 

[scottfiji]

hey roger
I guess you got the boat back out? nice going!

scott

 

[scubapro5]

hey roger
I guess you got the boat back out? nice going!

scott

Hey Scott I have my friends boat to use until I get mine fixed.

 

[wetrat]

Date: 10/04/2006
Dive Location: Vallecitos Point, La Jolla Shores
Buddy: Mark99
Time: 12:32 pm splash
Bottom Time: 54 min.
Max Depth: 78 ft.
Vis: 10 ft. shallow, a solid 15 ft. at the point
Wave height: 1 ft. with occasional 2 ft.
Temp at depth: Aeris 57F
Surface Temp: Aeris 61F
Tide information: + 2.5 ft. with slight surge above 20 fsw.
Gas mix: 21%

Comments: After some moderate negotiating at work and home, Mark and I were able to meet up at the shores for a rare weekday dive. Surf was pretty nonexistent but we met a strong southerly long-shore current about 25 yards out. We basically had to kick northwest just to remain directly west of the lifeguard tower, but the current finally eased at the orange buoy. Per our dive plan we dropped down to 25 fsw, practiced an OOA/emergency ascent, dropped back down and started kicking west to the canyon. Although our drill went fine, let me say this. If you think you know exactly what you’re going to do if you are out of air at depth but haven’t practiced it in awhile, it probably ain’t gonna go down the way you think it will. Things are just more complicated underwater.

We dropped back down and headed west into the canyon. At about 55 fsw we headed south to the point. Although we had to make a few depth corrections along the way, we arrived at the beginning of the wall and started our search for most excellent and spectacular marine organisms. Well we didn’t see anything unusual but the usuals were spectacular as always. We saw a nice octo, lobster, Mr. and Mrs. Big Honkin’ Sheephead, a school of baby Senoritas and their friends from the 'hood, and two C-O Sole. We also saw gobys, rockfish and bass from all different ethnic backgrounds, a Lizardfish with a split personality, and a big juicy Spanish Shawl.

At our turn pressure, we started heading across the sand back toward the beach. At about 20 fsw I pulled another surprise OOA drill on Mark and everything went as we planned. We surfaced just outside the surf zone and exited without incident. Another excellent dive out of many I’ve had with Mark. It’s always a pleasure, my friend.

John L.

 

[riguerin]

Date: 10/4/2006
Dive Location: North Crescent Bay, Laguna
Buddy(ies): Glycerin
Time: 6:28 AM
Bottom Time: 106 MIN
Max Depth: 31 FSW
Vis: 15-20+ FT
Wave height: 1-2 FT
Temp at depth: 56 F
Surface Temp: 60 F
Tide information: Pushing; High Tide @ 8:05 AM PDT, +5.10 feet
Gas mix: 21%

Comments: Hooked with Josh bright and early this AM at North Crescent Bay. It was still dark out when we arrived. A quick check confirmed that last week's SW swell energy continued to back down. Small scale surf was running ~1-2 ft with glassy surface conditions. We suited up quickly and dropped while there were still a few remaining minutes of darkness.

We had decided to dive the top of the shallower inside reef and work our way SW. The hope was to find some bugs. Surge was noticeable in the shallows but doable (~2ft). We picked up the first big opening in the reef and starting working our way across endless rocky seascape. It wasn't long before we found bugs. The first couple were holed up with a toothy eel. We passed. A few minutes later we found lobster Meca, a small UW cave packed with bugs; including several very nice sized ones. Problem was, you had to be no more than 3ft tall with 10+ft reach to even have a chance. We gawked for while before moving on. We eventually found a dinner candidate holed up in under a smaller rock. With a little team work, we successfully wrestled it out. It measured just barely short. We found a couple more in a nearby rock. While tag teaming the two openings, the bigger bug squirted out the front door and bounced off Josh's chest (catching him totally by surprise) before tail flapping off into the woods ... that was good for a hearty laugh. We eventually wrestled the other one out ... just a hair short. So, this is basically how the rest of the hunt went. 5 bugs caught ... all just short. A couple were heartbreakers they were so darned close ... including one that was bagged then remeasured upon exiting. It was subsequently released unharmed.

Overall, it was still a really fun and long dive. Saw lots of cool critters in the holes. Lot's of morays today ... some octopi ... a big horn shark. Despite some good luck and determined hunting, we got skunked today. No worries, the season is still young. We'll get em next time.

 

[JMdiver]

I think I saw that same meca one time when I dove there.

Happy Diving
John

 

[wetrat]

Date: 10/06/2006
Dive Location: South Wall, La Jolla Shores
Buddy: Kim and Jen
Time: 6:00ish am splash
Bottom Time: 58 min.
Max Depth: 104 ft.
Vis: 15 to 20 ft.
Wave height: 1 ft. with occasional 2 ft.
Temp at depth: Aeris 54F
Surface Temp: Aeris 57F
Tide information: + 4.0 ft. and receding, slight surge shallow
Gas mix: 21%

There was a gorgeous full moon out this morning as I pulled up behind Jen on Vallecitos at about 5:20 am. Kim was gearing up on the other side of the street, none of the ugly guys I usually dive with were there, so I had the dive goddesses all to myself. Jen proposed we do the south wall, which I had never done, at least on purpose, so we swam directly out from Vallecitos against a slight onshore wind chop. We dropped to 38 fsw perfectly on the edge of the canyon.

Rolling out of the ol’ rat’s nest at 4:30 am is never easy, but dawn dives totally rock. It’s like a shift change - the nocturnal critters are clocking out as the diurnal critters are clocking in. We saw a juvenile horn shark right away, and several octopus. We got a charge out of one little octo, only about an inch long. He had one tentacle wrapped around a tiny egg sack (not sure what kind), and was trying to free it with all his might. As we hovered over him enjoying the show, he tenaciously kept working away, and changed colors to let us know how furious he was about the interruption.

We continued poking around on the wall checking out the critters, including a couple Spanish Shawls, a small Spotted Cusk Eel, lots of gobies, a sleepy lobster, and a Sheep Crab. At about 3 minutes to deco, as the beautiful blue-green light started to bathe the canyon, we started back. Just over the edge of the canyon we spotted a gorgeous Banded Guitar Fish, and were buzzed by a very Seussian looking cormorant. As we made our way across the sand, we saw a couple pipefish and a Sheep Crab hunkered next to an engine block anchoring a buoy.

Due to Kim’s excellent navigation skills, we surfaced in six feet of water directly in front of Vallecitos, and exited the surf zone without incident. We doffed our gear and headed to Starbucks. Thanks for a superb dive this morning ladies! It was a great start to my birthday. Kim even gave me a DAN mat. I love my new DAN mat!! It’s the pinnacle of beach mat technology.

Oh yeah, and by the way, I must still be pretty good looking even though I’m 45 today. A gorgeous 27 year-old lady in a Mercedes was checking me out as we sat at a stoplight on La Jolla Village Dr. OK so maybe she was 72. She was still checking me out, I swear.

John L.

 

[scottfiji]

nice avatar John! too bad you weren't there to do that dive with us...

scott

 

[LLKZ16]

Date: 10/6/06
Dive Location: OML 120 Reef
Buddy(ies): Angelique
Time: 9:20 am
Bottom Time: 1:04
Max Depth: 48 feet
Vis: 10-20
Wave height: 1 ft
Temp at depth: 57F
Surface Temp: 70F
Tide information: High
Comments:

Met up with Angelique at OML for our normal Friday morning dive. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful SoCal day. The surf at the point was a little dicey so we decided to go out again to the 120 reef.

When we were walking down the path we noticed the water looked really clear (YES!). After an easy entry we kicked out to the reef. The visibility from above on the kick out was decent and when we dropped down, it began to get a little better. Our plan was to go 120 – 0 – 240. Since the waves were small we wanted to check out the shallow reef and kelp on the other side on the rock point at the end of our dive.

This time I remembered to change my battery (DOH!). Every time you dive the reef, something changes and you see different things on different days. For example, today we saw the most Spanish Shawls we have ever seen at this before. Last week, I saw none and this week BOOM at ton were out.

Below are the assorted pictures from the dive. One of the high points was finding a super small (size of your finger tip) Porter's Chromodorid and a few San Diego Dorids.

Baby Yellow Dorid

Cabezon

Say Cheese Mr. Halibut

Club-tipped Anemone

Diaulula nobilis

Orange Tube Anemone

Porter's Chromodorid

Peek-A-Boo Fish

San Diego Dorid

Anemone

Spanish Shawl

Shallow Kelp

Old Pier Piling