Rain, rain has gone away at least for a while . . .)
SURE MADE FOR SOME INTERESTING SURF THOUGH - We had 10-15 footers in Los Angeles County, San Diego was showing as high as 20 feet, but the REALLY big waves were happening out at Cortes Bank, which is roughly 50 miles SW of San Clemente Island. Divers think of that as a wonderful dive spot that rarely visited. (I've only been out there once in 40 years of diving SoCal.) But surfers think of it as one of the prime surf spots in the world because when conditions are ripe, Cortes produces some of the largest waves. For this last storm, they were measuring some at 65 feet. Yikes!!!
SPEAKING OF 60+ FEET . . . - According to Mark Guccione at Catalina Divers Supply in Avalon, that was the visibility in the U/W Park over the weekend. (Marks thinks it might have even approached 80-100.) This is especially notable because only a few days prior, during the last of the storms, the viz was as little as five feet. It just goes to show how quickly things can clear up with the way the currents run past the Park and how wintertime can sometimes produce amazing visibility as I've said for years. That being said . . .
AVALON ON WEDNESDAY? - We've got a day trip planned for the U/W and I need to make a go/no-go decision by 3PM Monday. It's hard to resist amazing conditions as Mark reported (and hopefully they hold). The water's definitely chilly (57º) but it's supposed to be a sunny day Wednesday with a high of 68º. If you want to join us, please call or e-mail ASAP.
GUADALUPE MAY BE CLOSED PERMANENTLY - As you may know, Isla Guadalupe, home to an incredible population of Great White Sharks, was closed to diving this past season (July-November). Now there's talk of keeping it permanently closed. Aside from the financial implications for dive boats that run trips there, there's a major concern that this will harm, not help, the sharks. The reason is that the Mexican government generally doesn't have the resources to patrol the island to prevent illegal fishing. (Guadalupe is 150 miles west of Baja.) But by having numerous commercial dive boats at the island regularly, it acts as a de facto deterrent to anyone who would try to plunder the waters because the dive boats can literally call in the Coast Guard. So the future is unclear. I've been in touch with Mike Lever, owner of Nautilus Dive Adventures, who is trying to organize others to keep the island open and accessible. We've done four trips to Guadalupe with Mike & Nautilus and the experience has been unique to say the least. To close Guadalupe permanently would be a terrible loss on many levels. We'll keep you posted on what's going on.
ONE BONAIRE SPOT LEFT - We've got one spot left on our April 7-15 Bonaire trip for a female-share in a 1-bedroom apartment at Buddy Dive. Bonaire's always a reliable destination for us and we really enjoy diving with the folks at Buddy Dive. If you need more details and want to snag the final spot, call us at 310/652-4990.
RARE ENCOUNTER #1 - We see market squid with regularity at Redondo's Veterans Park. We've had Humbolt Squid spotted occasionally at Catalina. But we've never seen a Giant Squid. So squid-lovers all over the world are going ga-ga over an encounter some divers off of Japan had with a small (8-feet long) Giant Squid last week. Best of all, it seems the animal was healthy and not concerned about having some human buddies. You can see some video and stills of the encounter at this link:
GIANT SQUID UP CLOSE.
RARE ENCOUNTER #2 - Ever hear of a Pygmy Right Whale? They've supposed only been spotted 20 times. But some people wading in chest-deep water in Australia had an encounter with a juvy last week and people are going ga-ga over this too. The whale certainly looks healthy - also barnacle-free - and was weaving through the swimmers, allowing them to get some good video, which you can see here:
PYGMY RIGHT WHALE.
AVALON UNDERWATER CLEANUP - Registration is underway for the 41st annual Avalon Underwater Cleanup on Saturday, February 25, this year being organized by Catalina Divers Supply and the Avalon Rotary Club. Along with new organizers comes new procedures, one of which seems to be no more group registration. Not that our groups have been very large in the last few years but we won't be officially taking a Reef Seekers contingent this year. You'll need to sign up on your own. That being said, I will personally be at the Green Pier location as usual (and MCing the awards ceremony) and am happy to have you join me if you like. It's the dreaded 6AM boat out of Long Beach with a return leaving Avalon at either 3:55 or 7:45PM. You can sign up directly at
https://www.avalonharborcleanup.org/
"SOUL OF THE OCEAN" PREMIERES THIS WEDNESDAY ON PBS - This is a new film from Howard Hall and it's airing Wednesday evening at 8PM on most local PBS stations. (Double-check your local listing.) It's part of the "Nature" series and the trailer looks like there's some amazing photography in the show. Here's a link:
SOUL OF THE OCEAN.
And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!!
- Ken
