Venice Beach Conditions

[tlawler]

Sunday, 9/17 - 7:30 AM
Current Conditions
Winds from the East 3-5 mph
No smells and no dead stuff

One dive flag is already in the water

Alhambra Report Complete

That would have been me. Got in the water at 6:45 while still pretty dark. Vis was in the 10 to 12 ft. range closer in and up to 20 ft. in some places farther out.

LOL...leave it up to Cooltech to file an on-scene report. I was hoping someone in the condo there would have a wi-fi signal I could pick up, but there weren't any.

 

[ReefGuy]

I'm not a fan of digging. I've never had any more luck digging than just picking them off the top. I think Alhambra is the most productive for smaller teeth, and I've found quite a few megs, although I think 2th divr finds them (megs) more frequently at the service park - he scooters out, though so it's probably quite a swim.

If you want to dig, though, wait until you find a couple on the surface then dig there (just waving works well, too). If I'm waving, I'll find a few on the surface, make a couple of waves with my hand, then examine the top again. If I find a few, I'll do a couple of more waves, then look again. This works best when there's a slight current to carry away the silt. You'll find that you can wave quite a hole in just a few minutes, and probably find as many as if you sifted with much less effort. As far as I'm concerened, the less effort the better.

Hi VB divers,
I'm heading down in Dec. and plan on Any suggestions on technique or "digging/scratching" gear" .I have seen posts about using a strainer or collanders
or does it depends on the site bottom. Any sites you can suggest, I have read what Reefguy put together (Thanks RG!),GPS #'s for boat dives,etc.
Thanks in advance,
Meade

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

That would have been me. Got in the water at 6:45 while still pretty dark. Vis was in the 10 to 12 ft. range closer in and up to 20 ft. in some places farther out.

LOL...leave it up to Cooltech to file an on-scene report. I was hoping someone in the condo there would have a wi-fi signal I could pick up, but there weren't any.

That was your white van? I was the Jeep GC parked in front of you.

My first dive at VB since the Red Tide hit.... interesting.

I know I posted no fish smell.... that was before the sun came up. On exiting the first dive, there was an odor of rotting fish, but the fish on the beach were older than one day (mostly Sea Robins and Puffers).

Interesting. Vis was as diversolo stated, but it was different. I am used to the water fading into a light green hue as it goes into non-vis areas. Instead, it went to black. There is a small layer just below the surface. I'm sure this is what is blocking the sun from giving the usual green hue.

Found a Seahorse floundering on it's side out on the bare sand. The tides are still at work. That was the only outward sign I saw. Surprised at 17' by a 4' Cuda that swam within 5 feet of me. I've never seen that at VB.

Tryed an area south of the pipes... midway between the second appartment complex to 22' depth. Thin Brown sand layer over clay, weaving through the reef. VERY PRODUCTIVE. On one grab I picked up 12 mixed (Lemons, Tigers & Snaggle) teeth, all of fairly good size and in great condition. I continued weaving this way north back toward Alhambra, skipping areas of sand only. Tooth count 384.

All in all, it was good to get back in the water!

 

[tlawler]

That was your white van? I was the Jeep GC parked in front of you.

That was me...had to be up and diving at the crack of dawn to be back home in time to fulfill my familial obligation of taking the wife and kids to church.

Dove Alhambra for a quick lunchtime dive today. Although the sea state was kicking up pretty good, the vis was surprisingly good...in the 12 to 15 ft. range. Still no new signs of redtide...just the older dead fish that are finally starting to get washed away with the tide.

 

[tlawler]

Made a mid afternoon dive at Alhambra today and noticed something interesting. Not sure if it would hold true all the time or not, but near shore the vis was from zilch to maybe a foot here and there. I'm thinking, crap, I knew I should have dove a lot earlier in the day. I'm not going to turn a dive just because of the vis...I'm already wet, might as well get some exercise and practice nav skills. So off I swam...and swam...and swam some more. Just when I'm thinking it's time turn around and go back so I don't have to do a surface swim (I hate surface swims, what with the boats and such), the vis starts to clear up. I swim another 50 yards or so, and suddenly I'm in 8 or 10 ft. vis! Started finding teeth right away, and I mean nice teeth, not the usual half inch and broken teeth. Found a couple megs too...and I mean I NEVER find megs. (I hate those people who seem to find them on every dive!) Anyway, I was already down to a little over 1K psi from the long swim out (I dive a steel 72 with maybe 2300 or 2400 starting), and needless to say being like a kid in a candy store, I ran my air down to almost nothing before surfacing. I knew I was quite a ways out, but wow, there were boats between me and shore and I'm guessing it was somewhere between 400 and 500 yards. Much farther than I've ever been out before at Venice Beach and probably farther than was prudent since I'm not exactly a kid anymore. But I digress, I'm wondering if the vis is always going to be much better that far from shore when it was almost "can't read your gauges vis" closer in and even out to the 21 to 22 ft. depth range. It would almost make investing in a moderately priced scooter worthwhile to be able to enjoy that kind of vis on an otherwise poor vis day. It sure would beat that 25 minute surface swim back...but hey, I got my cardio in for the day and it sure beat the hell out of the treadmill.

 

[thedaddy]

... But I digress, I'm wondering if the vis is always going to be much better that far from shore when it was almost "can't read your gauges vis" closer in and even out to the 21 to 22 ft. depth range. It would almost make investing in a moderately priced scooter worthwhile to be able to enjoy that kind of vis on an otherwise poor vis day. ...

First off thanks for the post! In ref to your last comment - I will have to try it with a kayak (don't have a scooter). It sure beats a long drive back to Orlando. If it saves me a trip, I owe you lunch. I will post the next time I go. With the poor vis season coming up it is much appreciated by more than just me I'm sure.
I wondered how Steve can run charters all winter when the water gets so cloudy in winter - maybe that is why.

You prob already know this, but if you take a bearing on two widely separated points on the shore and then the end of the pier, you can fix your position fairly well (well enough to get you back to the vicinity anyway).

 

[michaelb51]

It has been said that the tides don't matter at Venice Beach, but I am not sure I agree.

Looking at aerial photos, I get the sense that there is a very active boundary flow whenever the tide is outbound, which seems to favor a current setting up close to the beach, which is mixed with return from the outflow, and a shear boundary of opposing flow fed by the volume of clearer seawater further out.

This setup would probably change at tide change, but the outflow seems by far the predominant force. You can see from the (summertime) aerials where the beach and sand overburden is largely shaped by this flow. Currents resulting from tides here may be negligible, but my theory is that visibility does vary with tide flow when the local gulf waters are generally clear.

If that's true, and I ain't certain it is, then the experience of clearing visibility as we move offshore may be heightened at times when the gulf is clearer (like summer.) It's also likely that more than one shearing current (and reversal of visibility) could be encountered if one travels farther out.

So I have a tendency to want to dive around high tide in summer, if the tide shift is a foot or more, especially when there are two highs or lows in a day.

I also find the kayak is good company when you want to cover a lot of territory or score a lot of bottom time. It can eliminate the swim in both directions and you can certainly hit a lot more spots in a single expedition. It's a welcome little island whenever you need a break. You still get a workout, you just get farther...

 

[sharkboy1515]

i'm still thinking of doing the dive in December, and i thought about bringing a small motor raft to get out far. Do you guys think thats a good idea?

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

Conditions at Alhambra:

Temp: 85
Winds: From the West less than 1 mph
Tide: Coming in
Red Tide: No smells, most dead fish are gone

Vis - Patchy - 0-15 depending on your location
Visible and felt surf at 22'

Not a day to introduce someone new to the beach

 

[stu_in_fl]

found my first meg today - 2 inches long ....viz was pretty crappy and only got 120 small teeth - but the meg made up for it (then a load of pizza with CoolTech !)