Video: Epic dive to Breakwater Barge

[Anti-Hero]

Lol...I forgot about that! Not only is Delia an amazing diver...she's also incredibly brilliant. I miss diving with her.

To this day one of my favorite papers to read is "Battlefield Calculations" by Delia. I must have read that paper 30 times by now, and I seem to pick it up every 6 months or so for a mental refresher.

 

[Guy Alcala]

This was as good of a dive as I've ever had at Breakwater. By Sunday morning, predictions subsided to 6-8ft west swell, and breakwater was calm, sunny, and chock full of classes and dive teams. We were initially worried that the constant churning of the seas during the week would result in low visibility, but things turned out to be much, much better than expected.

We made a LONG kick along the breakwater wall out to the barge. We were a bit unsure of where to take off from the wall, so we traveled nearly the entire length before doubling back and searching for the line. Along the way, we were divebombed multiple times by huge sea lions and visited by friendly cormorants. The barge itself was pretty cool, there's not much left but a flattened wooden frame, but you can definitely make out some interesting structure, steel rivets, etc. And as it sits by itself in the sand, the barge is great shelter for some really big rockfish, greenlings and cabazon. On the way back, we hung out shallow along the breakwater, where apparently there is some beautiful boulder and kelp coverage that I never knew was there. There's always something new to see, even at the old, familiar sites.

[youtubehq]F4RUcGxRgBk[/youtubehq]​

Kenn, was the outer sandscrew still looking fairly well seated? When I attached the bottle a few months back I was worried that it might tend to pull the screw out (I'd had to screw it in some more, once or twice), so I filled the bottle just enough to make it float without providing much upward force. I tried to tell from the video but the angle is bad.

I've been checking the screw each time I go to the barge to make sure it's okay, but haven't been out there for several weeks. Last time I was there, maybe 3 inches at the top of the screw shaft were exposed, as much due to a small crater that had formed around the shaft as to the screw pulling up. For some reason the outer screw seems to be more susceptible to pulling out than the one at the inner end of the line; I'd think it would be the other way around.

Guy

 

[Gombessa]

Guy,

Looked pretty secure to me, although we didn't touch the screw. Perhaps the decorator crab hanging onto the bottle was the only thing keeping the entire contraption from going ballistic

You're the guy behind the bottle? Didn't know that, nice touch. Seems like you're the official Guardian of all things Breakwater!

 

[eric gundrum]

Kenn, great video as always. I'm jealous. One of these days I'll get me a video rig.

Can you tell us newbies more about how to find the bottle? I was at BW recently and wanted to find the bottle and the Barge, but didn't really know where to start looking.

 

[bbianchi]

I would likr to make it back out to the barge one of these days when there isnt hundreds of nettles out to get me. Epic video indeed!

 

[Gombessa]

Kenn, great video as always. I'm jealous. One of these days I'll get me a video rig.

Can you tell us newbies more about how to find the bottle? I was at BW recently and wanted to find the bottle and the Barge, but didn't really know where to start looking.

Hey Eric,

Thanks very much! This was my first time to the barge, and I pretty much played tourist, following the diver who knew the way. All I really know is that there is a permanent line set up that starts a bit away from the wall and ends maybe 25ft from the barge. We tied a reel to the wall and ran a search pattern to find the line. I've heard you can also find the line by heading a good distance along the wall and then turning north to intersect it. The map below marks the barge, but I don't know exactly what orientation the line runs or how far it goes:

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showfull.php?photo=138752

I will say that it's quite a long kick, and if you don't have sufficient gas reserves, you run the risk of needing to ascend pretty far out from shore, the concern being that there's significant boat traffic out there (we definitely heard motors overhead while at the barge); so we planned the dive as a virtual overhead. For a single-tank dive I'd really want to know my gas consumption rates, timing and navigation in order plan everything out.

 

[eric gundrum]

Kenn,

That's very helpful. I should have looked at the BAUE map before my last visit to BK. Just having good compass headings can make all the difference.

Once I was told to kick out to marker 13, then descend and look for the line. At least, I think it was marker 13; it was too long ago.

Based on my experience visiting the Metridium Field, I think a single-tank dive should be OK. (On that profile I'd have about an hour.) But, I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time searching for the line.

This has been helpful, but maybe someone else can chime in with more details on how best to find the line. Maybe Kristina knows. She dives BK all the time now.

 

[pacificgal]

LOL, but still haven't been to the barge. Guy sent me an email with explicit instructions, unfortunately I think I accidently deleted it. I've been out to marker 13 and beyond quite a few times, sometimes on purpose, sometimes on accident. I haven't ever seen the line or the bottle, but I may try again next time Paul can go with me (a regular buddy, but we're not exclusive, lol)
Sunday we started at marker 13 or so (or wherever that fisherman at the end of the pier was) descended and started swimming. At 1500 psi (and surrounded by a bunch of very playful sea lions/harbor seals) he had us turn around. Paul and I cover a good distance when we dive for some reason, I'm sure at some point I will find it, but haven't been able to yet. We were also staying around the 40' range, not really close to the sand. If I find it I'll let you know
I just looked at the map and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have ever found it on my own, lol, it's a lot farther out than I expected to see. Great idea to use the reel to create a search pattern for the line to it Kenn.

 

[Guy Alcala]

LOL, but still haven't been to the barge. Guy sent me an email with explicit instructions, unfortunately I think I accidently deleted it. I've been out to marker 13 and beyond quite a few times, sometimes on purpose, sometimes on accident. I haven't ever seen the line or the bottle, but I may try again next time Paul can go with me (a regular buddy, but we're not exclusive, lol)
Sunday we started at marker 13 or so (or wherever that fisherman at the end of the pier was) descended and started swimming. At 1500 psi (and surrounded by a bunch of very playful sea lions/harbor seals) he had us turn around. Paul and I cover a good distance when we dive for some reason, I'm sure at some point I will find it, but haven't been able to yet. We were also staying around the 40' range, not really close to the sand. If I find it I'll let you know
I just looked at the map and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have ever found it on my own, lol, it's a lot farther out than I expected to see. Great idea to use the reel to create a search pattern for the line to it Kenn.

Eric, Kenn, and Kristina, I sent you all PMs with the info on how to find the barge and line. The line isn't shown on the maps, because it's subject to both breakage and vandalism. Because of past vandalism, those of us who know where the line is don't post the info publicly, but will be happy to give the info privately should anyone ask.

Guy

 

[Guy Alcala]

Guy,

Looked pretty secure to me, although we didn't touch the screw. Perhaps the decorator crab hanging onto the bottle was the only thing keeping the entire contraption from going ballistic

You're the guy behind the bottle? Didn't know that, nice touch. Seems like you're the official Guardian of all things Breakwater!

Actually, Brenna Green put the first bottle in to mark the inner end of the line a year or two ago, and IIRR Rob and Allison Lee are the people who re-installed the line the last time, after it was vandalised. The bottles make it much easier to find the ends of the line in poor vis, or when the line/screws are partly buried. The inner end bottle is getting really encrusted now, but still holding air. On one occasion a Giant Spiny Star had somehow managed to climb the line and was sprawled across the 'top' (bottom) of the bottle, three feet up.

Guy