This turned out to be an absolutely incredible weekend. What I expected to be freezing cold nights and pounding, overhead surf turned out to be warm tropical breezes at night, incredibly clear and sunny days, and a flat ocean with only occasional 6-8 ft. surf on Saturday. The camping was a blast, the weather was perfect, the diving was wonderful, and of course the Scubaboarders were the best. Maybe even better than the best. Maybe the grooviest.
And unending thanks go to Headhunter, for doing so much work to make this whole event one for the books. Everything from coordinating it all, arranging the campsites, bringing all the equipment, and even waking up early this morning to make sure we had hot water for tea/coffee when we woke up.
Okay, here's the short version: Headhunter and SBDiver arrived at the campsite Friday night and slept over. Apparently they had a pretty good time.
Anyway, we arrived Saturday morning at around 7:30. I was amazed that the weather was saying the the temp in Upland at the time was 49 deg., and in Malibu it was 10 degrees warmer. It was beautiful when we arrived, and as soon as the sun came out it warmed up quickly. The weather was so nice that we just kicked back and enjoyed it for a while and had some breakfast. We finally got our butts in gear and made a recon trip over to the beach (a short walk along walkway under PCH). Dazedone and DesertCamel arrived and joined us. We were amazed that we could clearly see Catalina and Anacapa Islands in the distance. It was very low tide, and we were seeing occasional 6-8 ft. waves breaking in the little cove near tower #2, and significantly larger ones to the north (past lifeguard tower #3). We saw some divers going in at the cove, and waited for their report before deciding. Their entry timing was a bit off, and they wrestled with a couple of 6 ft. waves on the way out. When they surfaced after only 1/2 hour, they said conditions were okay, and viz was something like 5-10 ft. So we decided to have some lunch and wait for high tide later in the afternoon. With the excellent cheeseburgers and incredible weather, it took us a while to finally decide on diving. Around 3pm the decision was that SBDiver, DesertCamel, Dazedone and Headhunter would give it a try. I decided to hold off for tomorrow to see if conditions improved. Maybe one of them will post a dive report.
After the dive, Myrna and I climbed up on the lifeguard tower to watch the gorgeous sunset, and were surprised to see whale spouts way off on the horizon. There were also pods of dolphins close to shore, and some seals playing around the cove. Then we headed back to camp, and Myrna cooked us some steaks, chicken breasts, rice with mushrooms, vegetables, and SBDiver's huge tri-tip steak. Damn it was good. We kicked back the rest of the evening, sitting around the campfire, feeling the warm breeze, looking at the bright stars, and sharing stories. JDog showed up seeking a warm place to sleep after his rescue class, Scubapro5 stopped by to drop off some stuff. It was a spectacular night.
We woke up this moring to another incredible day, even warmer than yesterday. I took an early recon trip to the beach, and it was flat, with an occasional set of 3-4 ft. waves, but long periods of no waves whatsoever. I was very jazzed. HBDiveGirl and her husband joined us for breakfast, and she was finally successful at coaxing us off our lazy butts and into our dive gear. Headhunter, myself, DesertCamel, SBDIVer, and HBDiveGirl geared up, and made an easy entry at the cove. We kicked out to the kelp, and decided to split into two groups going opposite ways to see which is the best for future dives. I'll post a report when I get a chance. Suffice it to say it was absolutely wonderful. Viz was around 15-20 (maybe more), and the whole area was dotted with reefs. It became one of my favorite dive spots.
When we got back to camp, Scubapro5 and family were already there cooking lunch for us (wow, they came all the way just to cook lunch for us; you guys are incredible). After lunch, HBDiveGirl was jumping up and down, again trying to get us off our lazy butts and into the water. Finally around 3pm, just as MikeNYtoLA showed up, it came together, and he, Headhunter, SBDiver, HBDiveGirl and DesertCamel went for a dive. I imagine it was probably the best one of the weekend. Wish I could have joined them, but we had to pack up and start our 2 hour trip back home.
Anyway, this one was truly memorable. It was so nice that Myrna is already making plans for our next camping trip. Thanks to everyone, and thanks again Headhunter.
