Rainer
Contributor
Some want more DIR dive reports. Here's my contribution. Three recreational dives from this past Saturday. Three of the divers completed Fundies earlier this year.
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This past Saturday, Blackwood, ligersandtions, xstephenx, jenth, and I got on the Yellow Boat for a day of recreational diving off Pt Loma in San Diego. We arrived at the Shelter Island boat ramp around 8am, and soon began loading gear. It's a small boat, and the plan was to get enough gear on for two dives, after which we'd come back to swap out spent cylinders for new ones. Plan was to take three scooters (what we could basically fit) and switch scooter teams for the various dives.
-First Dive: High Seas
Our first goal was a dive on the High Seas. Laid down in 1945 as a Yard Patrol craft (YP-621) and later converted to a Purse Seine fishing boat, she sank in 1970 while carrying a full load of tuna. She sits in about 105'. A wood boat, time hasn't been particularly kind to her structure. None of us had been here before. Marc, Stephen, and I teamed up for this dive, and somehow we got the bring the scooters. It's a relatively small wreck (ship was originally 128' in length), so we just used the scooters for the descent/ascent, and otherwise had them clipped off. Stephen led, Marc shot video and some stills (which he'll hopefully post soon), and I just enjoyed the show. Some nice schools of fish (mostly various species of perch) hung about the strewn about structure. After 30 minutes, up we went.
-Second Dive: Ancient Sea Cliffs (Train Wheels)
I'd heard great reports from others who had visited the Ancient Sea Cliffs (basically the prehistoric coastline a mile off the Pt Loma lighthouse), but I'd never been (neither had anyone else on our charter). Danny has numbers for many sites along the ASCs, and he chose to drop us on Train Wheels. The cliffs here run from about 65' down to 105'. Jen, Nicole, and I splashed and then scootered down the anchor line to the top of the wall, then over to the base of the cliffs. Visibility was outstanding (~40'). The structure here is wild. In some places, the cliffs are quite shear; everywhere odd little protrusions dot the landscape. All the rocks are covered in strawberry anemones. The whole place just jumps with color. Not a ton of fish life (less than on the wrecks we dived this day), but there are nudis everywhere. We count about a dozen species (sadly, they're really too small for the CSI camera). After scootering back toward the anchor line, we come upon the entrance to a small cavern. We soon discover the reason for this site's name: two sets of railroad train wheels sit inside. After a brief swim to the back, we turn around and head out. 35 minutes on the bottom and soon enough it's time to head up. One of my top three dives this year. Truly outstanding.
[vimeo]16878287[/vimeo]
-Third Dive: PC-815
After returning to the marina to swap out some gear, we were soon once again off Pt Loma. Final dive was to be on the PC-815, a WWII submarine chaser launched in 1943 and sunk (in a collision with the destroyer USS Laffey) in 1945 (notably, she was first commanded by L. Ron Hubbard). The wreck was discovered in the early 1980s in about 90', at which time it was determined she still carried live munitions (upwards of 800 pounds). The US Navy detonated these, causing a larger than expected blast (measured at 2.8 on the Richter scale by Caltech). The wreckage is now spread over a fairly large area. Jen, Marc, and I grabbed the scooters and headed in for dive three. Since the site is so large, with good distance between various pieces of wreckage, Jen ran line. Marc and I had been to this wreck last year, but it was Jen's first time. She did a great job leading us about, while I shot a bit off video. It's a fun dive as you try to piece together what exactly it is you're looking at. We did 35 minutes on the bottom, then up the anchor line.
[vimeo]16877225[/vimeo]
As always, (Captain) Danny dropped perfect anchors on all three dives, putting us right on top of where we wanted to be. He was great with having hot soup ready for us after the first dive, and accommodating some special food requests for after the second dive.
It was a wonderful day out on the water. Thanks to Marc, Nicole, Stephen, and Jen for such a fun outing!
----------------------
For anyone interested in some other (relatively) recent SoCal DIR trip reports (posted in other subforums), here you go (most with videos and/or photos):
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/358882-farnsworth-trip-report-short-video.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/358219-casino-point-oct-31st.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/358104-utd-adventures-catalina-ship-rock-los-angeles-ca.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/358125-ace-i-wreck.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/357996-chris-marc-dive-ub88.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/357229-epic-conditions-catalina-10-23-a.html
Catalina Weekend - Belated Trip Report - Valiant Video
Farnsworth Bank - DIR Charter - Trip Report
Videos: San Diego Dives - Cape Charles & Hogan
Spectre (7/31) - Trip Report
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This past Saturday, Blackwood, ligersandtions, xstephenx, jenth, and I got on the Yellow Boat for a day of recreational diving off Pt Loma in San Diego. We arrived at the Shelter Island boat ramp around 8am, and soon began loading gear. It's a small boat, and the plan was to get enough gear on for two dives, after which we'd come back to swap out spent cylinders for new ones. Plan was to take three scooters (what we could basically fit) and switch scooter teams for the various dives.
-First Dive: High Seas
Our first goal was a dive on the High Seas. Laid down in 1945 as a Yard Patrol craft (YP-621) and later converted to a Purse Seine fishing boat, she sank in 1970 while carrying a full load of tuna. She sits in about 105'. A wood boat, time hasn't been particularly kind to her structure. None of us had been here before. Marc, Stephen, and I teamed up for this dive, and somehow we got the bring the scooters. It's a relatively small wreck (ship was originally 128' in length), so we just used the scooters for the descent/ascent, and otherwise had them clipped off. Stephen led, Marc shot video and some stills (which he'll hopefully post soon), and I just enjoyed the show. Some nice schools of fish (mostly various species of perch) hung about the strewn about structure. After 30 minutes, up we went.
-Second Dive: Ancient Sea Cliffs (Train Wheels)
I'd heard great reports from others who had visited the Ancient Sea Cliffs (basically the prehistoric coastline a mile off the Pt Loma lighthouse), but I'd never been (neither had anyone else on our charter). Danny has numbers for many sites along the ASCs, and he chose to drop us on Train Wheels. The cliffs here run from about 65' down to 105'. Jen, Nicole, and I splashed and then scootered down the anchor line to the top of the wall, then over to the base of the cliffs. Visibility was outstanding (~40'). The structure here is wild. In some places, the cliffs are quite shear; everywhere odd little protrusions dot the landscape. All the rocks are covered in strawberry anemones. The whole place just jumps with color. Not a ton of fish life (less than on the wrecks we dived this day), but there are nudis everywhere. We count about a dozen species (sadly, they're really too small for the CSI camera). After scootering back toward the anchor line, we come upon the entrance to a small cavern. We soon discover the reason for this site's name: two sets of railroad train wheels sit inside. After a brief swim to the back, we turn around and head out. 35 minutes on the bottom and soon enough it's time to head up. One of my top three dives this year. Truly outstanding.
[vimeo]16878287[/vimeo]
-Third Dive: PC-815
After returning to the marina to swap out some gear, we were soon once again off Pt Loma. Final dive was to be on the PC-815, a WWII submarine chaser launched in 1943 and sunk (in a collision with the destroyer USS Laffey) in 1945 (notably, she was first commanded by L. Ron Hubbard). The wreck was discovered in the early 1980s in about 90', at which time it was determined she still carried live munitions (upwards of 800 pounds). The US Navy detonated these, causing a larger than expected blast (measured at 2.8 on the Richter scale by Caltech). The wreckage is now spread over a fairly large area. Jen, Marc, and I grabbed the scooters and headed in for dive three. Since the site is so large, with good distance between various pieces of wreckage, Jen ran line. Marc and I had been to this wreck last year, but it was Jen's first time. She did a great job leading us about, while I shot a bit off video. It's a fun dive as you try to piece together what exactly it is you're looking at. We did 35 minutes on the bottom, then up the anchor line.
[vimeo]16877225[/vimeo]
As always, (Captain) Danny dropped perfect anchors on all three dives, putting us right on top of where we wanted to be. He was great with having hot soup ready for us after the first dive, and accommodating some special food requests for after the second dive.
It was a wonderful day out on the water. Thanks to Marc, Nicole, Stephen, and Jen for such a fun outing!
----------------------
For anyone interested in some other (relatively) recent SoCal DIR trip reports (posted in other subforums), here you go (most with videos and/or photos):
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/358882-farnsworth-trip-report-short-video.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/358219-casino-point-oct-31st.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/358104-utd-adventures-catalina-ship-rock-los-angeles-ca.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/358125-ace-i-wreck.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/357996-chris-marc-dive-ub88.html
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/socal/357229-epic-conditions-catalina-10-23-a.html
Catalina Weekend - Belated Trip Report - Valiant Video
Farnsworth Bank - DIR Charter - Trip Report
Videos: San Diego Dives - Cape Charles & Hogan
Spectre (7/31) - Trip Report
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