on_two_wheels
Contributor
My first try ended abruptly. Military said no-go. Took a little over two hours to get there on very rough seas to be told no. Then over 2 hours back on rough seas to dive catalina. Gotta say, overall I was highly disappointed. Was told there would be a "night dive at Farnsworth" which translated into "night dive at little farnsworth." Big difference. Bright side is I saw several angel sharks and sea salp for the first time. Also got narcosis a bit but managed to talk myself through it. Freaky, but great learning experience.
After our rough 5 hour round trip to san clemente we were back at catalina. Did a dive at the active rock quarry (not sure of site name). Not really spectacular. One of my dive buddies had never been in kelp so he loved it.
Next up was Goat Harbor. Great dive. Saw some BSB and my buddy got some great footage of them. Saw one bat ray gliding overhead but he was gone before any video was caught. Also more kep experience for my other buddy.
Lastly, we did Red Bluff. Other than the rock formations, this was a downright uneventful dive.
End result: paid a bit more for an unnecessary 5 hours of rough seas, one extra dive and a very crowded boat. For the cost, I'd rather have stayed home on saturday and just did 3 on the Magician (my fave). They didn't check people into/out of the water the first two dives but did do roll call, except after night dive. Food when we boarded saturday night was a few fruit and PB&J if you wanna make a sandwich. I am a bit disappointed in the weekend but diving with good guys/friends made it a worthwhile trip. The guy doing air fills worked his ass off and the cook provided a great breakfast. lunch and dinner. Still remained odd that nothing was available when we boarded but could see large jars of salsa, cakes, etc in storage. ????
After our rough 5 hour round trip to san clemente we were back at catalina. Did a dive at the active rock quarry (not sure of site name). Not really spectacular. One of my dive buddies had never been in kelp so he loved it.
Next up was Goat Harbor. Great dive. Saw some BSB and my buddy got some great footage of them. Saw one bat ray gliding overhead but he was gone before any video was caught. Also more kep experience for my other buddy.
Lastly, we did Red Bluff. Other than the rock formations, this was a downright uneventful dive.
End result: paid a bit more for an unnecessary 5 hours of rough seas, one extra dive and a very crowded boat. For the cost, I'd rather have stayed home on saturday and just did 3 on the Magician (my fave). They didn't check people into/out of the water the first two dives but did do roll call, except after night dive. Food when we boarded saturday night was a few fruit and PB&J if you wanna make a sandwich. I am a bit disappointed in the weekend but diving with good guys/friends made it a worthwhile trip. The guy doing air fills worked his ass off and the cook provided a great breakfast. lunch and dinner. Still remained odd that nothing was available when we boarded but could see large jars of salsa, cakes, etc in storage. ????
