TWARS (This Week at Reef Seekers) - Sept. 25 - Oct. 2

[Ken Kurtis]

Avalon, Lobsters, Deep Dives, and more (please scroll down for details)​

Happy New Year (aka Happy Rosh Hashana) for those observing . . . EVALUATING CONDITIONS - We went over to Avalon last Wednesday. It was a bit of a bumpy ride over. When we pulled into the dock, I could tell the wind was blowing pretty good (as you can see from the pix of the flag) and pretty much out of the NNW, which meant it was blowing straight into the Park. Not good. When we actually got there (as you can see - and this pix was from the afternoon when it had calmed down a bit) surface conditions were less than ideal. And this is exactly the type of situation where you need to do an evaluation of the conditions to decide if you're going to dive or not. My initial thought was, "This is going to be problematic" as there were 2-3' waves breaking regularly on the steps. By the same token, I didn't have students but had certified divers with me. And there were other people going in and out so we were able to watch them and see how they fared. As long as you paid attention to the swell, it seemed doable. And once you got away from the stairs - the only thing that you could get slammed into and hurt - it seemed manageable. So we decided to dive and to see what was what. It was not only doable (just watch your timing) but we were quite surprised to discover that, once we get a foot or two under, it was actually quite serene with almost no evidence of the turmoil happening at the surface. And that's why I always say, "You never know unless you go look."​

AVALON REPORT - We ended up making three quite lovely dives, with Giant Sea Bass sightings on each. The water temp was around 71º - nice for the humans but it's taking its toll on the kelp - and the visibility ranged from 30-60 feet. It was much better early in the day and diminished as the tide went out. We saw lobsters, abalone, plenty of Kelp Bass and Garibaldi, and we even gave a bit of a cleaning to the Jacques Cousteau plaque. I put together a short video of the second and third dive. Take note of the GSB getting cleaned. We're not sure what that deformity on his lip is but it it's thought to be from a hook. He seems none the worse from wear for it, and the juvy Kelp Bass seem willing to help him tend to it: AVALON U/W PARK VIDEO. DIVING CHALLENGER DEEP - At 35,853 feet below the surface, Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench is the deepest underwater spot on earth. You may recall this as the place where James Cameron did his solo deep dive in 2012. Since then, others have made the trip down (and back), many in the DSV Limiting Factor. But it's still an an elite group with only 27 people total having made the journey. Dawn Wright recently became the first Black woman to do the dive and CBS Morning did a story about her and the dive. (Sadly, one of the first things they see at the bottom is a discarded bottle.) Here's a link to the 7-minute video (it starts with a commercial that you can't skip past): DIVING CHALLENGER DEEP. WANNA DIVE THE TITANIC??? - Looking for something "shallower"? How about the Titanic, since it's only around 12,000 feet deep? Ocean Gate Expeditions is running trips to the fabled wreck. And they're selling spots for just $250,000. However, if that's too rich for your blood, they've also got a bunch of high-resolution (some in 8K) videos that you can watch for free. Here's the link: DIVE THE TITANIC. LOBSTER SEASON OPENS THIS COMING SATURDAY - At 6:00AM, to be exact. Remember that if you're going to hunt for the elusive crustaceans, you MUST not only have a valid sport fishing license lobster card, but you also must have it in your possession (not underwater, but in your gear bag or car on-site) and you're supposed to log each attempt right after it happens along with the results. Game wardens are most likely to be active on this opening weekend so it pays to follow the rules closely. OUR YEARLY PLEA - It goes without saying that we want you to dive safely. Lobster opener traditionally sees a couple of close calls from inattentive divers as well as sometimes a fatality (or two - the record is five during the entire opening week). The biggest concern is running out of air while focusing more on bugs than gas supply. Check your air often and surface with plenty in reserve. No lobster is worth your life. And that'll do it for now. Have a great week and let's go diving soon!!! - Ken​