Dive Report -23 Mar 07- Breakwater

Date: 23 Mar 07
Dive Location: Breakwater
Buddy(ies): Dionna
Bottom Time: 70
Max Depth: 65
Vis: 10-15
Wave height: 2-3 ft
Temp at depth:51
Surface Temp: 53
Tide information: Low
Gas mix: 32%
Tanks: Double LP-80'ss
Other gear: X-Scooter short body
Comments: Swell was coming out of NW long interval


NW WINDS 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT.
NW SWELL 8 TO 10 FT AT 14 SECONDS AND S 2 FT AT 15 SECONDS. AREAS
OF FOG AFTER MIDNIGHT.

Got seduced into an afternoon dive by dive buddy Dionna.... The surface conditions didn't look too good... the wind was blowing pretty hard and was blowing spray onto the wall.... vis didn't look too promising either... But for therapeutic purposes we pushed thru...

We got in the water and scootered out along the wall... hitting the landmark at 10 mins... did a quick S-drill (did I mention vis was bad when we entered?) then pushed to the barge... At the barge the usual characters were present a couple of Clown Nudibranch (Triopha catalinae) and a Diaulula sandiegensis (uhmmm white O's nudi)... a gang of rock fish also kept us company.

After kicking around a little bit I used my not so superior navigation skills to miss the Metridium fields and end up in no mans land between the Met fields and middle reef. The Large square moorings gave me a not too comforting feeling that we were a bit off... I knew we were close to the "Canon" and the geocache that we usually hit on the way back... pretty soon middle reef and then the upslopping sand into the student area.

We finish off the dive with Valve drills at 20 and at 15... (What good mentor doesn't set challenges)... I muddled thru mine okey... we then surfaced, debriefed and then scootered in.

I would have opted for a night dive also if didn't have to drive back. Oh plus I had a leak in the DS so I was sloshing around in the boots and starting to get cold.

With the loss of Kawika everybody is feeling pretty down...so it was good to get out and enjoy a nice relaxing dive with a good friend.

Go call your buddies up and go diving!

Pictures

There was wind??? It has been so pristine here in Benicia I cannot imagine any less than ideal weather anywhere nearby. Maybe I should get out of the office more often?

Also, maybe part of the fun of navigation is the mystery of where you'll really end up?? While it is rewarding to be able to actually end up where you started, no one can deny the intrigue of finding new places to explore, and the excitement of finding your way back up the creek without a paddle! Most of the best things in life start out with a swag.

J/k.

thx for the report, hope to write one myself soon.

R

Well, hope Point Lobos condition are good for today, gonna be down there in an hour and a half so farwell to all and have a safe dive .

Nice report and thanks for sharing. Definitely appreciated the detail.

So anyone diving Sunday?

I'm landlocked this weekend, but I'll probably be getting out next Sunday. Nice report!

I'd have to get a kitchen pass to make it out Sunday. I'll have to look at the conditions to see if it'll be worth asking permission or not. I heard there was a storm coming in soon.

Was Dionna on the X-scooter too? If so, how did she like it?

Condition wasn't that great today at Point Lobos up to Monastery.

paulwlee:

Was Dionna on the X-scooter too? If so, how did she like it?

Click to expand...

Paul,
I'm sorry I cannot confirm nor deny that....