Nice video about the Farallon Islands Marine Sancuary.

[Peter_C]

I found this today, and enjoyed the excellent shots gliding over the coastal terrain and underwater with all the creatures we hope to see. Enjoy :clapping:


http://vimeo.com/33006095

[Tracy Saunders]

Hey Peter - The video link came up with an error - do you actually have a link for it from like YouTube or something? Maybe not embedding might help? Dunno... :dontknow:

[Peter_C]

Works fine for me. Below is the URL. You should be able to get the URL by right clicking and copy the URL. Double left click should also work to open the vid.

Sanctuary in the Sea: a Gulf of the Farallones Experience on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/33006095)

We could see the Farallon's from the top of Mt. Tam on Sunday :)

[TONY CHANEY]

Truly great video! Thanks!

[GregSaiz]

Loved that. One of my great diving regrets was not booking the Pacific Star charter to the Farallones when they were here. Even after reading Chuck's page on diving there, I still want to go. Flotilla anyone?

[kyjellyfish]

This was the same movie shown at the Cal Academy of Sciences a while back. Nice one.

[bsteg]

I have been out there on a cage dive. We saw two seal predations on the surface but no sharks came near the cage. (read more here White Shark Cage Dive: Farallons (http://divehd.com/2010/06/white-shark-cage-dive-farallons/)). Lots of whales and other sea life. Greg, I'll go on your flotilla boat your gonna need a bigger boat!

[GregSaiz]

Greg, I'll go on your flotilla boat your gonna need a bigger boat!

You are in luck, just upgraded to a Zodiac Pro 9 Man! While the prior owner had it out to the islands twice, making a trip like that in an open 16 foot boat sounds crazy to me. Still, if anyone here has a 30' and wants to tow my Zodiac, I'll join the flotilla!
:D

[Peter_C]

Nice boat Greg! I wish I could tow a boat that big. It is also a boat I would gladly take out to the Farallon's. I have seen what Paul puts his thru. Folks take their 17' Boston Whalers out there all the time, and the RIB will ride smoother.

The more I see people interact with the Great White sharks at the Farallon's the less I worry about them. We really are not on the menu. The more I see video from the Farallon's the more I want to dive out there. It is one of more remote dive locations in Northern California, that hold decent vis. Definitely worthy of a live boat trip with the currents, and the desire to come up directly under the boat. Also worthy of a top notch dive team.

[GregSaiz]

It is also a boat I would gladly take out to the Farallon's. I have seen what Paul puts his thru. Folks take their 17' Boston Whalers out there all the time, and the RIB will ride smoother.

Thanks Peter, I appreciate all your inflatable advice. I should have clarified in my post above "For a novice like me, taking an open boat out to the islands sounds crazy". Anyway, the allure of the Farallons is a great motivator to become a better diver/captain!

[Chuck Tribolet]

You would not want to do it live boat. You want divers to surface right at the boat by coming back up the anchor line.
You do need to have a second boat ready to go pick up anybody who doesn't surface next to the boat. And
the divers are unlikely to get onto the reef without an anchor line to go down. And if they get off the reef, they are
quickly out into the blue.

The Farallones are not an adventure, they are an expedition. It requires a good deal of planning and the right team.
There only maybe a dozen divers I'd go out there with.

When Kawika and I were going out there, we had a set of procedures. I don't seem to have a copy on this computer. I'll
be back home tomorrow and see if I can scare up a copy.

Note that some portions are now closed to entry by the MLPA. For diving, this is most notably the Isle of St. James.


Chuck

[Chuck Tribolet]

I Googled up the procedures: Post #2 in this thread:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/norcal/177015-would-you-dive-farallones-2.html

If you are thinking about going, read the whole thread.


Chuck

[Peter_C]

You would not want to do it live boat. You want divers to surface right at the boat by coming back up the anchor line.
You are correct, and what I meant was two teams taking turns diving, with someone capable of driving the boat onboard. Like you we usually dive off our boats leaving no one board. Not something I would do at the Farallon's. Sounds like you take it one step further and have a second boat for recovery. Not sure how much that is needed with only one team in the water at a time? Most anyone I would dive with there, knows how to launch an SMB from depth, along with running line.

[Ben_ca]

Most anyone I would dive with there, knows how to launch an SMB from depth, along with running line.

Line? or did you mean GWS Floss? :D

[Peter_C]

Line? or did you mean GWS Floss? :D

ROTFLMAO :rofl3:

Ben, I appoint you as our official shark hygienist. It will look good on your resume, along with being a crab-boy. You are also one of the people I would happily jump in the water with as a buddy at the Farallon's!

[Tracy Saunders]

Finally got to see this one. Same browser, no changes as far as I know (FireFox 11). Tanks for sharing! Great vid.