I had a really nice experience diving Anacapa. The sun burned off the morning marine layer by about 9:15, and the water looked calm.
The boat had about 28 divers on it (about three short of capacity, I think). This was the most people I'd ever seen on a weekday.
Our first dive was at Outer Coral Reef on the backside of Anacapa. This spot featured lots of brittle star, nudibranchs, and other colorful "little" stuff. Temperature was about 58 at depth and the visibility was 40 feet. :dazzler1:
We then headed for the front side; but the currents and wind really picked up, so we headed back for the "outer" or southern side of the island.
The wind remained pretty steady, making for some chilly surface intervals.
Our second stop was to Abalone Spot. This site featured lots of kelp growth coming up from a sandy bottom. Unfortunately, the wind and surge made the site look like desert sand storm. Temp remained at about 58, but the visibility dropped to about 10 feet. :frown:
We all then took a break for lunch, which was included with the trip and was simple but delicious. Great barbecue chicken with all the usual fixin's.
After lunch many chose to simply call it a day and retreat to either the hot tub or the bunks below.
Being the cheapskate that I am, I figured I paid to dive so I'm gonna dive. This turned out to be a good decision because the visibility at the third spot, "something" Channels (I'm not near my log book), was back up to just under 40'. This site featured a series of "channels" or little valleys in the rock formations running perpendicular with the shore. The thick kelp canopy made these channels feel like swim-throughs. The shallow depth of between 13 and 20 feet provided a nice, fun surge as we zig zagged through the little channels.
I dove with two guys I met on the boat. One was from England and was travelling the world for a year, and the other was from France studying at UCSB. They were both good, safe divers and very interesting people.
The crew, as usual, was great and very helpful.
I'm a middle school teacher, so I suppose I could have waited until summer to start my little weekday dive adventures. However, this trip provided me with the extra boost of morale I needed to get me through the last two weeks of school.
Speaking of which, I plan on doing several California dives this summer. June 24 takes me to San Diego to dive the Yukon and Ruby. On my way back home to SLO, I'm stopping in Long Beach to take The Great Escape to Santa Barbara Island. I then hope to go out periodically to the northern Channel Islands in July and August, taking advantage of my summer off by diving primarily mid week.
Drop me a note if you want to come along. After several trips to tropical locations with incredible visibility and warm water, my wife is ony intereseted in doing about one local dive a year.
