Lobos Report: Cheating the Odds 4-11-10

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kathydee

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Scuba Instructor
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Location
So Florida
# of dives
1000 - 2499
Erik and I took a chance on Sunday and wagered a bet on conditions at Lobos. Wind from the South, swell from the West, low tide and swell model increases towards then late afternoon, a calm report from Sat evening at BW. Perhaps the stars would align---and despite the ominous weather forecast we'd get lucky with a morning dive that would make the 4hr RT drive count.

Placid water at Monastery (and divers gearing up)feeds our mounting excitement. Under gray skies and slight sprinkle, we pull into the Whalers Cove parking lot. Hiking up to the bluff, we brace ourselves against invigorating cold gusts of wind and the sting of little droplets of pelting rain on our faces. From the bluff we notice white caps breaking quite a ways off shore. But--the surface of the cove and beyond is lake still and teaming with marine life. Exciting!

We barely notice the occasional gust of wind that sneaks over the bluff smacking cold rain drops into our kitting up efforts. The feeling that we've successfully cheated the odds and have Lobos entirely to ourselves (except one other team) spurs us on!
Kicking out through the calm water is exceptional. Sea lions, otters and seals are everywhere, playfully following us and not retreating. At one point we pause about 10ft from a gray whiskered otter casually floating on its back. We swim a little closer; he keeps cleaning his whiskers with his little paws and doesn't even seem to notice our presence.

We surface kick out in our doubles a ways, drop down just past worm patch into 10ft grainy dark vis, then casually kick through the canyons out to Hole in the Wall. The vis opens up to about a grainy 10-15ft. It's still quite dark but our 21W HID lights slice through the gloom. We head out towards Lone Metridiun. Then the darkness and vis close in. Just before we round the corner to pay respect to the solo Metridium we are greeted by this dark green-brown abyss; a grainy 3-5ft vis. Looking around at the little boulders and clumps of vegetation in the water, at this point I start getting that eerie cemetery feeling and decide it's time to turn back.

Enjoying peaceful calm waters we do a slow kick back down the sand channel to shallower clearer water, pausing for a while on middle reef to enjoy crabs and nudis. At some point a few fish fly by with a harbor seal in hot pursuit of a sashimi lunch. 126 minutes after we descend, we surface to a very cute family of four otters floating on their back in the kelp and a curious harbor seal or two or three and many playful sea lions.

Gusts of wind have increased and the surface has a curious texture but still zero swell. We step out of the water just in time for an exciting parking lot hail storm. Round white hailstones bounce off our hoods and equipment like little ping pong balls. A few brave tourists hike through the lot, but we are the only two divers. The rain/hail does a pretty good job of rinsing our equipment while we eat lunch. By the time the weather abates the lot is empty--we have Lobos entirely to ourselves. We finish the rinse job, pack our soggy gear and head home with big smiles -- knowing that indeed we have cheated the odds ;-).

Vis: 3-15ft
Temp: 50F
Max Depth: 71FSW
Dive Time: 2 hours 6 minutes
 
Yep, we noticed those seals too, never seen that many in one spot. However we only did 98 minutes bottom time.
 
Kathy,

What an astonishing story, you do amaze me on how well you do in tuff conditions. I guess that's why I get excited when we dive the wall at BW, I know I'm in good hands. :)

Two hours under the water with 50 degrees of blast, so how are you likeing that Argon?
 
Two hours under the water with 50 degrees of blast, so how are you likeing that Argon?

Thanks Mike :),

Before the Argon slight shivers would have probably started around 90 minutes into the dive. At the end of Sunday's dive my fingers and toes were a little cold but I still had feeling in them and dexterity.

It appears Argon is making quite a difference.

Of course I also have a 12mm Otter Bay hood, 400g equiv undergarmet and drygloves.
 
Kathy,

Fantastic post. Thanks for sharing. You have made me quite jealous as I am currently land-locked in Georgia. Hope to see you soon.

-Katie
 
Great report Kathy, really nice.

I love Pt Lobos. Havent done any thing other than middle reef and the sand channel and am so excited about seeing further afield. Wont be long before i get Katie out there too, she's going to love it.

At one point on our last dive- hanging out on the surface around the kelp forest at BW- we had 3 or 4 really inquisitive seals come check us out. At one point i put my face in the water and we had one literally 6 inches from Katies fin. Up until that point she had thought i was embellishing my stories about the seals tugging at fins etc and didnt believe they'd get so close.
 
Bummer the vis wasn't better. Otherwise it sounds like a great day to go diving! Thanks for the report.
 
Yep, we noticed those seals too, never seen that many in one spot. However we only did 98 minutes bottom time.

98 minutes on your partners single? Wow. Andrew it was nice to meet you & see that someone else braved the weather forecast to enjoy those beautiful calm conditions!

I love Pt Lobos. Havent done any thing other than middle reef and the sand channel and am so excited about seeing further afield. Wont be long before i get Katie out there too, she's going to love it.
Ah, Lobos is a great place to explore! I'm sure Katie will love it :)!
 
thats 120cf tank :) @ 3800psi full
 
I went diving on 4/11 too, with Stephen Pacetti and Dannobee. Went to a new site that Stephen found on the Baue website and went to Shale Island. Yes, Peter, I finally went to Shale Island! I saw my first spanish shawl, and my first octopus too. I was trying out a new wetsuit on the boat, I was freezing in the wind and rain and almost didn't make that second dive. I am so glad I did! It was a great day to be out in a drysuit :)
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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