socaldiver
Contributor
Finally had a chance to get wet again, these 3 week surface intervals are brutal!!
The old saying, "A Bad Day Diving is better than ........" can surely hold true for yesterday at Casino Point.
My dive buddy and I took the 10 AM express from Long Beach(because I had to work until 2AM Saturday night) to Avalon. Nice ride over with only 2 foot seas. Got to the island around 11 and took the stroll to the Point. Avalon was an absolute ZOO!!. People everywhere. When we got to Casino Point there was hardly anyplace left to drop our gear there were so many divers there. We suited up and stuck our toes in the water a little after the noon hour, did a surface swim out to the first buoy and descended to the floor (about 35 fsw). We had preplanned to explore the northwest side of the park and so began our swim in that direction. It was as bad as being on the LA freeways during rush hour!! We had to stop while one group went one way and another group was going another way. Then there was the group of about 5 students who decided to literally drop in on us. We got out of the area in deeper water so that we could keep our sanity. Vis was really poor, probably the worse I have experienced there, only about 25 feet but the water temp was a balmy 66. My dive buddy tried out her new 3 mil that I got her last week and for being a freeze bug she was quite comfy in it. We got to see 2 bat rays speeding by like something was chasing them but never saw anything else. We did a 90 degree turn and headed back toward the shore and when we got to 15 fsw we did another 90 degree to swim back toward our exit point and this gave us plenty of time doing our safety stop. The swim back was in the kelp and we came across some fish we never have seen before. When I get pics developed I will post them and try to identify them. First dive ended, 56 fsw at depth, 35 minutes, 750 psi remaining in tank.
We took our tanks over to get refilled and was told it would take about 1 1/2 hours before they would be ready OUCH!! We went and had lunch, walked around the point and observed the many students struggling with everything (we have all been there) and also took a nap. 2 hours surface interval and finally our tanks are ready. So we geared up and entered the water, did the surface swim to the first buoy and descended again. Vis was really bad now, probably 15 to 29 feet in that area. We went on an easterly course towards Avalon harbor at 40 fsw. It appears someone knocked over the Cousteau plaque because we couldn't locate it. There were reports the giant sea bass were in that area also so we were keeping an eye out for them I wanted to get a better pic of them. We got to the "wall" near the end of the park and made our turnaround and again ascended to 15 feet for the swimback. Swimming in and out of the kelp. didn't see anything out of the ordinary though. Finished our dive with a little over 700 psi, 46 fsw at depth, temp was still 66 (although we did hit a thermocline) and 35 minutes.
In exiting it was getting near low tide and with a little surge it was a little chaotic in exiting at the steps, we waited our turn, got out, changed real quick and headed for the dock to catch the 6:30 PM express back.
Beautiful sunset as we were cruising at 35 knots going back.
Like I said, it wasn't a good day diving but it wasn't bad either. We at least were able to get wet so we are not complaining.
The old saying, "A Bad Day Diving is better than ........" can surely hold true for yesterday at Casino Point.
My dive buddy and I took the 10 AM express from Long Beach(because I had to work until 2AM Saturday night) to Avalon. Nice ride over with only 2 foot seas. Got to the island around 11 and took the stroll to the Point. Avalon was an absolute ZOO!!. People everywhere. When we got to Casino Point there was hardly anyplace left to drop our gear there were so many divers there. We suited up and stuck our toes in the water a little after the noon hour, did a surface swim out to the first buoy and descended to the floor (about 35 fsw). We had preplanned to explore the northwest side of the park and so began our swim in that direction. It was as bad as being on the LA freeways during rush hour!! We had to stop while one group went one way and another group was going another way. Then there was the group of about 5 students who decided to literally drop in on us. We got out of the area in deeper water so that we could keep our sanity. Vis was really poor, probably the worse I have experienced there, only about 25 feet but the water temp was a balmy 66. My dive buddy tried out her new 3 mil that I got her last week and for being a freeze bug she was quite comfy in it. We got to see 2 bat rays speeding by like something was chasing them but never saw anything else. We did a 90 degree turn and headed back toward the shore and when we got to 15 fsw we did another 90 degree to swim back toward our exit point and this gave us plenty of time doing our safety stop. The swim back was in the kelp and we came across some fish we never have seen before. When I get pics developed I will post them and try to identify them. First dive ended, 56 fsw at depth, 35 minutes, 750 psi remaining in tank.
We took our tanks over to get refilled and was told it would take about 1 1/2 hours before they would be ready OUCH!! We went and had lunch, walked around the point and observed the many students struggling with everything (we have all been there) and also took a nap. 2 hours surface interval and finally our tanks are ready. So we geared up and entered the water, did the surface swim to the first buoy and descended again. Vis was really bad now, probably 15 to 29 feet in that area. We went on an easterly course towards Avalon harbor at 40 fsw. It appears someone knocked over the Cousteau plaque because we couldn't locate it. There were reports the giant sea bass were in that area also so we were keeping an eye out for them I wanted to get a better pic of them. We got to the "wall" near the end of the park and made our turnaround and again ascended to 15 feet for the swimback. Swimming in and out of the kelp. didn't see anything out of the ordinary though. Finished our dive with a little over 700 psi, 46 fsw at depth, temp was still 66 (although we did hit a thermocline) and 35 minutes.
In exiting it was getting near low tide and with a little surge it was a little chaotic in exiting at the steps, we waited our turn, got out, changed real quick and headed for the dock to catch the 6:30 PM express back.
Beautiful sunset as we were cruising at 35 knots going back.
Like I said, it wasn't a good day diving but it wasn't bad either. We at least were able to get wet so we are not complaining.