Dove Vista Point Saturday with my son and had a good couple of dives. We set up with Bill and met Clay for the first time. Water temps and conditions were pretty good for this time of year. Since we only have 7 mils fullsuits or 3 mil shorties we opted for the latter since it was too hot at shallow depths and S.I.s for dealing with the thicker suits. This also limited our depth to the first thermocline about 27 - 28' since my son has no body fat and does not like to colder temps. We typically followed the shoreline at this depth but would drop through the thermocline every now & then to cool down a bit. Actually at this depth we had good visibility, plenty of ambient light, saw a lot of fish for Pleasant, and long dive times (~ 70 minutes with plenty of air to spare).
We also scored a few "treasures" including a pair Spy sunglasses in perfect condition, a like new 20lb. Navy style anchor (good thing my Ranger has 44 lbs of lift), and nice dry snorkel. Finding all this stuff really has me thinking that a trip back to Humbug bay on a Monday after the weekend party crowd might yeild some fun finds.
Seeing the 40 lb + catfish was cool as well. I have heard other divers talking about seeing big cats at depth but this was the first monster I have ever seen bigger than 8 lbs. What was also interesting was the fact he was only in ~ 25'. I just wish I had brought my camera.
Anyway, Clay, it was nice to meet you and if do ever decide to try a boat dive from your Chaparral please keep me in mind. As always, Bill, it was good to see and dive with you. If you, or anyone else for that matter, are interested in doing another night dive sometime soon let me know.
MG