February 25, 2006
Where: California
What: Diving Anacapa Island off the MV Spectre
Yes, I know, I am out of order, but this was only a one day dive trip so I thought I would do this one first. Besides, editing an hour of video vs 2.5 hours is a lot quicker.
I got home at around 5:30PM on Wednesday, February 22 long enough to wash some cloths, shower, eat, and then head back to the airport for my flight to California. My flight took off on time at 9:05PM with Continental. My flight was a little late landing, but I headed over to Fox Rent a Car and picked up my rental and headed for Lancaster. I arrived in Lancaster at approximately 2AM. I spent the next 2 days visiting with my daughter, my new grand daughter, Dad, and Step-Mom.
On or about 1PM on Friday, the 24th, I spoke to Doug (aka Taniwha) on the phone and we agreed to meet later that evening and head to Ventura Harbor to spend the night as we had a 7AM departure for Anacapa Island on the MV Spectre. We were to meet up with other members of ZD and SB: Sapphire, Mo2vation, Mark Vlahos, BunnyJaye, HeadHunter, Xanthro, HBDiveGirl, and TaxGeek (unfortunately Susan wasn’t able to make it) so there were 9 of 10. The Spectre ended up with 31 OTHER divers from various parts of CA. That may sound like a lot, but there was quite a bit of room to move around.
Doug and I arrived at approximately 10PM and missed out having dinner with the others, but they showed up as we were loading our gear on the boat. Sapphire greeted and introduced me to everyone and then we proceeded to get our gear set up. Everyone but Sapphire spent the night on the boat, but she elected to rough it at the nearby hotel instead. She was there bright and early the next morning, 6AM.
As scheduled, the Spectre left the docks at 7AM Sharp out of Ventura Harbor for Anacapa Island. While underway we all had a tasty breakfast, coffee, and made final preparations to our gear. Now I am not going to go into the diving part of it other than the vitals. I will let you watch the video instead and decide for yourself.
After everyone’s last dive, we headed home enduring a one and a half hour boat ride in flat seas, very little wind, and temps of about 65 to 70 degrees. We all donned our gear during the journey, made small talk, and recapped our dives. Once back at the docks, at approximately 6PM, the 9 of us headed for food and drinks. I forget the name of the place, something like California Pizza Kitchen, where we had to wait for about a half hour to be seated. We all ate, more chit-chat, and had a REALLY good time. We all said our goodbyes and headed for home. About 15 minutes into the drive, I fell asleep and don’t remember much of the drive back to Lancaster. Thank you Doug for getting us back in one piece.
The video can be viewed here: Anacapa Island – February 25, 2006
File Size: 41.8 MB (well worth the download)
Run Time: 7:31
Special thanks go out to:
Sapphire for being my dive buddy and showing me the ropes
Taniwha for driving to Ventura from Lancaster
Mark for loaning me his spare undergarment when my drysuit inflator valve sprung a leak.
The diving off Anacapa Island at reefs Cathedral Cove, Underwater Arch, West Channels, and Underwater Island (sat this one out as I had to fly the next day) exceeded my expectations. For those of you that missed this one, you missed some great diving and fantastic people. I am looking forward to going back again very soon.
Dive #1: Cathedral Cove
Depth: 35’
Average Depth: 28’
Bottom Time: 63 minutes
Air Left: 1357
Visibility: 25 to 30’
Water Temp: 55 degrees
Dive #2: Underwater Arch
Depth: 31’
Average Depth: 27’
Bottom Time: 52 minutes
Air Left: 1434
Visibility: 20 to 25’
Water Temp: 55 degrees
Surface Interval: 1:10
Dive #3: West Channels
Depth: 26’
Average Depth: 21’
Bottom Time: 48 minutes
Air Left: 1570
Visibility: 20 to 25’
Water Temp: 57 degrees
Surface Interval: 1:49
Dive #4: Underwater Island (Sapphire and I sat this one out)
Depth:
Bottom Time:
Visibility:
Water Temp:
The video can be viewed here: Anacapa Island – February 25, 2006
File Size: 41.8 MB (well worth the download)
Run Time: 7:31
Where: California
What: Diving Anacapa Island off the MV Spectre
Yes, I know, I am out of order, but this was only a one day dive trip so I thought I would do this one first. Besides, editing an hour of video vs 2.5 hours is a lot quicker.
I got home at around 5:30PM on Wednesday, February 22 long enough to wash some cloths, shower, eat, and then head back to the airport for my flight to California. My flight took off on time at 9:05PM with Continental. My flight was a little late landing, but I headed over to Fox Rent a Car and picked up my rental and headed for Lancaster. I arrived in Lancaster at approximately 2AM. I spent the next 2 days visiting with my daughter, my new grand daughter, Dad, and Step-Mom.
On or about 1PM on Friday, the 24th, I spoke to Doug (aka Taniwha) on the phone and we agreed to meet later that evening and head to Ventura Harbor to spend the night as we had a 7AM departure for Anacapa Island on the MV Spectre. We were to meet up with other members of ZD and SB: Sapphire, Mo2vation, Mark Vlahos, BunnyJaye, HeadHunter, Xanthro, HBDiveGirl, and TaxGeek (unfortunately Susan wasn’t able to make it) so there were 9 of 10. The Spectre ended up with 31 OTHER divers from various parts of CA. That may sound like a lot, but there was quite a bit of room to move around.
Doug and I arrived at approximately 10PM and missed out having dinner with the others, but they showed up as we were loading our gear on the boat. Sapphire greeted and introduced me to everyone and then we proceeded to get our gear set up. Everyone but Sapphire spent the night on the boat, but she elected to rough it at the nearby hotel instead. She was there bright and early the next morning, 6AM.
As scheduled, the Spectre left the docks at 7AM Sharp out of Ventura Harbor for Anacapa Island. While underway we all had a tasty breakfast, coffee, and made final preparations to our gear. Now I am not going to go into the diving part of it other than the vitals. I will let you watch the video instead and decide for yourself.
After everyone’s last dive, we headed home enduring a one and a half hour boat ride in flat seas, very little wind, and temps of about 65 to 70 degrees. We all donned our gear during the journey, made small talk, and recapped our dives. Once back at the docks, at approximately 6PM, the 9 of us headed for food and drinks. I forget the name of the place, something like California Pizza Kitchen, where we had to wait for about a half hour to be seated. We all ate, more chit-chat, and had a REALLY good time. We all said our goodbyes and headed for home. About 15 minutes into the drive, I fell asleep and don’t remember much of the drive back to Lancaster. Thank you Doug for getting us back in one piece.
The video can be viewed here: Anacapa Island – February 25, 2006
File Size: 41.8 MB (well worth the download)
Run Time: 7:31
Special thanks go out to:
Sapphire for being my dive buddy and showing me the ropes
Taniwha for driving to Ventura from Lancaster
Mark for loaning me his spare undergarment when my drysuit inflator valve sprung a leak.
The diving off Anacapa Island at reefs Cathedral Cove, Underwater Arch, West Channels, and Underwater Island (sat this one out as I had to fly the next day) exceeded my expectations. For those of you that missed this one, you missed some great diving and fantastic people. I am looking forward to going back again very soon.
Dive #1: Cathedral Cove
Depth: 35’
Average Depth: 28’
Bottom Time: 63 minutes
Air Left: 1357
Visibility: 25 to 30’
Water Temp: 55 degrees
Dive #2: Underwater Arch
Depth: 31’
Average Depth: 27’
Bottom Time: 52 minutes
Air Left: 1434
Visibility: 20 to 25’
Water Temp: 55 degrees
Surface Interval: 1:10
Dive #3: West Channels
Depth: 26’
Average Depth: 21’
Bottom Time: 48 minutes
Air Left: 1570
Visibility: 20 to 25’
Water Temp: 57 degrees
Surface Interval: 1:49
Dive #4: Underwater Island (Sapphire and I sat this one out)
Depth:
Bottom Time:
Visibility:
Water Temp:
The video can be viewed here: Anacapa Island – February 25, 2006
File Size: 41.8 MB (well worth the download)
Run Time: 7:31
