Frank O
Contributor
I did mention the "cloud" of blacksmith, didn't I?
August '05 Dive Reports
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I did mention the "cloud" of blacksmith, didn't I?
Darn you, Frank - you must have sucked up all the Farnsworth luck for the weekend! We were supposed to go there today on the Great Escape, but wound up on the frontside due to surface chop. That makes me 0-for-3 on Farnsworth trips. One of these days...
We had GORGEOUS dives nonetheless - two on the north side of Bird Rock, and one at Eagle Reef. I don't think the vis was ever less than 40 feet, and it seemed to be about 80 on our first dive at Bird Rock. Best of all, it was a nice and toasty 65 degrees above 50 feet, as well as sunny and warm topside all day. It was definitely one of those "oh yeah, THIS is why we love diving in California" kind of days, with lots of beautiful blue water and sun-dappled kelp.
It was also my first California dive with my new video rig (Top Dawg housing), so in a way it's good we didn't wind up someplace that tends to be difficult! Didn't have any problems at all with it; in fact, I got some surprisingly decent footage of some bat rays and a giant kelpfish. Can't wait to add lights to the rig, though!
We were supposed to go there today on the Great Escape, but wound up on the frontside due to surface chop. That makes me 0-for-3 on Farnsworth trips. One of these days...We had GORGEOUS dives nonetheless - two on the north side of Bird Rock, and one at Eagle Reef. I don't think the vis was ever less than 40 feet, and it seemed to be about 80 on our first dive at Bird Rock. Best of all, it was a nice and toasty 65 degrees above 50 feet, as well as sunny and warm topside all day. It was definitely one of those "oh yeah, THIS is why we love diving in California" kind of days, with lots of beautiful blue water and sun-dappled kelp.
It was also my first California dive with my new video rig (Top Dawg housing), so in a way it's good we didn't wind up someplace that tends to be difficult! Didn't have any problems at all with it; in fact, I got some surprisingly decent footage of some bat rays and a giant kelpfish. Can't wait to add lights to the rig, though!
HBDiveGirl
Contributor
- Messages
- 1,329
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- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
Date:Aug 28 '05
Dive Location: Malaga Cove, Palos Verdes
Time: 0815
Bottom Time: 1'34" (Hey, that's almost a half-life for the PuffMo2 buddy-light!)
Max Depth: 27' feet of raving-guppy-deepness!
Vis: 8 - 12
Wave height: 1 foot mostly
Temp at depth: 59
Surface Temp: 67
Gas mix: Air (21%)
Comments: Splashed into Malaga cove this morning with Dive California Carlos and scubainspired Thomas. The cool morning air, toasty warm sunshine, and smooth surface were delights to the senses. The hazy brownish murk below sea level left a little to be desired...but, hey, that's shore diving sometimes. Once I settled into looking just as far as my light beam could reach, and started smiling at the visual cacophony of this over-stuffed habitat, I had a blast! Great teamwork kept us busy finding and sharing several sleeping octopus, juvenile garibaldi, garden-patches of "blooming" piddock clams, cucumbers (all types), bass (calico, sand, barred), zipping schools of senoritas, teenaged sheepheads, frilly-headed blennys, and a purple-speckled kelp fish hiding in purple-speckled kelp.
Peripheral motion snapped my head up at one point...to see a shimmering lace curtain of young barracudas circling our heads. We were at 16fsw in golden hazy water, hovering above the sand as the surge swung us to-and-fro, and the 'cuda-filled water above us was turquoise blue against a silvery surface....mesmerizing. As each passed in front of the sun, glassy teeth glittered from the javelin-shaped snouts.
Award for visual technical excellence goes to: The resourceful 12"-long octopus I followed around as it prowled it's refrigerator-sized home rock, convincing the big bubble-blowing weirdfish that there was "...nothing to see here...just keep moving...nope, nobody here...." First we played peek-a-boo as I sank below the ledge and it raised just it's eyes on stalks to see me...shrinking them back down as I rose up bubbling....3 times, and 3 peeks. Then it slunk and slid down to the sandy floor. It matched the sand, including the black and white speckles of rock and shell. It blended into a black-rock shelf and accessorized with white spots to imitate the christmas tree worm coils. It wove itself into the purple kelp, changing its smooth mantle into frilly, bumpy fronds the exact color of the algae. It never inked, and kept its pearlescent eyes on me the whole time. Then, performance concluded, it slipped into a crevice, grabbed a few small rocks, and tucked itself cozily into bed.
Award for persistence in the face of irritating gear malfunction: Thomas, diving 59F water with the back of his wetsuit open due to a broken zipper. You looked like you had a blast in spite of the "ventilation". Rock on!
Award for sportsmanship: Thomas and Carlos for patiently enduring not one, but three OOA drills, including two with simultaneous dislodged mask. (It was a loooong, shallow dive...big brains crave excitement!) You responded like the champs you are...thanks! If it hits the fan, you could be there for me anytime.
Award for self-control: Carlos, who had dived here 24 hours earlier with 25 foot visibility, and never once said "Oh man, you should have been here yesterday".
94-minute Smooth-Cruise completed, we re-invented bipedal, weight-bearing, terrestial locomotion and legged it up the hill. We swaggered into the parking lot, reliving the chills and thrills of the watery depths...all 27 sweet-feet of it!
Thank you, Carlos and Thomas, for making it a great morning.
Guppies have the Most Fun!!!
Claudette
Dive Location: Malaga Cove, Palos Verdes
Time: 0815
Bottom Time: 1'34" (Hey, that's almost a half-life for the PuffMo2 buddy-light!)
Max Depth: 27' feet of raving-guppy-deepness!
Vis: 8 - 12
Wave height: 1 foot mostly
Temp at depth: 59
Surface Temp: 67
Gas mix: Air (21%)
Comments: Splashed into Malaga cove this morning with Dive California Carlos and scubainspired Thomas. The cool morning air, toasty warm sunshine, and smooth surface were delights to the senses. The hazy brownish murk below sea level left a little to be desired...but, hey, that's shore diving sometimes. Once I settled into looking just as far as my light beam could reach, and started smiling at the visual cacophony of this over-stuffed habitat, I had a blast! Great teamwork kept us busy finding and sharing several sleeping octopus, juvenile garibaldi, garden-patches of "blooming" piddock clams, cucumbers (all types), bass (calico, sand, barred), zipping schools of senoritas, teenaged sheepheads, frilly-headed blennys, and a purple-speckled kelp fish hiding in purple-speckled kelp.
Peripheral motion snapped my head up at one point...to see a shimmering lace curtain of young barracudas circling our heads. We were at 16fsw in golden hazy water, hovering above the sand as the surge swung us to-and-fro, and the 'cuda-filled water above us was turquoise blue against a silvery surface....mesmerizing. As each passed in front of the sun, glassy teeth glittered from the javelin-shaped snouts.
Award for visual technical excellence goes to: The resourceful 12"-long octopus I followed around as it prowled it's refrigerator-sized home rock, convincing the big bubble-blowing weirdfish that there was "...nothing to see here...just keep moving...nope, nobody here...." First we played peek-a-boo as I sank below the ledge and it raised just it's eyes on stalks to see me...shrinking them back down as I rose up bubbling....3 times, and 3 peeks. Then it slunk and slid down to the sandy floor. It matched the sand, including the black and white speckles of rock and shell. It blended into a black-rock shelf and accessorized with white spots to imitate the christmas tree worm coils. It wove itself into the purple kelp, changing its smooth mantle into frilly, bumpy fronds the exact color of the algae. It never inked, and kept its pearlescent eyes on me the whole time. Then, performance concluded, it slipped into a crevice, grabbed a few small rocks, and tucked itself cozily into bed.
Award for persistence in the face of irritating gear malfunction: Thomas, diving 59F water with the back of his wetsuit open due to a broken zipper. You looked like you had a blast in spite of the "ventilation". Rock on!
Award for sportsmanship: Thomas and Carlos for patiently enduring not one, but three OOA drills, including two with simultaneous dislodged mask. (It was a loooong, shallow dive...big brains crave excitement!) You responded like the champs you are...thanks! If it hits the fan, you could be there for me anytime.
Award for self-control: Carlos, who had dived here 24 hours earlier with 25 foot visibility, and never once said "Oh man, you should have been here yesterday".
94-minute Smooth-Cruise completed, we re-invented bipedal, weight-bearing, terrestial locomotion and legged it up the hill. We swaggered into the parking lot, reliving the chills and thrills of the watery depths...all 27 sweet-feet of it!
Thank you, Carlos and Thomas, for making it a great morning.
Guppies have the Most Fun!!!
Claudette
HBDiveGirl
Contributor
- Messages
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- Reaction score
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- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
headhunter:...
So, Claudette with her AL 80 will push the limits of the 3:20 battery? It's that 0.001 SAC of hers. She and Pasley need to dive 40 cu. ft. tanks.
...
Christian
The jewelry can be plastic...but when it comes to tanks:
If it isn't steel, It isn't real!
And furthermore.. public discussion of cylinder size and a lady's SAC rate is just unacceptable in a civilized society. It all comes back to standards
ScubaSeanMaui
Contributor
Frank O:
I did mention the "cloud" of blacksmith, didn't I?
Very nice shot Frank. Do you have more we can see?
Thanks,
Sean
Frank O
Contributor
Thanks, Sean. That and the shots of the torpedo ray and Tritonia festiva a little higher up were most of the halfway decent pictures from Saturday -- I have a couple of others of hydrocoral, but need to sit down with a good monitor and tweak them. It wasn't a really photo-intensive outing for me -- I took a few pictures with available light with a little Fuji F810 on the first dive at Farnsworth (that's why everything has a bluish cast even after tweaking the color temperature in Adobe Camera Raw). Then left the camera on the boat and just did sightseeing and a little work on skills on dives 2 and 3.divebuddysean:
HBDiveGirl:
If it isn't steel, it isn't real. Genius.
Now lose the bulls-eye PST sticker and you're in business... :11ztongue
Guppy diving rules.
---
Ken
Date:8-27
Dive Location:Casino Pt. 3 dives
Time:1st 9am, 2nd 11am, 3rd 2pm
Bottom Time:25-34-36
Max Depth:77ft
Vis:50ft 1st & 2nd,40ft 3rd dive
Wave Height:1-2ft
Time at Depth:63 to 69
Surface Temp:72
Comments: The vis was great we had a really good day. There were alot of critters, we saw about 5 lobsters one small bat ray a rock fish and I think we saw Osar.
Dive Happy
Dive Location:Casino Pt. 3 dives
Time:1st 9am, 2nd 11am, 3rd 2pm
Bottom Time:25-34-36
Max Depth:77ft
Vis:50ft 1st & 2nd,40ft 3rd dive
Wave Height:1-2ft
Time at Depth:63 to 69
Surface Temp:72
Comments: The vis was great we had a really good day. There were alot of critters, we saw about 5 lobsters one small bat ray a rock fish and I think we saw Osar.
Dive Happy
Date: 29 Aug 05
Dive Location: Laguna Beach Divers Cove
Time: 6:44 p.m.
Bottom Time:37:20
Max Depth: 37 fsw
Vis: 2-8 feet
Wave height: 1-2 feet
Temp at depth: 64F Suunto Degrees
Surface Temp: 68F Suunto Degrees
Tide information: 5.8 high 8:12PM
Gas mix: Air (21%)
Comments:
Met up with Athensgrandpa (aka Jeffery Lovell) who was visiting on business from Bloomington Ill and making his first ocean dive. First stop was Crescent Bay, but the lifeguards had out a yellow flag and the waves were more 3 feet than 2 feet. The lifeguard suggested Divers cove as reporting lower surf. Over at Divers cove the surf was barely 2 feet with a lot of small stuff over next to the reef. The bad news, was the brown foam floating ominously on the water hinting at the red tide.
Did a pre dive brief and decided on potential red tide over the larger surf. Suited up and did a very uneventful entry. Swam out a short distance into a washing machine ocean. Elected to drop down early to get off the top. Dropped down and swam due south over the sand finding the odd patch of red tide. Some places were sand storms, others were relatively clear water with 8 feet or so of visibility, and then there were the patches of red tide with its hazy brown water. A first for Jeff. Another first for Jeff was the 6 foot surge. We had discussed it before the dive and Jeff knew to go with the flow. It was also the reason we were not diving the area between Divers and Fishermans Cove.
Saw the usual suspects, Garibaldi, barred sand bass, kelp bass, sea cucumbers etc. Turned the dive when Jeff hit 1500 PSI and started back at a leisurely pace. When Jeff hit 1000 PSI he buoyancy started getting a little off (7mm Farmer John)and after a 3 minute safety stop (conducted during the swim in) we surfaced in 8 feet of water right where we had entered at. On exit, there was a bit of a challenge in getting the fins off resulting in a comical show for those on the beach. But we got out of the water and still had all our gear and body parts. A fun time by all divers and bystanders.
Dive Location: Laguna Beach Divers Cove
Time: 6:44 p.m.
Bottom Time:37:20
Max Depth: 37 fsw
Vis: 2-8 feet
Wave height: 1-2 feet
Temp at depth: 64F Suunto Degrees
Surface Temp: 68F Suunto Degrees
Tide information: 5.8 high 8:12PM
Gas mix: Air (21%)
Comments:
Met up with Athensgrandpa (aka Jeffery Lovell) who was visiting on business from Bloomington Ill and making his first ocean dive. First stop was Crescent Bay, but the lifeguards had out a yellow flag and the waves were more 3 feet than 2 feet. The lifeguard suggested Divers cove as reporting lower surf. Over at Divers cove the surf was barely 2 feet with a lot of small stuff over next to the reef. The bad news, was the brown foam floating ominously on the water hinting at the red tide.
Did a pre dive brief and decided on potential red tide over the larger surf. Suited up and did a very uneventful entry. Swam out a short distance into a washing machine ocean. Elected to drop down early to get off the top. Dropped down and swam due south over the sand finding the odd patch of red tide. Some places were sand storms, others were relatively clear water with 8 feet or so of visibility, and then there were the patches of red tide with its hazy brown water. A first for Jeff. Another first for Jeff was the 6 foot surge. We had discussed it before the dive and Jeff knew to go with the flow. It was also the reason we were not diving the area between Divers and Fishermans Cove.
Saw the usual suspects, Garibaldi, barred sand bass, kelp bass, sea cucumbers etc. Turned the dive when Jeff hit 1500 PSI and started back at a leisurely pace. When Jeff hit 1000 PSI he buoyancy started getting a little off (7mm Farmer John)and after a 3 minute safety stop (conducted during the swim in) we surfaced in 8 feet of water right where we had entered at. On exit, there was a bit of a challenge in getting the fins off resulting in a comical show for those on the beach. But we got out of the water and still had all our gear and body parts. A fun time by all divers and bystanders.
AevnsGrandpa
Contributor
I must thank Mel a TON with the patience and help he provided me for my first ocean dive.
His good navigation also kept me from ending up being in San Diego or somewhere! How he kept track of the over all direction in that washing machine I don't know.
For me the dive was fun, aside from the comedy routine we provided everyone as Mel stated.
Having 99% of my dives in quarries, the vis really was far off from what I am used too.
One last thing.............how in the world do you get all the sand out of everything!!!???
Thanks,
Jeff
His good navigation also kept me from ending up being in San Diego or somewhere! How he kept track of the over all direction in that washing machine I don't know.
For me the dive was fun, aside from the comedy routine we provided everyone as Mel stated.
Having 99% of my dives in quarries, the vis really was far off from what I am used too.
One last thing.............how in the world do you get all the sand out of everything!!!???
Thanks,
Jeff
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