The swell forecast approaching Christmas Day looked so inviting that Wesley and I decided to rearrange the calendar and have our Christmas on December 24. Then on Christmas Day we went diving, and what a day it was! The Monterey buoy was reporting swell height of barely 5', which translates into glassy calm. The sky was completely clear of clouds, and the sun was as bright as you could hope to find this time of year. Even better, the water was clear blue. When we launched the boat, I couldn't help but note that the water looked clearer than it does in my own swimming pool!
Our first dive was at Ballbuster, where we hoped to find the GPO that had been reported last Sunday. We never did find the GPO, despite over 60' of visibility, but on our way up from the reef we had a couple of young Sea Lions come down to play with us...
ChristmasDay - YouTube
Afterwards, we went over to Aumentos and had another great dive. I had almost forgotten how brilliant the colors can be around here when the water is clear. The only downer was that at the end of the dive while we were trying to pull the anchor it got stuck, and we pulled too hard. The rope broke, and since I was the only one still in a dry suit I was elected to go find it. That turned out to be not so easy. I ended up swimming search patterns with my compass and finally found it in a hole. Really, it was so hidden I would call it pure luck that I finally stumbled onto it. That's when I found how hard it was to get anchor and 30' of heavy chain up out of the hole and up to the top of a nearby pinnacle. I then came back with another rope and we were able to pull it all up from the pinnacle. A lift bag would have been really nice to have, but of course we didn't.
It was eerie seeing Breakwater so deserted on such a gorgeous day. I guess everybody has their priorities. For me, I'll drop absolutely everything to go diving when the conditions are as good as they were on Christmas Day.
Bruce
Our first dive was at Ballbuster, where we hoped to find the GPO that had been reported last Sunday. We never did find the GPO, despite over 60' of visibility, but on our way up from the reef we had a couple of young Sea Lions come down to play with us...
ChristmasDay - YouTube
Afterwards, we went over to Aumentos and had another great dive. I had almost forgotten how brilliant the colors can be around here when the water is clear. The only downer was that at the end of the dive while we were trying to pull the anchor it got stuck, and we pulled too hard. The rope broke, and since I was the only one still in a dry suit I was elected to go find it. That turned out to be not so easy. I ended up swimming search patterns with my compass and finally found it in a hole. Really, it was so hidden I would call it pure luck that I finally stumbled onto it. That's when I found how hard it was to get anchor and 30' of heavy chain up out of the hole and up to the top of a nearby pinnacle. I then came back with another rope and we were able to pull it all up from the pinnacle. A lift bag would have been really nice to have, but of course we didn't.
It was eerie seeing Breakwater so deserted on such a gorgeous day. I guess everybody has their priorities. For me, I'll drop absolutely everything to go diving when the conditions are as good as they were on Christmas Day.
Bruce
