New Hope Rock / 12-04-05
Info:
Clear, sunny day with slight breeze
Sea surface temperature 63 degrees
Temperature at depth 61 degrees
Visibility 20 25, with good light penetration
6 4 high tide on a 1.4 knot flood
Slack tide at 10:05, followed by 2.4 knot ebb
6 8 swells, separated by 4 swells in sets of 3-4
Max depth 38
Average depth 32
Total bottom time 56 minutes
Photo link:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v116/krowsea/New Hope Rock 12-04-05/
The Report:
Terry and I decided to take the Glenna Jane out for a local dive trip this morning. Climbing up from the galley into the pilothouse to start getting her ready for departure, I looked out at the hills of Point Loma, which were ablaze with the sunrise. My immediate reaction was duuuuuude, Ive got to take a picture of this. I scrambled back down the stairs, through the companionway and back into the bedroom. Tossing things about like a Jack Russell Terrier on meth, I soon unearthed my camera and found myself standing on the back deck, taking the first photos of the day. Terry arrived soon after, and we completed our preparations before backing out of the slip, turned her into the fairway and headed her bow out of the yacht basin.
Part of our preparation involved picking a dive site. Knowing that this is a serious consideration, based on local conditions and prior knowledge and experience with the various dive sites, we pulled up the GPS coordinates for all the dive sites onto the chart plotter. I closed my eyes and stuck my fat grubby finger against the screen. Looking at the waypoint description under the finger smudge I told Terry, hey, looks like were going to New Hope Rock!
The channel was smooth and calm, with blue skies above and nary a boat on the water to bother us. Nearing the point that is Point Loma, we started to encounter 2-3 swells, then 4-5 swells, etc, etc, culminating in a barrage of 6-8 swells that surely spelled fun and frolic on the high seas. We hoped the swells would not be as big or prevalent in the kelp at shallower depths. (Ill save you the suspense folks; the swells were here to stay) Out passed the kelp, we hugged the 100 contour line on the chart and headed north, driving a psychotic obstacle course between the fishing boats, lobster pots and stray mats of kelp. We arrived at New Hope Rock, dropped anchor north and east of the rock, and then shut the engine down.
I dont want to make a big deal about the swells here, but I have to tell ya, we had a boat with a couple of happnn dudes on board who are experienced boat divers, who by the way, are unfazed by what the seas care to offer. That said, we were only half way suited up, with a cold sweat pouring down our foreheads, and making excuses as to why we needed to stand in the middle of the boat, taking numerous time outs to gaze at the far horizon. I dont know what it was, but our poor dive boat was rocking nonstop from side to side and back and forth, forcing us to make a mad dash to get dressed and into the water, which we did
..and none to soon I might add.
We dropped down the anchor chain, checked the set of the anchor, and headed out. The bottom was Urchin covered rock, with occasional sand channels mixed in for variety. We were surrounded by kelp, but not so close in we had to machete our way through. In short order, we were at New Hope Rock, and what a beauty she is. Thousands of Senoritas filled the water column, with Garibaldi staying close in, joined at the hip with varieties of Kelp Bass and Barred Sand Bass. New Hope has wonderful structure (which I knew of course, or why else would I have picked it), lots of swim throughs, overhangs and deep channels. The surge was pretty steady today, which was a pain for photography, but otherwise was just a minor but constant nuisance, kind of like taxes or mother in-laws. As in life, we overcame.
Purple Urchins were stuck into every hole available, while a variety of starfish were scattered about, including a fuzzy white one I had not seen before and couldnt identify. We saw Limpets and Lobster and Octos (oh my!). Rockfish being what they are, tended to place their fishy selves around the rocks. A big and beautiful Scorpionfish sat uncaring on a gentle slope as we paparazzid him from all angles. He was a star, and knew it. Arrogant you might say
yes, but well deserved it seems. Terry and I both took a bucketful of photos on this dive, as there was much to capture.
Hitting turnaround pressure, reluctantly but inevitably, we turned back towards the boat, checking every rock and kelp stalk as we passed. This is a beautiful, fairly shallow site. At 35 average depth and excellent light penetration, it is a wonderful underwater theme park, ready at a moments notice for extended explorations. I would recommend though, that you visit it at a time that the swells are not so oppressive. We reached the anchor chain in short order, and as is our want, we chose various stalks of kelp to be our stairways to heaven, ascending slowly and methodically, photographing and observing from a variety angles as we lost depth. Nearing the surface, I stopped to take a few photos of the Glenna Jane sitting majestically above me, with kelp laying coquettishly around her dainty hull. Shes a beaut.
Climbing back aboard, the swells were just as obnoxious as before. Getting our gear off was kind of like performing acupuncture on a teeter-totter, not as painful Im sure, but just as unstable and problematic. We hoisted the anchor in record time and headed home. Nearing the San Diego Bay channel, we came upon over a hundred sail boats involved in some kind of race or regatta. Trying to thread a 42 needle through a haystack of sailboats, usually 5-6 abreast and coming nonstop out of the bay was exciting, to say the least. In front of one, between three more, pass behind one, before cutting back to avoid a pack of 4 tacking in front of me, ohhh, what fun we had. To add insult to injury, halfway in, we had to share our meager space with a gigantic car hauler, which took up every square inch of the area between the red and green buoys. Using the Force (Luke, Im your father!), we closed our eyes, hoped for the best, and brought the rpms up until the turbo kicked in. Hearing no crashes, 10 minutes later we opened our eyes and found ourselves past the traffic and at the entrance to the Shelter Island Yacht Basin. Ahhhhh, home sweet home.
John A.
