December '05 Dive Reports

[MissyP]

Date: 12/7/05
Dive Location: La Jolla Shores/Ave de la Playa
Time: 7:18pm
Bottom Time: 1 hr 10min
Max Depth:93 ft
Vis: 25-30 ft
Wave height: 1 ft
Temp at depth: 53F Brrrrr!!!!!

Decided to go lion nudi hunting again after being so successful on Sunday, but this time I tried my luck with a night dive. Headed out to the water after resolving leaky octo issues and was happily surprised to see a fairly calm ocean waiting for us. The surface was glassy and swell-less which made for an easy surface swim out. Descended in 39ft, near the rim of the canyon and headed down to the 90 ft range to search for the lions and after 5 min or so, I spotted 2 lion nudis on a blade of kelp, along with their eggs. Within minutes, we saw another 2 and a free swimming one... of course none of my pics came out. Also spotted a cuthona divae, several dendronotus frondosus, 3 dirona pictas, 1 black dorid, the usual assortment of flabellina pricei (they're common at the shores), many Cali sea slugs, and 1 laila cockerelli. Great nudi night!!! There was an abundance of horn sharks ranging from tiny babies to adults, along with many rays- including one massive butterfly ray that had to be at LEAST 4 ft wide!! Besides the ray and the nudis, the highlight of the dive was seeing my first squid! Bioluminescence was back, vis was amazing, the ocean was calm, and critters were everywhere- you can't beat that kind of diving!! Simply awesome! Picture quality is terrible due to camera "issues"...

whatchoo talkin' about willis?

squid, with it's egg

 

[drbill]

Missy's search for the lion nudibranch (Melibe leonina) is certainly a worthy one. Although not as "beautiful" as some other nudibranchs, this species certainly is an interesting one. The first time I saw one on a drifting kelp raft, I wrote my professor back at Harvard to say I'd found something that looked like a "Hoover vacuum cleaner with wings." He got a positive ID from Dr. Ruth Turner at the Museum of Comparative Zoology. Here is a collage of aquarium shots of Melibe to give divers unfamiliar with them a better idea:

You can also read my newspaper column about them at:

http://www.starthrower.org/products/DDDB/DDDB_050-099/DDDB_068 Melibe leonina.htm

 

[jenazah]

Date: 12/8/05
Dive Location: Heisler Park
Time: 10:21 AM
Bottom Time: 1 hr 3 Min
Max Depth:23 ft
Vis: 25+ ft, could be 30 ft Amazing Viz.
Wave height: 1 ft
Temp at depth: 58

Date: 12/8/05
Dive Location: Heisler Park
Time: 1:12 PM
Bottom Time: 57 Min
Max Depth:34 ft
Vis: 25+ ft
Wave height: 1 ft
Temp at depth: 57

Beautiful day at the Laguna beach. This is my first time diving at the Heisler Park. Very nice site, calm water, good viz, easy entry and exit. Found the tunnel on the second dive. Tons of lobsters. Met all the usual suspects, garibaldi, sand bass, sheephead, nudibranch etc.

Can anybody tell me the secret of finding Moray Eel ? Been diving all over so cal, never saw a single Moray Eel ! Is it just bad luck ?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Date: December 8, 2005
Dive Location: Redondo Canyon
Buddy(ies): Ross-O
Time: 6:29
Bottom Time: 55 minutes
Max Depth: 87'
Vis: 20'
Wave height: Ha! Barely a ripple
Temp at depth: 56F
Surface Temp: 57F
Comments: Ross, Jeff and Claudette joined me for some fun in the mud tonight at Vet's Park in Redondo Beach. We split into two teams so Ross could get reaquainted with his drysuit and doubles. No major problems. We had great vis walking into the water. Without lights, we could see the rays in the sand below us on our entry. Ross and I headed down into the canyon to see if we could find some squid. We found two, a few eggs and lots of fun playmates. Baby Batrays were swimming about, seemingly not afraid of us at all. Purple striped jelly, Sarcastic Fringeheads, lots of octopus, navanax, boccacio, round stingrays and the usual assortment of critters were out and about. We even found the Monument this time. We cut the dive short after we came back up into the shallows, but could have easily stayed another hour. It was the flattest I've ever seen Redondo.

 

[pasley]

Can anybody tell me the secret of finding Moray Eel ? Been diving all over so cal, never saw a single Moray Eel ! Is it just bad luck ?

Moray eels are easy to find. Look for leagle sized lobsters, the bigger the better hiding in a hole with no way out but the front door. Now reach in and grab that lobster, you have just found Mr. Moray, um actually he has probably found you. Seriously, if you see a lobster in a hole, there is a good chance he is sharing it with a Moray Eel. Look around carefully.

Deadmand Reef and Crescent Cove are usally good Moray Eel sites. Just have to look carefully in the holes. The one I spotted last night all I saw was the middle. Blended right in until I spotted the movement. Then I saw another hole near by with lots of blacksmith hiding it it, and as I watched they all fled as Mr. Moray struck from his connecting tunnel trying to get his dinner.

 

[Roughwaterjohn]

L.J. Shores / night 12-08-05

Info:
Overcast night, with no breeze
3’ 10” tide on a 0.9 knot ebb
Bottom temperature 55 degrees
Visibility 15’ at depth
Seas calm with minor wave action and no surge
Maximum depth 100’
Average depth 84’
Total bottom time 1 hour 0 minutes

Photo link:
http://photobucket.com/albums/v116/krowsea/LJ Shores 12-08-05/


The Report:
Terry called this afternoon, and asked if I wanted to do a night dive at the Shores around 6:00PM. The answer to that was obvious, and I was sitting in the parking lot, the engine in my truck still ticking lightly as it cooled before Terry had a chance to hang up his phone. He obviously took the squealing tires he heard through the receiver as my answer, as he arrived shortly after I did. We suited up and headed across the sand by 6:00PM.

The tide was out, the sea was calm and the place was deserted. We were welcomed into the sea by minor waves and no surge. A leisurely kick out with a drop just passed the orange buoy in front of the Lifeguard tower found us dropping slowly to the bottom just 30’ below. Visibility in the shallows was excellent, as we were able to see the ripples in the bottom in 5’ of water, using only the slightly cloud covered ¾ waxing moon. Visibility on our initial descent at 30’ was a poor 8’ or so, but it opened up to 15’ as we headed northwest, dropping into the canyon.

Swimming Crabs were a mobile debris field on the bottom, with occasional sightings of a Moon Snail, Sanddabs, Stingrays and a couple of Thornback Rays to spice things up. From the canyon edge, down into the depths and back again, Red Octopus in various sizes held court, invisible while we swam, but popping up like measles every time we stopped to look around. 10”-12” squid darted around, trying to find the sweet spot in the glare of my HID. Whether they wanted to see how cool they looked, or were simply trying to warm up in the 55 degree water I’ll never know, but they were quite frustrated when I moved my head, along with the attached light, and they had to dart forward to regain the limelight.

Continuing down, we came upon a decent sized Sheep Crab, doing his best cartoon prison break imitation, shuffling from side to side trying to avoid the spotlight. I would not have been surprised to see him break into song and dance before exiting stage left. In the canyon, we saw a large variety of Scorpionfish, Cusk Eels, a Conger Eel, adult and Juvenile Rockfish and, what I think is a Poacher, maybe a Blacktip Poacher, but the I.D. is not definite, as they are not usually found this far south. I snapped a picture and moved on.

We started heading back upslope around the 100’ mark, continuing our sightings of Octopus, a Roughback Sculpin, a Target Shrimp in a nice pink and blue hue, along with Black Spotted Shrimp, Lizardfish and a never ending Rockfish fashion show. Heading out of the canyon, we saw an Armed Box Crab, lots more Stingrays, a baby Horn Shark and a very nice, and fat, 3’-4’ adult Horn Shark closer to shore. We continued our return swim, hugging the bottom and checking out the sights. When we swam into 3’ of water, we stood up, ‘behind’ the surf line thank you very much, then stepping lightly over the aforementioned surf, we left the saltwater sea for the luxury of a fresh water shower.

It was a beautiful night to be near the water, and excellent dive with a great buddy, and another night of aquatic memories are logged in my ever grateful, and apparently bottomless mind. Thanks Terry, for making the call that started this wonderful evening.

John A.

 

[divinman]

Date: 12/10/2005
Dive Location: La Jolla Shores/Secret Gardens
Bottom Time: 67 minutes
Max Depth: 97ft
Avg Depth: 45ft
Vis: 10-20ft
Surface Temp: 56f
Temp at depth: 54f
Surface Conditions: knee to waist high, no power well spaced. Calm and flat past the "surf"
Tide: 4ft with a 1.7 knot ebb

Images: http://gallery.scubapost.net/v/terry/12102005/
All images are unadjusted so as to give you a chance to see how it progresses with time.

Flat seas, nice clear vis from 10-35ft. A bit green deeper but still nice. There is lots of detritus blowing around.

Things we saw: 2-3ft halibut, small horn shark, lots of octopus, dead fringehead, sea lion bones, and rockfish-o-plenty. We also encountered a HUGE male sheephead, itty bitty juvenile sheephead and an unknown insect like thing.

Jochen and I met at 7am at LJS and watched the sunrise over the hill while we geared up. The sea was mostly calm and the surfers were mostly frustrated. Jochen had to go to work afterwards so we wasted no time and were soon kicking out past the orange ball, finally descending into the greenish sea to 24ft and heading west. Visibility on the bottom was a respectable 15-20ft and there was ample ambient light filtering down to clearly see around us for some distance. We slowly cruised west and to the canyon edge and then down the draw to the long since stripped remains of the sea lion. She has now become the gate keeper to the exit ramp to the secret gardens. Paying our respects, we moved south and up the slope slightly until we came to the gardens. I think it still looks a bit sparse but others say it is reviving. In either case, there was plenty of life around and as I had the new camera rig out for its first dive I did my best to take some pictures. I will speak more to that in a moment.

We hung out and explored for a bit and then NDL drove us back up slope, eventually we intersected the small ledge at the canyon drop off and followed that south. Lots of octopuses call this small sub-division home and they could be seen in most holes peering out at the passing parade. Just down from the ledge I found a large fringehead that appeared very calm and relaxed......When I touched him, he fell over dead. I swear I am sure he was dead BEFORE I touched him.

Once the small "wall" ran out we turned back east and headed for shore. No hurry to get in as I had plenty of air and Jochen has gills. He is the only diver I have met that consistently gets over and hour on an AL80 and still comes back with 600-800 psi. Aquaman LIVES!! Anyway, we slowly moved east, poking around in the debris fields of kelp. At two separate locations I found an odd insect-like creature. Once was green and one was kinda yellow. Both had a smaller version underneath them (Mating?) both the smaller ones were a reddish brown. I posted a picture so please feel free to ID it if you know what it is.

Surge was mild shallow and the vis dropped as we neared the shore. We finally surfaced at 6ft and after dodging a few waves that had increased in size but not really power we made our way back to the lot and changed. Jochen and I thanked each other for the dive and we both agree it is really hard to start a day better than with a good dive in nice conditions. He was off to work; I came home and took a nap. Life is good.

NOW: Camera stuff.
Got the 8080/ikelite housing and DS125 strobe all put together. I sorta read the directions for the strobe/camera interface.... The TTL interface should allow me to point and shoot and through the magic of electronics my pictures should be perfectly exposed... NOT. I seem to consistently over expose so after the first few WHITE shots; I switched the strobe to manual and continued taking pictures. I think I have a setting wrong but will have to research it more. The camera is nice although more practice will be needed to get the mechanics of changing settings down...."press and hold this button while turning this wheel all while holding the camera weighing 10lbs and trying to not loose sight of your subject...." I am confident I will master it.....eventually. I have to; I really want to make it in the 2007 Dive Bums Calendar.

Terry S.



Sunrise over La Jolla

Must to learn, much to learn

My first juvie banded guitar fish

Stange insect-oid

Jochen's new dive knife

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Date: December 10, 2005
Dive Location: Marineland
Buddy(ies): Doug and MissyP
Time: 9:53
Bottom Time: 2:02
Max Depth: 49'
Vis: 15'
Wave height: 0-1'
Temp at depth: 56F
Surface Temp: 58F
Comments: Missy got to try out her new Barbie drysuit today. A little water entered one wrist seal, but not too bad.

We enterered off the point today, but Missy had a sticky situation. Her tank got stuck between rocks. I yanked her out into the water just before a swell pushed me back into the rocks. No harm, no foul. Within a few minutes, we were exporing the main reef. We looked on rocks, under ledges and through tunnels for the varied life residing there.

We found a large Batray chomping on some crustacean goodies. He didn't seem to mind the visitors. I hope Missy got better pictures than I did.

There was a fish hanging out there that I had never seen before. The closest I've found to it is the Pacific Spadefish. The fins are a little different though. Anyone know what it is? *I found it. It is indeed the Spadefish.
http://www.oceanlight.com/spotlight.php?img=07933

Among the nudibranchs we found today were Lemon nudis, San Diego Dorids everywhere, Cuthona divae, Hopkin's Rose, Hudson's dorid, Monterey dorid, Yellow dorid, Hermissenda crassicornis, Porter's chromodorid and Spanish Shawl.

Missy wasn't feeling well, so she and Doug went to the surface so she could feed the fish. I continued my dive toward the cove, where I found the usual Blacksmiths and a strange sight, several hundred juvenile Sheep Crabs in the middle of the cove. It looked like a moving rock until I got closer.

My drysuit leaked again, so the 56F water was beginning to freeze my toes. I made it back to the outside of the cove after ninty minutes and still had over 1000 psi, so I decided to put up with the cold just to see what my computer would do after two hours. It stopped counting.

 

[JMdiver]

Date: 12/10/05
Dive Location: Malaga Cove, P.V.
Buddy(ies):Robert
Time: 8:46AM
Bottom Time:44min.
Max Depth: 21ft
Vis: 15ft
Wave height: 1ft
Temp at depth: 56deg.
Surface Temp:65deg.
Comments: We entered the water by the run off & swam out about 150 yds & decended & headed to the point at a heading of about 240. We seen alot of Octopus & a few Nubis w/ orange strips. We were in about 15ft of water for most of the time.

Happy Diving
John

 

[pasley]

:wave-smil Date: December 10, 2005
Dive Location: Marineland
Buddy(ies): Andy, Mike and Wetrat were there too, but went their own route.
Time: 9:47 a.m.
Bottom Time: 56:20
Max Depth: 36 fsw
Vis: 15-20 better in some places, worse in others.
Wave height: 0-1'
Temp at depth: 56F
Surface Temp: 58F
Entered off the cobblestone beach as it was Andy's first time here and his 10th dive or so. Did a nice easy swim out to just shy of the point and dropped down and worked our way back to the cover. Spotted several octopi, 2 were quite nice sized and the ususal suspects. Not a single lobster was observed by me or Andy on this dive. For some reason my mask is leaking for the past few dives and I just did not settle into my usual comfort zone on this dive. Still and all it was a great dive and we had fun. Topside there was not any, um distractions, but the parking lot was teaming with divers. I left for Leo Carrillo in Malibu for my second dive.

Maxbottom time, over 2 hours on the dive - nice bottom time .