Titan
Registered
Location: Secret for now 
Dive Site: Secret for now
Weather Conditions: Sunshine, slight winds, high clouds
Air Temperature: 33 degrees
Water Temperature: 25 degrees at depth (20 meters), 27 at surface
Visibility 20+ meters
3 of us drove down to Izu on a site evaluation trip Friday night. This trip was part of an ongoing exercise to explore new dive locations and the lesser known operations on the peninsular.
Saturday morning we woke at 5:30am due to the room full of "elderly" Japanese ladies next door chattering in synchronous burst mode at full volume. After breakfast we had a liesurely gear up on a deserted jetty and then went and hung out on the veranda outside the diveshop while we waited for the the rest the customers to arrive. At 9:30 the shop owner and the other 2 customers for the day were ready and we set out on a twenty minute boat ride into the unknown.
After gearing up the captain handed me the end of a line attached to the bow, "jump in and don't let go of this" he said. Fair enough I thought and backrolled in, only to nearly have my arm pulled out of its socket as the current took hold. The dive master pulled me along to the bow until I could grab the mooring line, and yelled "pull yourself down and we'll meet at the bottom.
So I did, hauling my camer rig behind me against a current that must have been 3 or 4 knots. Once down everyone got their breath back (apart from me) and off we went hauling ourselves over the rocks to get to some shelter from the current.
Exciting, but worth it, the site was awsome, beautiful soft corals, large schools of fish, and lots of big stuff. The highlight was coming round a corner and finding ourselves next to a large eagle ray pacing the current a few meters away.
The conclusion of the three of us was that it was the best dive in three years of Izu diving. Just superb.
Returning to harbour, we went back the veranda and sunbathed, catching up on our sleep for and hour or two before going and doing it over again. This time without the camera.
After diving we chilled out with the captain and divemasters, drinking Sochu, and bribing the captain with cuban cigars. It helps to break the ice and get past the "gaijin" thing.
Sunday we were worn out and pressed for time so we did two less adventurous dives with two other customers. Lots of great macro stuff, good vis, and great light for photography.
What can I say, great weekend, great diving, no crowds, no hassle. We'll be going back.
Titan
Dive Site: Secret for now
Weather Conditions: Sunshine, slight winds, high clouds
Air Temperature: 33 degrees
Water Temperature: 25 degrees at depth (20 meters), 27 at surface
Visibility 20+ meters
3 of us drove down to Izu on a site evaluation trip Friday night. This trip was part of an ongoing exercise to explore new dive locations and the lesser known operations on the peninsular.
Saturday morning we woke at 5:30am due to the room full of "elderly" Japanese ladies next door chattering in synchronous burst mode at full volume. After breakfast we had a liesurely gear up on a deserted jetty and then went and hung out on the veranda outside the diveshop while we waited for the the rest the customers to arrive. At 9:30 the shop owner and the other 2 customers for the day were ready and we set out on a twenty minute boat ride into the unknown.
After gearing up the captain handed me the end of a line attached to the bow, "jump in and don't let go of this" he said. Fair enough I thought and backrolled in, only to nearly have my arm pulled out of its socket as the current took hold. The dive master pulled me along to the bow until I could grab the mooring line, and yelled "pull yourself down and we'll meet at the bottom.
So I did, hauling my camer rig behind me against a current that must have been 3 or 4 knots. Once down everyone got their breath back (apart from me) and off we went hauling ourselves over the rocks to get to some shelter from the current.
Exciting, but worth it, the site was awsome, beautiful soft corals, large schools of fish, and lots of big stuff. The highlight was coming round a corner and finding ourselves next to a large eagle ray pacing the current a few meters away.
The conclusion of the three of us was that it was the best dive in three years of Izu diving. Just superb.
Returning to harbour, we went back the veranda and sunbathed, catching up on our sleep for and hour or two before going and doing it over again. This time without the camera.
After diving we chilled out with the captain and divemasters, drinking Sochu, and bribing the captain with cuban cigars. It helps to break the ice and get past the "gaijin" thing.
Sunday we were worn out and pressed for time so we did two less adventurous dives with two other customers. Lots of great macro stuff, good vis, and great light for photography.
What can I say, great weekend, great diving, no crowds, no hassle. We'll be going back.
Titan
