Even the soup dives are fun!

[ktkt]

So, we had about 5ft of visibility at the Breakwater wall on Saturday, but we still squeezed in some good times (in toasty 54F water)! There were tons of sand dabs -- super fun to play with them Lots of nudis and their egg sacs, as usual, plus a few nice big spider and sheep crabs. And much more. We just had to inch up nice and close to see everything.

I got a bit more familiar with the site, learned just how much of a surface swim you need if you want to drop with more than 10ft below you. We had to descend close enough to hold hands to avoid losing sight of each other. Lost buddy protocol became necessary for our group of 3 at one point, but we found each other at the surface in about a minute. Most of the classes were out in the sand (or playing the kelp?), so the wall wasn't busy at all, even though the area was swarming with divers.

Question: there are also a bunch of holes in the sand, and every now and then, one will erupt, spitting out pieces of shells or some tiny bits of plant (?) that are sort of like short pine needles. What's going on there? Who's hiding in the holes feasting?

Also, first dives with my new spring straps for my fins. What in the world took me so long? They're amazing!

 

[g1138]

Inn keeper worms are in those little holes. Some of them may also contain Sea pens.

Glad you had a fun dive.

 

[3D diver]

So, we had about 5ft of visibility at the Breakwater wall...

Thank you, my other plans for the weekend fell through and I've been kicking myself for not having arranged a dive instead. Now I don't feel so bad, though I agree, 5ft on the wall can still be a great dive.

 

[ktkt]

Inn keeper worms are in those little holes. Some of them may also contain Sea pens.

Ah, cool, thanks. I was wondering if it might be the innkeeper worms after we saw them on display at the aquarium, but I couldn't tell if they would spout like that.

 

[Peter_C]

Bad vis is when you move really slow and look into all the cracks. That is when you get to see the things you pass over on the better vis days.

A Bright light, like the $89 one from Dive Right In Scuba, is one of the best tools to keep a dive team together. If everyone has one, it will help keep the team together. Plus staying in a wing on wing formation with a little bumping, and moving slowly keeps you from having to go to the surface. Just trying to give some help...

I have seen octopus climb right out of the holes in the sand too.

 

[Rob Wilks]

Sunday was a bit soupy as well, though today, we dived breakwater and contoured the wall at about 15 to 20ft. and had a fantastic dive. Below 20ft. was nasty. Not only was it a nice long dive, we had a good amount of fish under the canopy and great nudies. Great opportunity to try our my new Sola 800! Water temp was 53-58. Good fun on a monday...