Buddy Mark J and I met Gilad today for some awsome diving at Desert Tortoise. There were several divers set up by the time we got there. It was really Diver Central for a while.
We could see that Beismeyer point was pretty busy with divers too. Tis the season. Vis was starting to deteriorate a bit but we still had 30+ feet. Temp was 57 VT3 degrees at depth, 63º near the surface.
We shared an awsome dive with Gilad. To start we did a very long surface swim but it was worth it. After we got a ways away from the other groups, the vis really opened up.
We swam out past the second island and set our dive bouy. This would be where they hold open water classes in the fall. From there Gilad led us east until we came to a trench. It's been a while since I dove out there but as I recall I dubbed it the Maranara Trench back in '07. You can pick it up off of Two Cow Cove and take it as far as you can.
We followed the trench until we hit our turn pressure. Than Gilad led us up and out of the trench until we got to the island. Then is was a simple matter of following the bottom contour to the depth where we started, then swim along the island until we found where the dive bouy was anchored.
We retrived the bouy and were slogging through the long surface swim back when I thought, "Screw this. I have 800 PSI left. I can scuba back." Gilad seemed to have the same idea at the same time because we both descended and followed the road back.
We had a wonderfull dive. Stayed together and stayed safe.
Gilad had to leave but Mark and I were going to do a couple more dives. The next dive was rather disappointing. We followed the wall on the left side of DT. Saw a few fishes but not too many. Since we silted the wall like no tomorrow we had to swim back over the long boring road. Did I mention there wasn't a lot to see that trip?
Our third dive was pretty cool. We decided to pass in front of the first island at a heading of 130 degrees. Almost immediately we dropped into a rocky area. We were swimming along the edge of the first island. It made me think of an underwater knee just off the island. On the island side, to our left were rocks. To our right it droppped off a bit then was a gradual slope ever downward. We joined the Marinara trench again and followed it until I hit my turn pressure. Mark started with a cave fill while I started with a short fill. Mental note to ALWAYS check the pressure when I pick up my tanks.
In any event, when we turned, I led us back on the reciprical heading but since we had followed the trench for a bit we were about 100 yards south of where we started. After a peek topside to verify that we were where I thought we were (that's my story and I'm sticking to it) we paralelled DT Road until we came to my bouy again. Along the way we came across a red eyed bass that just wasn't going to let us near his spawning area. Nose to mask. It was an aquarian standoff.
It was good to get back into the water again after 3 whole weeks. That's a long and grumpy surface interval for me. Next weekend we'll be in San Diego diving the Yukon and Coronado Island on the Humbolt.
After that we'll see you at the lake.
Steve.
