I usually just post my dive reports in the SoCal forum directly. Was the translucent animal something like this?
SoCal Dive Reports - Let us know about your dive!
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The previous weekend we saw something similar, and then again at Deer Creek this morning. Maybe it was a shark egg with shark embryo inside. The water is almost 10 degrees warmer than last weekend, but after the swell that came through mid-week the viz is way worse. We only had about 8-12 ft viz today, and in the kelp it was really dark
I was out at Anacapa Island. 40-50 foot visibility on the front side of the island from West to East. 3 Dives beginning at Rat Rock, to Portuguese Rock and finishing off at Brickyard. Conditions for mid-May couldn't have been better. Kelp is booming on Anacapa and also up and down the coast from Point Mugu to Malibu. Water temps on Anacapa ranged from 56 to 58 today.
Ready4Launch
Contributor
Yes - believe so - a salp. I saw a photo that a dive instructor from Malibu Divers posted to Facebook, and that's what he said it was. He said he's been seeing a lot lately; more so than any other time diving SoCal.
Mystaadam
Registered
Report from Dive on 6/9:
Partook in a beach dive at Leo Carillo, just after High Tide (roughly 7:30am). We entered from northern part of the beach (next to the parking lot) and swam around the point towards the main kelp forest just outside of the tide pools. Visibility wasn’t the greatest, ranging from 5-10 feet at best. Water temp was surprisingly warm at 64 degrees. Strong current pushing south definitely made the swim back in a moderate cardio activity.
The kelp seemed to be pretty healthy, though there seemed to be less urchins than I recall from the previous year. Similarly, in past dives at Leo I’ve seen an abundance of garibaldi but this time around, not a single one spotted. Most fish consisted of calico, though we did spot a flatfish which took off with some haste as we approached it. Due to the viz, really couldn’t make out if it was a halibut or a sand dab. Several small bat rays made their presence known as we dipped between the forest. Also spotted a few lobsters wandering in the sand, which was slightly surprising due to it being daytime. They’re lucky this wasn’t later in the year
Partook in a beach dive at Leo Carillo, just after High Tide (roughly 7:30am). We entered from northern part of the beach (next to the parking lot) and swam around the point towards the main kelp forest just outside of the tide pools. Visibility wasn’t the greatest, ranging from 5-10 feet at best. Water temp was surprisingly warm at 64 degrees. Strong current pushing south definitely made the swim back in a moderate cardio activity.
The kelp seemed to be pretty healthy, though there seemed to be less urchins than I recall from the previous year. Similarly, in past dives at Leo I’ve seen an abundance of garibaldi but this time around, not a single one spotted. Most fish consisted of calico, though we did spot a flatfish which took off with some haste as we approached it. Due to the viz, really couldn’t make out if it was a halibut or a sand dab. Several small bat rays made their presence known as we dipped between the forest. Also spotted a few lobsters wandering in the sand, which was slightly surprising due to it being daytime. They’re lucky this wasn’t later in the year
Ready4Launch
Contributor
Did two dives at Refugio on 10Jun. Dove both the west and east. Got there later than we wanted. Hit the water during a low tide. Poor viz, but it was still fun. An hour each, but between the two dives we saw a fair amount. All the usuals like kelp and sheep crabs, nudis, but with the washer-machine-like conditions not a ton of fish. Temp was around 60F.
Mystaadam
Registered
Dive report from 7/14 out at Santa Cruz Island
Hooking up with PCH Scuba on the Peace Boat out of Ventura, the initial plan was to hit up San Miguel Island, with Santa Rose as the backup. Unfortunately, when boarding the evening prior, crew members told us that San Miguel was more than likely out of the question due to wind conditions. Once awaking from a decent slumber in the AM, turns out we didn’t even make it to Santa Rosa; we ended up on the front side of Santa Cruz. Can’t fault the dive shop or boat for the conditions, but I will say this was a letdown as the whole reason I booked this trip was the opportunity to dive for the first time at either Santa Rose or San Miguel (I’ve done Catalina, Anacapa, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara islands before). Even worse, all the waters around us had major white caps going on; needless to say I was skeptical on conditions.
First dive was at West Cove, with visibility at about 20 feet. A lot of algae bloom going on, along with the waters being rough so a decent amount of debris was kicked up. Nonetheless, did get some interaction with two sea lions which is always a plus, and encountered one of the largest Starfish (I believe they are called Sunflower Star if I’m not mistaken) I’ve ever seen. It looked like it could take down a toddler. Dive time of about 48 minutes with a max depth of 41 feet.
Second dive, which took place at a dive site called Diablo, was pretty bad; visibility at best was 5 feet. After about 30 minutes of swimming in the murk, and seeing not much of anything outside a school of Blacksmiths, I returned to the boat. Max depth was 58 feet. As I finished my dive, conditions were getting worse. We ended up going around the entire island of Santa Cruz for nearly two hours looking for the calmest cove we could find. After settling on a dive spot (cannot recall the name) that’s near where Island Packers drop off their kayakers, we attempted one last dive. Despite a lot of healthy kelp around, visibility was still atrocious. Did spot one ray rather quickly, but between the surge and the lack of viz, I called it quits within 14 minutes. Not sure of depth but couldn’t of been more than 30 feet. Once I got topside again, the wind was really whipping. How bad was the wind you may ask? Well, there were two men kite surfing about 100 yards from us. Definitely not ideal diving conditions.
Hopefully as we get closer to Fall the waters will clear up some. Water was quite warm for the most of the day (don’t think it dropped below 64) so at least there was that. And maybe one day I’ll make it out to San Miguel and/or Santa Rosa!
Hooking up with PCH Scuba on the Peace Boat out of Ventura, the initial plan was to hit up San Miguel Island, with Santa Rose as the backup. Unfortunately, when boarding the evening prior, crew members told us that San Miguel was more than likely out of the question due to wind conditions. Once awaking from a decent slumber in the AM, turns out we didn’t even make it to Santa Rosa; we ended up on the front side of Santa Cruz. Can’t fault the dive shop or boat for the conditions, but I will say this was a letdown as the whole reason I booked this trip was the opportunity to dive for the first time at either Santa Rose or San Miguel (I’ve done Catalina, Anacapa, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara islands before). Even worse, all the waters around us had major white caps going on; needless to say I was skeptical on conditions.
First dive was at West Cove, with visibility at about 20 feet. A lot of algae bloom going on, along with the waters being rough so a decent amount of debris was kicked up. Nonetheless, did get some interaction with two sea lions which is always a plus, and encountered one of the largest Starfish (I believe they are called Sunflower Star if I’m not mistaken) I’ve ever seen. It looked like it could take down a toddler. Dive time of about 48 minutes with a max depth of 41 feet.
Second dive, which took place at a dive site called Diablo, was pretty bad; visibility at best was 5 feet. After about 30 minutes of swimming in the murk, and seeing not much of anything outside a school of Blacksmiths, I returned to the boat. Max depth was 58 feet. As I finished my dive, conditions were getting worse. We ended up going around the entire island of Santa Cruz for nearly two hours looking for the calmest cove we could find. After settling on a dive spot (cannot recall the name) that’s near where Island Packers drop off their kayakers, we attempted one last dive. Despite a lot of healthy kelp around, visibility was still atrocious. Did spot one ray rather quickly, but between the surge and the lack of viz, I called it quits within 14 minutes. Not sure of depth but couldn’t of been more than 30 feet. Once I got topside again, the wind was really whipping. How bad was the wind you may ask? Well, there were two men kite surfing about 100 yards from us. Definitely not ideal diving conditions.
Hopefully as we get closer to Fall the waters will clear up some. Water was quite warm for the most of the day (don’t think it dropped below 64) so at least there was that. And maybe one day I’ll make it out to San Miguel and/or Santa Rosa!
dougmatic
Registered
Casino Point Dive Report from September 8 (2 dives).
First dive: surface swam out to rightmost buoy. Descended at the buoy at max depth of 98 ft. Quickly made our way to shallower water and located the Sue Jac wreck and checked it out for a while before making our way back toward the stairs. Saw 2 giant sea bass but not much else of note. Average depth 56 ft. Min water temp of 61, avg water temp of 68.
Second dive: descended pretty close to the stairs and made our way to the left and explored around the sandy bottom. We were looking for rays on the sandy bottom but couldn't find any. Decided to keep it pretty shallow - max depth 45 ft. and average depth 33 ft. Avg water temp 70. Exit was a bit rough around the stairs but we made it out OK.
Kelp was not as thick as a few weeks ago, but seemed healthier in a bit deeper water. Visibility was decent but not great for Catalina. I'm bad at estimating vis but I'd call it at 15-20 ft.
First dive: surface swam out to rightmost buoy. Descended at the buoy at max depth of 98 ft. Quickly made our way to shallower water and located the Sue Jac wreck and checked it out for a while before making our way back toward the stairs. Saw 2 giant sea bass but not much else of note. Average depth 56 ft. Min water temp of 61, avg water temp of 68.
Second dive: descended pretty close to the stairs and made our way to the left and explored around the sandy bottom. We were looking for rays on the sandy bottom but couldn't find any. Decided to keep it pretty shallow - max depth 45 ft. and average depth 33 ft. Avg water temp 70. Exit was a bit rough around the stairs but we made it out OK.
Kelp was not as thick as a few weeks ago, but seemed healthier in a bit deeper water. Visibility was decent but not great for Catalina. I'm bad at estimating vis but I'd call it at 15-20 ft.
Ready4Launch
Contributor
Was out on Truth Aquatics yesterday, Saturday, 05Jan. Intended destination for the trip was for Gull Island, but didn't go there due to the expected conditions with the weather coming through. We stayed on the front, west-side. Went to Fry's, Platt's, and Pelican Bay.
Conditions were actually great. Swell and surge was minimal for the first two dives. Wind wasn't a factor. Visibility was good. Water temp was upper 50's. Spotted some octos, horned sharks, nudis, a single sea lion, and orange throated blennies? Good day.
Conditions were actually great. Swell and surge was minimal for the first two dives. Wind wasn't a factor. Visibility was good. Water temp was upper 50's. Spotted some octos, horned sharks, nudis, a single sea lion, and orange throated blennies? Good day.
wnissen
Contributor
Dove at Casino Point on Saturday. Low tide was at 1, so exit was a team effort. Visibility wasn't that great, 3-5m / 10-15 ft, 2m / 5-ft swells. 15C / 59F water temperature at 24.5m / 80 ft. We severely underestimated the current, attempted to surface at the steps, but ended up beyond the point. We were still inside the dive park due to the line of buoys being pulled by the current, but that was not a fun surface swim.
We were supposed to go out on the Scuba Cat today but due to the gale warning conditions the crew's morning ferry was cancelled so they had to cancel on us.
We were supposed to go out on the Scuba Cat today but due to the gale warning conditions the crew's morning ferry was cancelled so they had to cancel on us.
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