Dive #398

Date: January 8, 2010
Time: 7:00pm
Location:
Shaws Cove
Depth (feet):
40
Dive Time (minutes):
65
Surf (feet): 1-2
Surge (feet): 2-3
Water Temp (fahrenheit):
57
Visibility (feet): 20
Visibility Description: good
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Jeff - wanted to get in before the swell hit. Conditions were not quite as good as the previous dive - but still very enjoyable. Even the water didn't feel quite as cold. A few moray eels and some nudibranchs...not a whole bunch of animals, but a good time was had
by all.

Dive #397

Date: January 7, 2010
Time: 5:10pm
Location: Wood's Cove
Depth (feet): 30
Dive Time (minutes): 60
Surf (feet): 1-3
Surge (feet): 1-3
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 59
Visibility (feet): 20
Visibility Description: good
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Jeff to beat the swell - coming of the previous dive wanted to take advantage of the visibility conditions. A bit more surge and surf this dive compared to last, but Wood's is far more exposed than Shaw's, and the conditions were good for the site. Dusk/night dive - first 20 minutes without lights - good visibility...can really take in the varied and extensive reef outcroppings Wood's offers. More life as the light subsided - a 2 foot juvenile horn shark was the standout encounter. Larger-looking swell/surf on the exit than actually felt...good tide timing - overall a great time had by all.

Dive #396

Date: January 6, 2010
Time: 9:20pm
Location: Shaw's Cove
Depth (feet): 38
Dive Time (minutes): 72
Surf (feet): 0-1
Surge (feet): 0-1
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 57
Visibility (feet): 25+
Visibility Description: great
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Jeff - first dive of '10! Conditions are perfect, and looking to get bad in a day or so - so we gave up the sleep and headed for Laguna - well worth it. Best dive conditions in a while, although I haven't been diving consistently. No surge and no surf...dropped down quickly and into the interior of the reef - spent the first 30 minutes or so in the passages between Shaw's and Crescent - lots of eels, octopi, H.Roses...

Went outside on the Shaw's side, and out past T.A.R. A huge male sheephead was wedged in a crevice asleep...great to see a large male on a reef in Laguna - seems like a long time since I've been able to find one. Went back outside and encountered a large moray fully out and hunting - aggressively hunting - fun to watch. Spent some time over the sand on the way back - lots of little rays and thornbacks...walk-out exit and a great time had by all!

Dive #395

Date: November 6, 2009
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Deadman's Reef
Depth (feet): 50
Dive Time (minutes): 86
Surf (feet): 1-3+
Surge (feet): 1-2
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 62
Visibility (feet): 25+
Visibility Description: Awesome
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Len and Brett - original intent was lobster hunting, but utter failure revises to a fun dive. And a fun dive it was - some surf, but easy to avoid with timing, and a quick swim to the end of the point. Dropped into about 30' of crystal clear, beautiful water. Took a heading and ran right up Deadhenge. Took a left and swam around the reef...quite literally. A lot of life out - tons of fish...large and small. Lots of spanish shawl nudibranchs and 2 horn sharks - one that was an easy 4 feet and very, very solid looking...beautiful animal. A lot of current on the backside, and what I assume (hope) was clouds of reef spawining that would occasionally take the vis to nearly zero in very defined areas. We came back up over the reef just south of Deadhenge, and followed it along and then set out over the sand for the beach. Crabs, rays, cusk eels and a brown shrimp were among the many sand-dwelling animals we got to see on the leisurely swim back to just under 10 feet of water. No lobsters were harmed, and a great time had by all!

Dive 394 - Bug count unchanged...

Date: October 23, 2009
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Mountain Street
Depth (feet): 33
Dive Time (minutes): 70
Surf (feet): 2-4
Surge (feet): 1-2
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 61
Visibility (feet): 10-15
Visibility Description: Good
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Len and Roger - bug hunt. Occasionally large but manageable surf - the submerged rocks are a bit harder to negotiate at low tide, but we got in and out without too much drama. Not a whole bunch out there for life except for many frustratingly small lobsters...but good visibility and water that is still warm enough to dive hoodless meant a good time had by all.

Dive #393 - Dos Langosta

Date: October 9, 2009
Time: 8:30pm
Location: CDM Beach
Depth (feet): 20
Dive Time (minutes): 80
Surf (feet): 1
Surge (feet): 2
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 62
Visibility (feet): 1-10+
Visibility Description: mostly good - some bad
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Len - dive #2 for lobster season - and we both got 2 bugs. Mostly good conditions - deteriorated to no vis just around the jetty. A harbor seal, typically a welcome visitor, was somewhat annoying tonight...lots of pushing and shoving in the crevices - pretty much all on the seal's side. A spanish shawl and a medium moray...lots of sculpins, and more "shorts" than a Tommy Bahama store...overall a great time had by all.

Dive #392 - No lobsters were injured in the making of this report...

Date: October 3, 2009
Time: Midnight
Location: Montage
Depth (feet): 42
Dive Time (minutes): 45
Surf (feet): 1
Surge (feet): 1
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 61
Visibility (feet): 20
Visibility Description: Good
Notes and Highlights: Opening-night lobster dive with Len, Brett and Roger - skunks all around. Nice conditions though, and a nice way to get back in the water. Saw my first brown shrimp over the sand, a guitar fish, and a large seal. Only saw a handful of lobsters, and that also described their size. Long surface swim back with an uneventful exit - and a good time was had by all.