Night Dive Video - Shaw's Cove - May 29, 2006

First run with my new video light arms from ULCS...press the play button.

Dive # 248

Date: May 29, 2006
Time: 8:00pm
Location: Shaw's Cove
Depth (feet): 31
Dive Time (minutes): 61
Surf (feet): 1-2
Surge (feet): 2-5
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 63
Visibility (feet): 10-15
Visibility Description: varied based on surge and tiny "wormy" animals by the billions
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Erik...another awesome night dive at Shaw's...the sand is just full of amazing things to play around with and shoot (video)...I will get to the editing as soon as possible...but have some great footage of a juvenile bat ray, an octopus out in the open, assorted sting rays, crabs and some video of Erik shooting video that I think may look cool...check back soon for the video!

Dive # 247

Date: May 29, 2006
Time: 8:30am
Location: Diver's Cove
Depth (feet): 30
Dive Time (minutes): 47
Surf (feet): 1-2
Surge (feet): 1-4
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 63
Visibility (feet): 10-12
Visibility Description: varied murky and clear
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Garrett and his son...it was his son's first SoCal beach dive...surge and vis were not the best conditions, and we were unable to find the bat rays that I've found there before...but a relaxed, easy dive...I love not wearing a hood!

Baby Bat Ray Video

Juvenile bat ray out in the open. First night voyage of my new Ultralight Control System video light arms...they worked great! The video is 1:15 in length. Enjoy!

New arms from Ultralight Control Systems!

A bit of a "self-portrait"...trying out my new ULCS arms and adapters for my light canons on my Sea&Sea housing...can't wait to get some new footage! (press the play button)

Update for Dive # 244 - Video Clip

This was footage I shot about 2 years back - I was reminded of it when Scott and I saw another plainfin midshipman at Shaw's during dive #244 - press the play button.

Dive # 246

Date: May 19, 2006
Time: 10:00am
Location: Shaw's Cove
Depth (feet): 30
Dive Time (minutes): 36
Surf (feet):4-HOLY CRAP!
Surge (feet): 4-HOLY CRAP!
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 60? Warm - no hood
Visibility (feet): 1-10
Visibility Description: screwed up with surge
Notes and Highlights: Started dive with Pablo, Erik and Paul - after the first couple waves hit us - Pablo resigned to the stairs (sorry - I had your keys)...horrible entry, but when we dropped down it was worth it with the 1 foot vis and surge that looked like the ground during the nuclear blast in "Broken Arrow"...saw a few large bat rays - but couldn't get pics of them. A whole bunch of halibut - although the one in the photo album is intentionally mis-titled. The exit made the entry look easy - but we're all alive and laughing. Here is a link to the other pics.

Dive # 245

Date: May 17, 2006
Time: 9:00pm
Location: Shaw's Cove
Depth (feet): 31
Dive Time (minutes): 45
Surf (feet): 3-5
Surge (feet): 2-4
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 60?
Visibility (feet): 15
Visibility Description: Clearer than it has been
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Erik Wade - stayed mostly over the sand - surge didn't seem nearly as bad as closer to the reef - glad we did...a ton of sting rays, crabs and small halibuts, and one turbot. Swam with a juvenile bat ray for a couple of minutes - hopefully Erik's pics will come out. Practiced successfully on 3 lobsters and overall really enjoyed the dive - what night dives are all about... UPDATE! Here is a link to Erik's pics.

Dive # 244

Date: May 17, 2006
Time: 5:30pm
Location: Shaw's Cove
Depth (feet): 42
Dive Time (minutes): 45
Surf (feet): 2-3
Surge (feet): 3-6
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 60?
Visibility (feet): 10-12
Visibility Description: Clearer than it has been
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Scott Williams - saw 3 large octopi - a few lobsters. Surge made the inside of the reef unwise - stayed outside and went with the surge. A good sized (18") plainfin midshipman was in a hole near the Arch - reminds me of some good video footage I took over 2 years ago that hasn't seen the light of day yet - I think I'll try to get that out tomorrow night.

Dive # 243

Date: May 13, 2006
Time: 9:00am
Location: Diver's Cove
Depth (feet): 16
Dive Time (minutes): 23
Surf (feet): 2
Surge (feet): 2-3
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 60? it was warm
Visibility (feet): 5-10
Visibility Description: Varied depending on how much sand the bat rays were kicking up...
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Rachel and Tyler - a quickie just to get the head clear from the week. Dropped down almost immediately and very quickly found at least 25 bat rays ranging from pretty small and tail-less to rather large (at least 5 ft. wingspan)...short but very, very sweet dive. Here is a link to the other pics.

Dive # 242

Date: May 10, 2006
Time: 5:30pm
Location: Shaw's Cove
Depth (feet): 39
Dive Time (minutes): 42
Surf (feet): 1-2
Surge (feet): 2-3 on outside and much more inside the reef
Water Temp (fahrenheit): around 60 - warm!
Visibility (feet): 6-10
Visibility Description: still pretty murky - should clear with the swell going away
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Scott Williams, and ran into Victor Chu finishing an open water class...also met Leonard at the top of the stairs...saw several halibut in shallow - nothing legal size. A few short lobsters and a couple of rays. Dropped down pretty early and went through the arch over to Crescent - probably not completely wise with the current surge, but we made it intact. Swam back around to the Shaw's side and easy exit. Not very good conditions still, but a good time was had by all.

Dive # 241

Date: May 3, 2006
Time: 5:00pm
Location: Shaw's Cove
Depth (feet): 49
Dive Time (minutes): 43
Surf (feet): 2-3
Surge (feet): 3-5
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 54/55
Visibility (feet): 10-15
Visibility Description: Vastly improved from last week - still some turbidity and some "murk"
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Pablo and Scott - not as "Lake Laguna" as it's been, but still easy in/out. Stayed on the outside of the reef and did a simple out and back. Got buzzed by a sea lion and interacted with an abnormally excitable sheepcrab. here is a link to the other pics.