"Encounters" - New Video

Video footage from 2 scuba dives on June 27, 2007 in Laguna Beach, CA. Includes bat rays, blennies, nudibranchs and a moray eel.

Dives #347 and 348 - Good-byes and Hello's

Date: June 27, 2007
Time: 5:30pm/8:15pm
Location: Diver's/Shaw's Cove
Depth (feet): 28/39
Dive Time (minutes): 57/58
Surf (feet): 1-3/1-2
Surge (feet): 2-5
Water Temp (fahrenheit): very warm
Visibility (feet): 10-20/8-12
Visibility Description: nicer at Diver's...bit murkier at Shaw's
Notes and Highlights: First dive was the last dive with Scott as a So. Cal resident...he leaves for Colorado tomorrow. We had a great dive to mark the occasion - a lot of surge in areas around the reef...but overall very warm and reasonably clear water. Lots of bat rays from the very beginning of the dive...started to drop and realized there was a large one right underneath me...working quickly to unclip and bring the camera into operation - while still trying to get the last air out of my BC - and not breathing so as not to spook the ray...settled down quietly on the sand next to the ray...just as it decided to finally head out to get away from the blue-faced weirdo....oh well...at least the camera is ready to go and I can breathe again. Camera came in handy quickly too - as there were many bat rays in the area. They were sitting on the sand and "flying" by and over us...I don't think I'll ever get bored of that.

Headed over to the reef area so I could look for the rock-pool blennies with my new macro lens...they were right where they normally were...as was the surge - but I did manage a few decent clips. Headed back from the reef over the sand to see if there were any bat rays we missed on the way out - turns out there were. Surf was 1-3, entry and exit were uneventful. Water was warm...not sure on the exact temp - but warm...with the open sand and decent vis it was certainly one of the more relaxing dives of the year so far...great send-off for Scott, and a good time had by all.

Second dive was the first with David...great to meet you...we were joined by Erik for a night dive at Shaw's. Got a little bit of a late start, but entered the water in 1-2 foot surf (would have been less but we had to enter way to the left to avoid a series of fishing poles/lines two guys were operating from the right side past the middle. David wanted to get some pics of Shelly - I tried to help out lighting with my video lights...looking forward to seeing the result. Spent the rest of the dive working our way back along the reef looking for anything and everything...found several octopi, morays, sheepcrab, Spanish Shawl's, Hopkin's Roses, plainfin midshipman, rays (sting and bat)...vis was down a bit from Diver's...seemed murkier at Shaws...but still enjoyable, a good time had by all, and I look forward to more with David in the future.

New Video - "A Closer Look - Part One"

The maiden voyage of my new macro lens...a night scuba dive in Laguna Beach, California. Video includes Spanish shawls, Moray Eel, Octopus, Hopkin's Rose, and a small California Scorpionfish.

Dive # 346 - New Macro Lens!

Date: June 26, 2007
Time: 8:00pm
Location: Shaw's Cove
Depth (feet): 39
Dive Time (minutes): 68
Surf (feet): 1
Surge (feet): 2-5
Water Temp (fahrenheit): warm
Visibility (feet): 5-12
Visibility Description: deeper was murkier
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Erik and Len - took out my new macro lens to see how it worked. We saw Spanish Shawls, Hopkin's Roses, Shelly, Ocotopi, Morays and a free-swimming "worm" that was nearly 18" in length. Lots of murk in the water - particularly deeper around Shelly. Plankton by the billions near the surface. Surge was a lot more present than I was expecting/hoping for trying to shoot with the macro lens...you'll notice that Spanish Shawls look like the poor weatherman who are reporting from the "eye of the storm"...overall though - a lot of interesting animals, and a good time had by all.

Macro lens has shipped!

Should arrive Monday...stay tuned for new video!

Dive # 345 - Wanted...New Dive Buddy!

Date: June 17, 2007
Time: 8:00am
Location: Shaw's Cove
Depth (feet): 22
Dive Time (minutes): 68
Surf (feet): 1
Surge (feet): 2-6
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 65
Visibility (feet): 5-8
Visibility Description: surge-murk
Notes and Highlights: Last dive with Scott before he moves to Colorado...been a privilege to dive with him the last year and two months...looks like 47 dives by my count - which gives him the title for the most often dived-with buddy since I started my blog. I'm now accepting applications to replace him - however it won't be easy. I'm looking for someone who likes short-walks on the beach, is comfortable being around me for hours at a time without talking...and he (yes "he"...sorry ladies - I'm just too darn cute and endearing to be trusted with you on a consistently regular basis) needs to be available on Wednesday nights. Scott - been a pleasure, good luck in Colorado, and I look forward to when you are able to visit So.Cal. We saw several Hopkin's Roses, nesting and juvenile Garibaldi, blennies, a hermit crab in the sand, and a good time was had by all.

a Rose

"Rosy"

a Crab...

"Crabby"

Shelly's Tragic Tale

I have been interested in "Shelly of Shaws" since I first heard of her on the OCDiving email list a few weeks ago. Finding her on Wednesday night's dive this week only made my curiosity grow. I had many questions..."How did she get there?"...and..."Why hasn't anyone claimed responsibility for placing her there?"...I figured that a statue that heavy must have been brought in by boat...but by who and when?...in search of answers I turned to my most trusted source - the Internet.

I poured over countless images from various websites, and started giving up hope...until I happened to notice an odd "speck" off the reef at Shaw's Cove in a satellite photo.

I increased the resolution on the photo, and altered the contrast around the speck and was able to make out that it was in fact a boat...I realized then that I was on to something.

Again, I increased the resolution, and applied a special algorithm which was accidentally made public in the recent movie "Deja Vu"...this allowed me to leverage the satellite images to create a "snapshot in time" and see what the boat was up to. Please understand that at this resolution the quality of the images is understandably poor.

You can now start to see the tragic unfolding of what must have happened when they dropped the statue off of that boat...the humanity!

I don't know if we'll be able to ever find out the identity of the poor soul...but it's clear now why nobody has claimed credit for the statue. I've passed these pictures, and a few others with more detail of the boat to the local authorities so they can open an investigation.

Be careful out there...

Dive #344

Date: June 15, 2007
Time: 6:30am
Location: Shaw's Cove
Depth (feet): 44
Dive Time (minutes): 37
Surf (feet): 1-2
Surge (feet): 2-4
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 62
Visibility (feet): 5-10
Visibility Description: slight red-tide
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Josh and Scott...top secret mission.

Dives #342 and 343 - Shelly of Shaws

Date: June 13, 2007
Time: 6pm/8pm
Location: Shaw's Cove
Depth (feet): 58/42
Dive Time (minutes): 47/53
Surf (feet): 1-2
Surge (feet): 2-4
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 56 at depth
Visibility (feet): 8-15
Visibility Description: reasonably clear
Notes and Highlights: Dove with Scott - wanted to check out Shelly, and see what conditions were like.

First dive: Easy, high-tide entry with surface chop and some swell making surface swimming less enjoyable - we dropped down around the Arch. We swam towards Turn-Around Rock, and found the statue. The statue itself - perhaps 2 1/2 feet tall rests on a pretty substantial platform - can't wait to finally hear the story about how and why it has come to grace one of Southern California's most often dived site. We left Shelly, and took the cut to the right of T.A. rock, and made our way outside and past the main parts of the reef. We poked around in the sand looking for anything of interest - found a few crabs that I could use some help with ID'ing (last picture), and a medium-sized turbot. We surfaced some distance off shore, and the swim back in the swell was a little more exercise than what one expects from Shaw's Cove.

Second Dive: Swapped tanks and headed back in. Conditions were pretty much the same - only darker. Stayed shallower - didn't go any further than Shelly. Spent some time on the reef, and some time over the sand. Hopkin's Roses, stingrays, scorpionfish, sanddabs, swimming crabs, actual schools of bass (unusual from my experience>, and a few small bait balls rounded out a good time had by all.

"Shelly of Shaws"

Hopkin's Rose

Swimming Crab

Tube-dwelling Anemone

Updated: Sandflat Elbow Crab

Swimming "Nude"

My first encounter with a free-swimming nudibranch

Dives #339, 340 and 341 - Farns...worth it?

Date: June
Time: 11am/2pm/3:30pm
Location: Farnsworth Banks / Cape Cortez / Eagle's Nest Reef?
Depth (feet): 79/59/51
Dive Time (minutes): 11/46/52
Surf (feet): n/a
Surge (feet): mostly n/a
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 52-59
Visibility (feet): 10-50
Visibility Description: varied - read below
Notes and Highlights: A very smooth, long ride out (about 4 hours) to the backside of Catalina. Third time was the charm! The other two times I had tried boat trips to non-front-side Catalina destinations the conditions had thwarted the efforts. This time though, we pulled up over one of the pinnacles at Farnsworth in smooth, nearly glassy seas. We geared up and dropped over the side - heading down the anchor line. There was a band of poor visibility (and warm water) in the 20-30 foot range, but as we got deeper down the chain, the visibility opened up to at least 50 feet. I saw the top of the pinnacle, and patches of the purple coral which makes this place famous came into view...it was everywhere! Hard to imagine that that much coral in a place synonymous with currents hasn't spawned colonies in other So. California locations. I turned on my lights - check - turned on my video camera - check...and then watched my dive buddy scream past me...heading back towards the surface at an unsafe pace. I followed, albeit at a safe pace, hoping to find that he was at least able to stop prior to the surface...he was...I found him on the anchor line in about 20 feet...signaling "ok". I still wasn't sure what had/was happening, but he seemed alright at that point. I wasn't able to illicit any information from him as to what had happened..and about 1 minute into our impromptu safety stop I noticed he was getting lower on the chain. I first thought he was maybe having trouble maintaining his depth, but he started going down at a much faster pace. I tried to get a hold of him, and get his attention, but as we passed 45 feet he was out of reach, and not looking back. I broke off my descent, and headed back to the 20 feet range for a few more minutes of watching below...

...as I was getting back on board I saw him swimming down the side of the boat - headed for the swim step. Our conversation started off with my "What the hell was going on...and why would you start descending again - especially without any communication"...apparently he was having issues with his BC at depth, which is what caused the initial un-CESA, but that he thought he had "worked it out", and wanted to go back down to the site. Realizing that it would have been hard to explain that I was truly happy he was ok - if they found me choking the life out of him - I chalked it up to life experience, and started trying to concentrate my telepathic abilities to convince the crew and skipper to stay over the pinnacle for a second dive. Apparently the closest I get to ESP is ESPN - and the crew let me know that we'd be moving off Farnsworth for 2 more dives closer to shore. Crap...

Second dive was Cape Cortez, and the conditions were far more akin to beach diving Laguna - a lot of surge, poor visibility (perhaps 10-12), and a lot of particulate in the water from the surge. The reef structure was chock full of Gorgonians however, and we were able to find several Spanish Shawls (video to be optimistically reviewed tonight). We did a pretty lazy, conservative dive that was enjoyable - even thought at this site the conditions were as lacking as was the purple coral.

Final dive was at Eagle's Nest Reef? This site offered much better visibility (slightly murky 30), and some gorgeous kelp forest on top of the reef structure. The reef had deep cuts and spilled out over the sand in little peninsulas - all covered with good kelp growth, and providing very relaxing views. Some more Spanish Shawls, a tiny salp-like organism, a free-swimming Spanish Shawl which literally sat on my video lens for a while - making me regret that of the three dives today, this was the only one I hadn't also brought my still camera.

So - after 2 years of attempts, several hundred spent in boat trips, and many hours less of sleep - was it worth it to see the coral? Everyone ended up safe, a few good dives, and I was finally able to see (briefly) the purple coral...so yes...it was worth it, and overall a good time was had by all.

Dives #337 and 338 - Pipefish, Pen and Ink

Date: May 6, 2007
Time: 5:30pm/8:00pm
Location: North Crescent
Depth (feet): 59/23
Dive Time (minutes): 42/46
Surf (feet): 1-3
Surge (feet): 2-8
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 62
Visibility (feet): 5-15
Visibility Description: Surge-murk, some red tide
Notes and Highlights: First dive was with Scott - swam out past where the reef sticks out on the north side and dropped down pretty early due to the pretty intense current and nasty swell - not fun surface swimming today. Dropped over sand and stayed that way for the dive - ok...we were "generally headed" towards Deadman's...but the red tide past 45 feet and surge even at depth over the sand made nav a little more interesting than normal. It also helped us stumble upon the first pipefish I've seen locally...so that worked out well (pics below). While I was taking pictures of the pipefish - Scott grabbed my arm - saving my life from a charging (seriously) sheep crab...the boy wasn't messing around - I must have looked like someone he knew. Some sanddabs, sea pens and not much else rounded out the sand tour - followed by a grueling surface swim in swell that I swear set off the "no-fly" warning on my computer...swell that completely obscured Seal Rocks, Laguna Beach, and the buddy next to you when it passed...

Kevin showed up for the second dive, and the three of us decided to stay shallower and avoid the surface swell. Probably should have sucked it up and dealt with it - as the shallow vis was 5+ at best and very often worse with the surge-induced turbidity. An octopus gave us an ink show as I tried to gently coax it into a better picture position, a large halibut, a rock pool blenny, assorted shrimp, California cones, and a few other snail varieties rounded out a good time had by all.


Pipefish



Sea Pen


Two-spot Octopus


California Cone