October 29, 2010
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #68 @ Clifton Wall, Nassau, Bahamas
Time: 1:09pm - 1:45pm = 37 MinutesDepth: 87ft (Ending Pressure Group: R)
Temperature:
Surface: 83º
Minimum: 80º
Total dive time to date: 38:17 (2297 Minutes)
Description: Diving with Stuart
Cove's in the Bahamas again. Another great dive, but no
shipwrecks this time. We went along a deep wall, saw turtles,
lobsters, and a variety of a fish, some coral, lots of awesome.
Had a problem with my mask, and while I was trying to get my mask back
on didn't realize I was having a rather rapid ascent, although looking
at my computer later it wasn't as bad as I had thought. So it all
worked out just fine. Can you believe 80º-83º water? We
wore wetsuits, but more for encounters, especially after tearing up my
leg in Australia, which hadn't fully healed yet.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #69 @ Hollywood Bowl, Nassau, Bahamas
Time: 2:24pm - 2:56pm = 32 MinutesSurface Interval: 0:59 (Starting Pressure Group: I)
Depth: 35ft (Ending Pressure Group: P)
Temperature:
Surface: 81º
Minimum: 81º
Total dive time to date: 38:49 (2329 Minutes)
Description: A swim around a
fishbowl. This place is called Hollywood Bowl because a lot of
movies have been filmed there. Sadly, I can't remember any of the
ones listed, although I think he mentioned "Into The Blue" with Jessica
Alba. I could get used to these water temperatures.
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October 27, 2010
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #67 @ Epcot, Disneyworld, Orlando, FL - Living Seas AquariumTime: 5:30pm - 6:10pm = 40 Minutes
Depth: 25ft (Ending Pressure Group: G)
Temperature:
Surface: 78º
Minimum: 78º
Total dive time to date: 28:28 (1708 Minutes)
Description: Another trip to Walt Disney World, and another dive in Epcot. As always perfect conditions, lots of fun. Still no cameras allowed. There were even more sharks this time. And lots moer Ray's than previous visits, the horney turtle was gone though.September 4, 2010
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #64 @ Three Sisters, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Time: 10:14am - 10:54am = 40 MinutesDepth: 45ft (Ending Pressure Group: M)
Temperature:
Surface: 75º
Minimum: 75º
Total dive time to date: 35:34 (2134 Minutes)
Description: Day #3 at the Great Barrier Reef (see Day 1 below). Today we had a new dive master, Marni. I had reservations because of how much I dislike guided dives, and Chris had proven himself, but Marni proved up to the challenge, she was also a fantastic guide. First jump off the boat for the day, and the very first thing we see, SHARKS!!!! Yay! Gray Reef Sharks. These bad boys (or girls) were about 5'-6', and there were 3 of them circling the boat. Got some good photos, but not as good as I had wanted, there were still bubbles on my cameras lense. Besides the sharks we saw an adult clown fish with a juvenile inside of the anemone that they lived in. Total Finding Nemo moment.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #65 @ Nusery Bommie, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Time: 11:57pm - 12:36pm = 40 MinutesSurface Interval: 1:03 (Starting Pressure Group: D)
Depth: 56ft (Ending Pressure Group: X+)
Temperature:
Surface: 76º
Minimum: 76º
Total dive time to date: 36:14 (2174 Minutes)
Description: Our first and only repeat of a dive site while at The Great Barrier Reef. This site was one we visited on day #1. It was nice to see all the baby fish again, this time with the lens filter on my camera. We also saw a Moray Eel this time that we missed the last visit. It was also a brighter day, so the colors seemed to "pop" more.
Day Dive #3 - Life Dive #66 @ Turtle Bay, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Time: 1:51pm - 2:37pm = 46 MinutesSurface Interval: 1:15 (Starting Pressure Group: G)
Depth: 40ft (Ending Pressure Group: S)
Temperature:
Surface: 76º
Minimum: 76º
Total dive time to date: 37:00 (2220 Minutes)
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September 3, 2010
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #61 @ Barracuda Bommie, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Time: 10:19am - 10:57am = 38 MinutesDepth: 55ft (Ending Pressure Group: P)
Temperature:
Surface: 74º
Minimum: 73º
Total dive time to date: 33:35 (2015 Minutes)
Description: Day #2 at the Great Barrier Reef (see Day 1 below). Saw our first Sea Turtle in the wild. He was reasonably big, like 4'. And saw bazillions of Scissor-tail Sergents. Also saw a bunch of Barracuda's, thus the dive site's name. Today I remembered I actually bought a blue water filter for my camera (Doh!), and I had my camcorder out with me for the first 2 dives. Decided the camcorder was too much effort, because it was too bulky. So the camcorder will be a rare piece of equipment in the future. It's also helped me finally decide I don't want pro-photo gear, too much hassle.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #62 @ Phil's Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Time: 12:04pm - 12:42pm = 38 MinutesSurface Interval: 0:57 (Starting Pressure Group: F)
Depth: 52ft (Ending Pressure Group: X+)
Temperature:
Surface: 75º
Minimum: 72º
Total dive time to date: 34:13 (2053 Minutes)
Description: At 72° this was the "coldest" of all of our dives at the reef, still quite cozy. During this dive our dive master led us through a cave in the coral. This was our first cave dive, and that was pretty cool. Sadly, I bumped my leg against the side. Coral is sharp, really sharp. When I got to the surface I discovered that I was bleeding. The next week of the trip would involve the stress of me trying to figure out if I was going to need to go to the emergency room for a coral infection or not. I managed to not get a bad infection, and just visited my normal doctor when I got back home. She gave me antibiotics to be safe because it was still swollen. My leg was really message up for the better part of a week. I've decided cave diving isn't for me. This was also the first time we'd ever seen a Cuttle Fish in the wild, they're really amazing looking.
Day Dive #3 - Life Dive #63 @ Triggerfish City, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Time: 1:54pm - 2:35pm = 41 MinutesSurface Interval: 1:09 (Starting Pressure Group: H)
Depth: 46ft (Ending Pressure Group: V)
Temperature:
Surface: 76º
Minimum: 73º
Total dive time to date: 34:54 (2094 Minutes)
Description: Another first, this dive was a drift dive. Basically the boat came to a "stop", I quote that because it wasn't really stopped, it was drifting in the current. We jumped off, swam away from the boat, and the boat took off. We then descended and followed the current around the reef until it dropped us off where the boat had anchored. We saw lots of baby fish, and one of the coolest giant clams ever (see pic). We also swam through another cave, which I would have refused had I realized just how messed up my leg was, but this one was without incident. Saw a sting ray this dive, what would a dive be if the Ray's didn't find a ray?
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September 2, 2010
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #58 @ The Point, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Time: 10:31am - 11:12am = 41 MinutesDepth: 50ft (Ending Pressure Group: M)
Temperature:
Surface: 75º
Minimum: 75º
Total dive time to date: 31:35 (1895 Minutes)
Description: Ahhh, Australia... The Great Barrier Reef. I finally made it! And it was well worth the trip, the warm clear water, an abundance of life, just terrific. All of the dives at the reef were guided tours, normally I hate being with a group and having to follow a dive master, but Chris was an excellent dive master / group leader, never felt rushed, never felt like we were going to slow. Chris would end up being our DM for the first 2 days. This dive we found this huge friendly fish, that seemed to enjoy being petted by divers.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #59 @ Stonehenge, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Time: 12:02pm - 12:44pm = 42 MinutesSurface Interval: 0:50 (Starting Pressure Group: E)
Depth: 46ft (Ending Pressure Group: T)
Temperature:
Surface: 74º
Minimum: 74º
Total dive time to date: 32:17 (1937 Minutes)
Description: This dive we found several things that looked like centipedes that I can't identify, but the highlight was that we found a giant clam, and when I say giant... IT WAS HUGE! OK, there are probably bigger ones out there, but it was the largest shell creature I'd ever seen, it was probably 4' across.
Day Dive #3 - Life Dive #60 @ Nursery Bommie, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Time: 1:57pm - 2:37pm = 40 MinutesSurface Interval: 1:13 (Starting Pressure Group: F)
Depth: 47ft (Ending Pressure Group: U)
Temperature:
Surface: 73º
Minimum: 73º
Total dive time to date: 32:57 (1977 Minutes)
Description: This dive site was basically a pillar of coral sticking straight up, with lots and lots of juvenile fish around it (ie, the name Nursery). We saw thousands of these yellow striped fish, who aren't on our fish edentification card. We also found Nemo's family.
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August 21, 2010
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #56 @ Catalina Island, CA - Casino Point
Time: 3:17pm - 3:52pm = 35 MinutesDepth: 77ft (Ending Pressure Group: R)
Temperature:
Surface: 73º
Minimum: 59º
Total dive time to date: 30:13 (1813 Minutes)
Description: Return to water after 8 months out. The ocean has been rather angry this year, so we haven't done a dive since the Bahamas, haven't done a local dive since October of last year. We dove down to the Kismet ship wreck, saw a reasonably large bat ray, 4 feet or so. And all the usual suspects; bass, garibaldi, sea cucumber, etc.. Tried out my underwater camcorder for the first time.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #57 @ Catalina Island, CA - Casino Point
Time: 5:30pm - 6:11pm = 41 MinutesSurface Interval: 1:38 (Starting Pressure Group: C)
Depth: 53ft (Ending Pressure Group: W)
Temperature:
Surface: 68º
Minimum: 65º
Total dive time to date: 30:54 (1854 Minutes)
Description: Another terrific dive in warm blue water. We saw a wrecked plane, which we were told was left behind after the filming of Jaws 3. And we also found an abandoned shark cage, which we were told was left behind from Mythbusters.
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January 8, 2010
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #54 @ David Tucker Wreck, Nassau, Bahamas
Time: 1:48pm - 2:18pm = 30 MinutesDepth: 60ft (Ending Pressure Group: L)
Temperature:
Surface: 73º
Minimum: 72º
Total dive time to date: 28:58 (1738 Minutes)
Description: Our first dive in international, and warm, ocean water. Totally awesome dive, 75 feet of visibilty in clear blue water. We dove over the David Tucker ship wreck. Apperently named after some Nassau hero.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #55 @ Nari Nari, Nassau, Bahamas
Time: 3:05pm - 3:45pm = 40 MinutesSurface Interval: 1:47 (Starting Pressure Group: B)
Depth: 35ft (Ending Pressure Group: L)
Temperature:
Surface: 73º
Minimum: 72º
Total dive time to date: 29:38 (1778 Minutes)
Description: Another terrific dive in warm blue water. We saw a wrecked plane, which we were told was left behind after the filming of Jaws 3. And we also found an abandoned shark cage, which we were told was left behind from Mythbusters.
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January 5, 2010
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #53 @ Epcot, Disneyworld, Orlando, FL - Living Seas AquariumTime: 5:40pm - 6:20pm = 40 Minutes
Depth: 25ft (Ending Pressure Group: G)
Temperature:
Surface: 78º
Minimum: 78º
Total dive time to date: 28:28 (1708 Minutes)
Description: Another trip to Walt Disney World, and how could we not take another dive in Epcot. Once again perfect conditions, lots of fun. Sadly no cameras allowed. Lots more sharks this time. Amber nearly sadled one up, a big one, like an 8 footer.October 10, 2009
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #52 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Fisherman's Cove
Time: 8:11pm - 8:43pm = 32 MinutesDepth: 24ft (Ending Pressure Group: E)
Temperature:
Surface: 63º
Minimum: 62º
Total dive time to date: 27:48 (1668 Minutes)
Description: Another lobster dive, with consistent luck. Amber worked this day, so she decided not to join us, so it was just Len and I. A good dive, but the only lobsters we found were too small, or already in a lobster cage.
October 3, 2009 
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #51 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Fisherman's Cove
Time: 12:37pm - 1:27pm = 50 MinutesDepth: 36ft (Ending Pressure Group: L)
Temperature:
Surface: 66º
Minimum: 60º
Total dive time to date: 27:16 (1636 Minutes)
Description: Opening night for Lobster Season with the South Orange County Diving Club (SOCDC http://socdc.com/). Our first dive with new Steel High Pressure Tanks. They're really heavy getting down to the water, but the added bottom time is totally worth it. After a 50 minute dive we still had nearly thousand PSI left. Surf was a little rough exiting, and of course we didn't catch any lobsters, but a good dive none the less. Especially for having been out of the water for 3 months.
July 5, 2009
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #49 @ Catalina Island, CA
Time: 4:00pm - 4:32pm = 32 MinutesDepth: 70ft (Ending Pressure Group: P)
Temperature:
Surface: 67º
Minimum: 59º
Total dive time to date: 26:04 (1564 Minutes)
Description: A dive off the Sun Diver Express, kind of like this boat, it leaves in the afternoon. And anybody who dives in the afternoon is alright in my book. Unfortunately the visibility was terrible. And the dive site was basically vacant of life. I don't remember the actual dive site, as this log didn't get written for a long time (see next dive.)
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #50 @ Catalina Island, CA
Time: 6:09pm - 6:31pm = 22 MinutesSurface Interval: 1:37 (Starting Pressure Group: C)
Depth: 77ft (Ending Pressure Group: R+)
Temperature:
Surface: 61º
Minimum: 58º
Total dive time to date: 26:26 (1586 Minutes)
Description: Vis was even worse for this dive. And the water had gotten colder. We exceeded the RDP charts on this dive by a couple of minutes. Our dive computers said we were still good, but at 4 bars. But I was exhausted, and since the vis was so terrible, I made this our last dive. Upon arriving home from this dive we discovered our house had gotten robbed, so our logs (and gear) got neglected for quite a while. 3 days later we cleaned the gear, a couple weeks later we went to get our logs to log our dives, and discovered that my log had gotten wet and molded through and through.
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May 5, 2009
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #48 @ Epcot, Disneyworld, Orlando, FL - Living Seas AquariumTime: 5:30pm - 6:10pm = 40 Minutes
Depth: 25ft (Ending Pressure Group: G)
Temperature:
Surface: 78º
Minimum: 78º
Total dive time to date: 25:32 (1532 Minutes)
Description: After 4 months out of the water, what a way to return. This was the best dive ever. The Epcot Aquarium is full of interesting sea life, the water is super clear and nice and warm. The Mickey Elves hand you your gear once you're already in the water, then the elves take the gear away while you're still in the water, hand you a towell once you walk out of the water, and then take you to nice hot showers when you're done. The only complaint I have is that they won't let you use your own gear. Of course the plus side of that is that you don't have to pack the gear.
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January 18, 2009
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #47 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Heisler ParkTime: 11:51pm - 12:33pm = 42 Minutes
Depth: 34ft (Ending Pressure Group: H)
Temperature:
Surface: 60º
Minimum: 55º
Total dive time to date: 24:52 (1492 Minutes)
Description: Met a second dive group for this dive. They were having a party at Heisler Park. We only stayed for the one dive. We saw a HUGE school of Garibaldi's on this dive, more than we'd seen together on any other dive.
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January 11, 2009
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #46 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Diver's CoveTime: 8:30pm - 9:08pm = 38 Minutes
Depth: 21ft (Ending Pressure Group: G)
Temperature:
Surface: 56º
Minimum: 54º
Total dive time to date: 24:10 (1450 Minutes)
Description: A full day underwater, 24 hours on the nose at the end of this dive. This was a terrific return to dive after a few months out of the water. This was supposed to be a Lobster dive, but I couldn't buy a license, because the dive shop had sold out of them. So of course, we saw a ton of lobsters, most of which were legal size. But we were in a preserve anyways. Didn't take the camera because it was night and supposed to be a lobster dive.October 25, 2008
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #43 @ Anacapa Island, CA - FishbowlTime: 1:18pm - 1:46pm = 28 Minutes
Depth: 57ft (Ending Pressure Group: K)
Temperature:
Surface: 64º
Minimum: 59º
Total dive time to date: 22:42 (1362 Minutes)
Description: A lot of unusual things about this dive. Amber did not join me for this one. It was my first time aboard the Spectre dive boat, which is a nice boat with good food, but it was a really rocky journey, so it's probably for the best that Amber didn't join. And it was my first time to Anacapa. The island itself appears to be deserted, but lots of stuff around the island to see underwater. Also, in the harbor before setting out there was an unusual boat race. Apperently it's a triathalon style race, where the boats have to be able to drive up on to land to continue the race. You can see in the pictures that all the boats do have wheels as well.Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #44 @ Anacapa Island, CA - Parallel Reef
Time: 2:55pm - 3:20pm = 25 Minutes
Surface Interval: 1:09 (Starting Pressure Group: C)
Depth: 50ft (Ending Pressure Group: N)
Temperature:
Surface: 67º
Minimum: 61º
Total dive time to date: 23:07 (1387 Minutes)
Description: The surge started picking up rather strongly this dive. Jay managed to catch a Scallop, he shared some of it with me. Fresh Scallops are the bomb! I can't believe how much better they are when they are that fresh.Day Dive #3 - Life Dive #45 @ Anacapa Island, CA - Underwater Island
Time: 4:55pm - 5:20pm = 25 Minutes
Surface Interval: 1:34 (Starting Pressure Group: B)
Depth: 47ft (Ending Pressure Group: L)
Temperature:
Surface: 64º
Minimum: 61º
Total dive time to date: 23:32 (1412 Minutes)
Description: The surge was unbelievable this dive. When we surfaced we were both totally exhausted. Even the fish weren't out swimming the surge. We had to hold the anchor line for the safety stop. After we got back in the boat, we both decided that even though the boat offered a 4th dive, we were both way too tired to do it.
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October 21, 2008
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #42 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Shaw's CoveTime: 8:45pm - 9:21pm = 36 Minutes
Depth: 31ft (Ending Pressure Group: F)
Temperature:
Surface: 61º
Minimum: 58º
Total dive time to date: 22:14 (1334 Minutes)
Description: Our first Lobster dive of the season. No Lobsters to have. Found a couple of small ones, but none legal size.July 13, 2008
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #41 @ Palos Verdes, CA - Malaga CoveTime: 4:12pm - 4:49pm = 37 Minutes
Depth: 24ft (Ending Pressure Group: G)
Temperature:
Surface: 69º
Minimum: 66º
Total dive time to date: 21:38 (1298 Minutes)
Description: Our first dive in Palos Verdes. This is a place we tried to snorkel once before we got SCUBA certified, but things didn't work out. This was a good dive, we found a sea lion, garibaldi, and an octopus, along with a variety of miscellaneous other things. When we were heading back in, we got separated from one of our party, after searching underwater we couldn't find him, so we surfaced. We proceeded to search on the surface for 30 minutes, then swam in for another 15 minutes. When we were finally in shallow water we found him safe and sound. Just the waves were too rough for us to see each other when we were on the surface. But talk about panicking. We were so exhausted after that ordeal we opted not to do another dive. Not to mention the hike between the beach and the car at this location is a bit brutal, it's a fairly long distance with a fairly steep hill. With the exception of our little problem, this was a good dive, and a nice site that we plan on returning to at some point in the future.
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July 6, 2008
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #38 @ Catalina Island, CA - Casino PointTime: 3:19pm - 3:41pm = 22 Minutes
Depth: 89ft (Ending Pressure Group: N)
Temperature:
Surface: 68º
Minimum: 56º
Total dive time to date: 20:17 (1217 Minutes)
Description: This dive was to the Suejac, a 54' Gaff-rigger Schooner built in 1968, and sunk by crashing into the breakwater during a storm on November 14, 1980. The casino point dive park was extended to include the Suejac. A very nice dive overall.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #39
@ Catalina Island, CA -
Casino Point
Time: 3:54pm - 4:10pm = 16 Minutes
Depth: 43ft (Ending Pressure Group: R)
Temperature:
Surface: 66º
Minimum: 61º
Total dive time to date: 20:33 (1233 Minutes)
Description: This was a short dive, we ended the previous dive because one of us was low on air, the rest of us still had plenty of air, so we got them to shore, then the rest of us decided to use up the rest of our air. We swam out to the Cousteau memorial. So it was a pretty short dive.Day Dive #3 - Life Dive #40
@ Catalina Island, CA -
Casino Point
Time: 6:12pm - 6:40pm = 28 Minutes
Depth: 76ft
Temperature:
Surface: 68º
Minimum: 60º
Total dive time to date: 21:01 (1261 Minutes)
Description: We missed the beach side filling station by 10 minutes, so we had to walk all the way around the harbor to the SCUBA shop on the dock. It was a really long walk to get our tanks filled. And those tanks are heavy. We tried to go down to the glass bottom boat, but we missed it slightly. We found an outboard motor, but no boat to go with it. Then we went over to the Cousteau memorial. Fun was had all around, a worthy trip to Catalina.
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June 28, 2008
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #35 @ Catalina Island, CA - Rock Quarry
Time: 2:52pm - 3:22pm = 30 MinutesDepth: 58ft (Ending Pressure Group: L)
Temperature:
Surface: 72º
Minimum: 59º
Total dive time to date: 18:35 (1115 Minutes)
Description: Our first boat dive in over a year, our first boat dive without an instructor, and only our 2nd dive boat trip ever. It is so much nicer diving off of a boat than a shore dive. You put on your gear, walk 5 feet, and jump in the water. When you do a beach dive, you usually have to walk a long distance with all your gear, almost always involving stairs, down isn't so bad, up is... This was a terrific dive. We saw lots of stuff. Including a shark. I bought a new green water filter for my camera, which I think helped make the colors really pop. Sadly, the deeper you go, the more green there is. So all the shallow pictures are much more colorful. We even had a Garibaldi hang out with us and keep us company during our safety stop during surfacing. The only down part to the dive was the fact that the boat was absolutely full, there wasn't any room to move on the boat.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #36 @ Catalina Island, CA - Between Little Geiger & Eel Cove
Time: 5:19pm - 5:54pm = 35 MinutesDepth: 55ft (Ending Pressure Group: S)
Temperature:
Surface: 71º
Minimum: 61º
Total dive time to date: 19:10 (1150 Minutes)
Description: Another great dive. We spent most of our time in a kelp forest. We found a couple lobsters in a cave. The little beasts knew they were safe because it isn't lobster season. The boat was originally going to stop at another dive site, but the visibility wasn't good, so they moved over to another location. Water was a little bit choppier, but overall not bad.
Day Dive #3 - Life Dive #37 @ Catalina Island, CA - Between Little Geiger & Eel Cove
Time: 8:03pm - 8:48pm = 45 MinutesDepth: 48ft (Ending Pressure Group: S)
Temperature:
Surface: 62º
Minimum: 61º
Total dive time to date: 19:55 (1195 Minutes)
Description: A good night dive. We saw a really cool Round Stingray that we followed around and videoed. We also so a few lobsters crawling around, including a nice big 5-6 pounder. We got a good video of him. For practice I went ahead and grabbed him, being careful not to hurt him. I got him, but when I picked him up to take a picture he escaped. He wouldn't have escaped if I was catching him to eat, because I wouldn't have been gentle, but I didn't want to harm something I was going to set free. He sure was a beauty though, would have fed both of us. Sadly, I got lost in the kelp forest, and ended up surfacing a long way from the boat. There are only 2 kinds of divers, those who have gotten lost underwater, and those who lie. :) A great end to a great day of diving.
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June 7, 2008
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #34 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Diver's Cove
Time: 7:06pm - 7:56pm = 50 MinutesDepth: 21ft (Ending Pressure Group: J)
Temperature:
Surface: 65º
Minimum: 63º
Total dive time to date: 18:05 (1085 Minutes)
Description: A twilight dive with our friend Len. This was Len's first introduction to using a flashlight underwater, so we went with familiar territory. Initially there was a lot of surge, but as we got further from shore it cleared up a bit. We saw some really big bat rays, a few garibaldis, a couple of sea hares, and the usual suspects. Finally managed a pictures of a bat ray as well as some video footage. I also downloaded an application to allow me to show video on the website, so enjoy.
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3 Videos
May 31, 2008
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #33 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Fisherman's Cove
Time: 8:04pm - 8:39pm = 35 MinutesDepth: 27ft (Ending Pressure Group: L)
Temperature:
Surface: 62º
Minimum: 60º
Total dive time to date: 17:15 (1035 Minutes)
Description: A night dive with the South Orange County Diving Club (SOCDC http://socdc.com/). We also had brand new dive lights, a pair of Nite Rider Swiftwater 800's (http://www.niteriderdive.com/). We're very happy with them. The waves at the shore were fairly shallow, but when we were swimming out the ocean got really choppy, like 4-6 foot waves bobbing us up and down. Once we got underwater though it was a good dive. Saw a Moray Eel, and some Sea Hares. Not a terribly long dive, but overall pretty good.
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May 18, 2008
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #32 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Shaw's Cove
Time: 5:43pm - 6:13pm = 30 MinutesDepth: 24ft (Ending Pressure Group: E)
Temperature:
Surface: 68º
Minimum: 59º
Total dive time to date: 16:40 (1000 Minutes)
Description: The dive of problems... First Amber had a free flowing regulator, we got that worked out by cleaning it. Then I had bought a weight belt because of my recent back problems. When I put the belt on I discovered it was a bit big, and it fell to the ground. Hit the beach and the first wave knocked me over. Normally I don't have a problem with waves, but my back just wasn't strong enough yet. I made do and got into the water anyways. Once we were down the clip on my camera got hooked on something and came undone, luckily it's got 2 and didn't flood, but it was just typical of the dive. It was kind of a short dive because Amber lost more air than she had realized from her reg when we were setting up. But over all it was a decent dive. Didn't see much, didn't get many pictures, but still a lot of fun.
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April 12, 2008
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #31 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Wood's Cove
Time: 11:44am - 12:15pm = 31 MinutesDepth: 57ft (Ending Pressure Group: L)
Temperature:
Surface: 57º
Minimum: 53º
Total dive time to date: 16:10 (970 Minutes)
Description: Today I decided to go diving with the South Orange County Diving Club (SOCDC http://socdc.com/), a club that I joined the previous week. Sadly, we sort of got lost, and didn't find the reef we were looking for. *sigh* But there are 2 kinds of SCUBA divers in the world, those who have gotten lost, and those who lie. *grin* We did find a really small ... I'm reluctant to call it a reef, more of a rock ... that had a crevice with an octopus in it. And then during the swim in we saw some dolphins in the distance. Dolphins make the whole thing worthwhile to me. Sadly, the picture didn't turn out so good, but you can see that for yourself. It was also good to meet new people to dive with. This may become a regular thing. And of course, going to a new location is always kind of cool. Next time, we'll find the reef... Oh yeah, and they even had a little stamp to stamp in my dive journal, see a scan of it above.
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April 9, 2008
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #29 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Diver's Cove
Time: 12:31pm - 1:07pm = 36 MinutesDepth: 27ft (Ending Pressure Group: F)
Temperature:
Surface: 61º
Minimum: 56º
Total dive time to date: 14:55 (895 Minutes)
Description: My first dive without Amber. My first dive with Len, who got certified 2 days earlier, and this was his first dive without his instructor present (although this was his 2nd dive as a certified open water diver.) We were also joined by Jeff & Mike. The surf was nice and calm, but the as we got out to the deep water it became choppy. The visibility sucked. We kept losing one or more of our dive buddies. We had to surface twice because of not being able to find them, 2nd time we just stayed up because I was low on air. Other than that, it was a good dive. Saw my first Jellyfish.
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Surface Interval: 1:08 (Starting Pressure Group: B)
Depth: 38ft (Ending Pressure Group: N)
Temperature:Air: 74ºAir = Start: 2948psi, End: 654psi, Used: 2384psi
Surface: 60º
Minimum: 55º
Description: We moved over to Shaw's Cove this dive because of how bad the visibility was at Diver's Cove. The visibility was much better, but still not good. At least we didn't keep losing members of our group this dive. Got to see an Octopus, and an Eel, and hung out with Shelly a bit. And of course we saw all the usual suspects.
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40 Images
March 9, 2008
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #28 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Shaw's Cove
Time: 6:49pm - 7:19pm = 30 MinutesDepth: 47ft (Ending Pressure Group: I)
Temperature:
Surface: 57º
Minimum: 54º
Total dive time to date: 14:19 (859 Minutes)
Description: Our last lobster dive of the season. This was a dusk dive, and as expected, we didn't see a single lobster. There was a terrific sunset when we surfaced, lots of sights to see while while we were down. Oh well, only 7 more months till the next lobster season starts.
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15 Images
January 2, 2008
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #27 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Shaw's Cove
Depth: 35ft (Ending Pressure Group: F)
Temperature:
Surface: 54º
Minimum: 54º
Total dive time to date: 13:49 (829 Minutes)
Description: A night dive (not for lobster as our licenses had expired on 12/31), with our buddy Jeff. Jeff told us about "Shelly of Shaw's". Apparently some unknown person(s) put a statue in the ocean at about 35' depth, just for the divers. I tried looking on Google, and could find no reference to who actually put it there. But it's kind of cool. We also saw an eel and an octopus on this dive, as well as the usual night critters. Unlike other night dives, I actually managed to get some reasonable pictures. Our first dive of the new year was a pretty good one. It'll be a while till we blow bubbles again as our gear had to go in for maintenence after this dive.
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16 Images
November 4, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #26 @ Corona Del Mar, CA - Inspiration Point
Time: 6:58pm - 7:39pm = 41 MinutesDepth: 27ft (Ending Pressure Group: H)
Temperature:
Surface: 61º
Minimum: 60º
Total dive time to date: 13:14 (794 Minutes)
Description: Another lobster dive, another day of going hungry... We tried a new location with this dive, we meant to get their during daylight, but fate was against us, and it was already dark by time we got to the water. We didn't see any until we were heading back in, and we finally saw a fair sized lobster, and went ahead and made a grab for him, but he was a tad too quick, I felt him brush my finger tips. We saw some impressive things on this dive, a giant slug that I think is called a Sea Hare, that was about 2-2½ feet long, it was huge. I also saw an Octopus in a hole. And I saw a squid swimming frantically away from me. I couldn't judge the size of the octopus because of him being so well hidden. The squid was about 9 inches long, it was kind of small. We took our camera but all the pictures were completely blurred, and you can't identify anything, so I didn't bother posting them.
No pictures available.
October 12, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #24 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Shaw's Cove
Time: 8:54pm - 9:21pm = 27 MinutesDepth: 22ft (Ending Pressure Group: D)
Temperature:
Surface: 60º
Minimum: 58º
Total dive time to date: 12:21 (741 Minutes)
Description: Another lobster dive, another day of going hungry... Saw a single small lobster, tried to catch him (even though he was too small and we'd release him), but grabbed nothing but water. He was quick, and he went the wrong way. Lobster are supposed to swim backwards, but this one did a somersault and went forward. He cheated. Found a huge field of Sand Dollars. We had our camera on this dive, but none of the pictures came out. We ended this dive early because I couldn't equalize, we stayed on the surface for a while, and then did a 2nd dive.- Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #25 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Shaw's Cove
Surface Interval: 0:08 (Starting Pressure Group: C)
Depth: 17ft (Ending Pressure Group: G)
Temperature:
Surface: 58º
Minimum: 58º
Total dive time to date: 12:33 (753 Minutes)
Description: I probably would have called this the same dive as the last one, but our computers called it 2 dives, and we want to keep our journal in sync with our computer, and we were on the surface long enough to change pressure groups. This was a fairly boring dive, but at least we didn't have to swim back to shore on the surface.No pictures available.
October 9, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #23 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Shaw's Cove
Time: 9:37pm - 10:09pm = 32 MinutesDepth: 38ft (Ending Pressure Group: G)
Temperature:
Surface: 61º
Minimum: 58º
Total dive time to date: 11:54 (714 Minutes)
Description: Our first solo lobster dive, and first one of the season. Not only did we not manage to catch any lobsters, but we didn't even see any to fail at catching. Our friend "Spike" (the sea lion [see previous entry]) followed us around again, and had an excellent dinner selection on us. Besides the fact that we didn't catch any lobsters, this was one of our best dives. We saw lots of stuff, including our very first "wild" shark. Sadly, I didn't bring our camera because of how poorly the last set of night pictures turned out, so I don't have a picture of the shark. But it was a California horn shark, which you can see a picture of HERE if you're so inclined. It was a little under 3 feet long, so a reasonable specimen.
No pictures available.
September 13, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #22 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Diver's Cove
Time: 9:56pm - 10:25pm = 29 MinutesDepth: 17ft (Ending Pressure Group: D)
Temperature:
Surface: 57º
Minimum: 55º
Total dive time to date: 11:22 (682 Minutes)
Description: First night dive "on our own". This dive was to practice for lobster season. Met a friendly, but kind of hyper, sea lion. She liked to eat the fish we lit up with our flashlights. Every time we'd light up something with our flashlights, it would swim over to decide if it looked tasty, and if it did, it would gobble it up. It was like a cat chasing our flashlights. The wife has named her "Spike", as we didn't know she was female when she came up with the name, but decided the name should stay. We saw a huge lobster who seemed to know it wasn't lobster season, because it made no effort at all to get away from us. (Underwater photography is really hard at night, sorry for how few, and how bad the pictures are.)
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12 Images
July 15, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #21 @ Laguna Beach, CA - North Crescent Bay
Time: 5:20pm - 5:56pm = 36 MinutesDepth: 24ft (Ending Pressure Group: F)
Temperature:
Surface: 68º
Minimum: 64º
Total dive time to date: 10:53 (653 Minutes)
Description: Our first dive at North Crescent Bay. Unfortunately I had thought that the camera was fully charged, and I discovered after only 33 pictures that I was mistaken. This was a good place to dive to see lots of stuff, but unfortunately this bay has a lot of shallow area, and the current is really strong in the shallows. We wanted to swim out to Seal Rock, but the current was so strong we just got exhausted trying. It was also difficult keeping orientation because the current would turn you. This was the first time I ever had to constantly keep track of my compass heading to know where I was. We saw a bat ray again, and of course we didn't see him until after the camera battery had already died. Not sure how often we'll go to this beach, as the parking here was the worst of any site we've ever done.
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21 Images
June 22, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #19 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Diver's Cove
Time: 3:27pm - 3:56pm = 29 MinutesDepth: 16ft (Ending Pressure Group: D)
Temperature:
Surface: 70º
Minimum: 63º
Total dive time to date: 9:28 (568 Minutes)
Description: Over 2½ months since our last dive... My gills were starting to give out... It was good to be back in the water. The ocean has been inhospitable for a long time due to big waves, followed by red tide, followed by medium but formidable waves. This was our first chance to blow bubbles since March. Amber got a new wet suit, which unfortunately was more buoyant than the last, so she was floating too much to dive at the beginning. So I got to do what most husbands only dream of doing, I had to push my wife to the bottom of the ocean and hold her there... :) After this didn't work so well, I moved some of my weights on to her, and then spent most of my dive inverted swimming downward to keep myself at the bottom. I finally saw my first glimpse of an octopus, unfortunately the instant he saw me he disappeared into his cave not to be seen again. I also swam over some kelp and was startled by 2 huge bat rays, but apparently I startled them too, because they also vanished within the blink of an eye. I didn't manage a picture of either the octopus or the bat rays. Oh well, I got to see them, and I finally got to blow bubbles again. This was also the warmest dive we've ever done, it sure is nicer when you're not worried about being cold. When we first entered the water there were some children in the surf scaring themselves because they were convinced there was a shark swimming nearby. I dove under to get a picture, turned out to be a bass, a big one, about a foot long, but a bass none the less. But the kids seemed to be having fun being scared of it, so I didn't ruin it for them. :) The lifeguard was only 20' away, and he didn't seem worried.Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #20 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Diver's Cove
Time: 5:08pm - 5:57pm = 49 MinutesSurface Interval: 1:12 (Starting Pressure Group: B)
Depth: 15ft (Ending Pressure Group: N)
Temperature:
Surface: 69º
Minimum: 66º
Total dive time to date: 10:17 (617 Minutes)
Description: We discovered some new underwater formations during this dive. Even though we've swam here many time before we found some new stuff in the shallows. We spent most of our time in the 6'-8' depth during this dive and found lots of things to look at. I came across another bat ray this dive, thought it was coral and was swimming toward the dark shape and all the sudden it moved, scared the heck out of me. Once again he was gone in the blink of an eye, and that was the last we saw of him.
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42 images
March 31, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #17 @ Catalina Island, CA - Casino PointDepth: 66ft (Ending Pressure Group: K)
Temperature:
Surface: 62º
Minimum: 56º
Total dive time to date: 8:28 (508 Minutes)
Description: We went to see the wrecks this dive. We started out seeing a wreck of a glass bottom boat, and then swam over and saw the wreck of a sail boat. When we started heading in we stopped to see the plaque dedicated to Jacques Cousteau. This dive was with our friend Jay, he's the one that found the plaque, I'm not sure I could have found it even with a map. Entering the water here during low tide can be... interesting. Hopefully some day we'll get to dive here during high tide.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #18 @ Catalina Island, CA - Casino Point
Time: 4:20pm - 4:51pm = 31 MinutesSurface Interval: 1:08 (Starting Pressure Group: C)
Depth: 33ft (Ending Pressure Group: K)
Temperature:
Surface: 58º
Minimum: 57º
Total dive time to date: 8:59 (539 Minutes)
Description: This was just a "shortish" shallow dive before heading off to dinner.We just stayed near the shore and swam out along it just to see what we could see. Saw more Sheephead, Garibaldi, a Crab, and various other common fish. We saw a juvenile Garibaldi, they have these blue spots on their backs, a really vibrant and bright blue coloring.
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82 Images
March 11, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #15 @ Catalina Island, CA - Casino Point
Time: 12:34pm - 12:55pm = 21 Minutes
Depth: 67ft (Ending Pressure Group: I)Temperature:
Surface: 72º
Minimum: 55º
Total dive time to date: 7:31 (451 Minutes)
Description: Our first "beach" dive from Catalina Island's Casino Point. What a terrific place to dive. The reason "beach" is in quotes is because it's not really a beach, it's more of a rocky shore, but it has steps into the water. Unfortunately at low tide the rocks are right at the surface, making it really hard to get into and out of the water. I hurt my ankle and knees on the rocks. There are all kinds of boats that have been sunk to make natural reefs. This was our 4th Advanced Open Water Dive. This dive focused on ship wrecks. We saw a ton of fish, crabs, and various things that live on reefs. This is one of the things I've always wanted to do, make a dive to see ship wrecks.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #16 @ Catalina Island, CA - Casino Point
Time: 2:04pm - 2:37pm = 33 Minutes
Surface Interval: 1:08 (Starting Pressure Group: B)Depth: 36ft (Ending Pressure Group: L)
Temperature:
Surface: 70º
Minimum: 56º
Total dive time to date: 8:04 (484 Minutes)
Description: Our 5th and final dive for our Advanced Open Water certification. This dive was focused on "Peak Buoyancy Proficiency". Basically it means we learned to swim good. :) We also rebalanced our weights to make us more efficient. And learned to control our depth using our breathing. We're now certified as Advanced Open Water Divers. We saw a huge variety of fish and critters growing on the bottom. This is certainly a place I'll be coming to again, but preferably at high tide...
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59 Images
March 10, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #12 @ Catalina Island, CA - Isthmus Cove
Time: 2:46pm - 3:06pm = 20 Minutes
Depth: 92ft (Ending Pressure Group: O)Temperature:
Surface: 65º
Minimum: 54º
Total dive time to date: 6:10 (370 Minutes)
Description: Our first Advanced Open Water dive. This dive was our "Deep Dive". It was also our first dive at Catalina, and our first dive off of a boat. I have to say, I don't like deep dives. It gets really cold down there, and your wet suit compresses so it doesn't keep you as warm as it does in shallower water. You also go through your air really fast. We had wanted to go all the way to 100 feet, but air consumption stopped us at 92 feet. As much as I didn't like the deep dive, I'm glad I'm trained for it, because there are some really cool stuff in deep water. For the most part I'll avoid it, but when there's something cool down there I'll probably do it again. On the other hand, we really liked the scenery down to about 70ish feet, Catalina is a great place to dive. Where we were the scenery pretty much ran out at about 70 feet or so. So the 90 feet area was pretty much just sand. The other thing I really liked was boat diving. Since this was our very first boat dive we were a little nervous, when you look over the boat and say "Gee, it's a long way down to the water." But once you get over that, it's nice to put on your gear, walk 5 feet, and be in the big blue. No lugging your gear for 100's of feet and walking through a rough surf. Getting out is a bit of effort, but the guys on the boat help you every step of the way. The boat we were on is called "The Magician", and I really enjoyed it. It's a pretty nice boat, the food was good, and the crew was very helpful and friendly, and they knew the good spots to "park."
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #13 @ Catalina Island, CA - Crane Point
Time: 4:29pm - 4:55pm = 26 Minutes
Surface Interval: 1:23 (Starting Pressure Group: C)Depth: 48ft (Ending Pressure Group: N)
Temperature:
Surface: 58º
Minimum: 55º
Total dive time to date: 6:36 (396 Minutes)
Description: Our second Advanced Open Water dive. This dive was working on the Underwater Navigation Proficiency. This dive took place pretty close to dusk, and it was around cliffs, so it was a bit dark, not too bad. Didn't use lights. Once again, Catalina is an awesome place to dive. There was so much stuff swimming around, and a ton of vegetation and rock fish. This was just a fun dive. Sure we worked on skills, but I've always been good with a compass, so the skills were really easy for me. For the most part, I just enjoyed this dive. Unlucky #13 went by without a hitch.Time: 6:31pm - 7:05pm = 34 Minutes
Surface Interval: 1:36 (Starting Pressure Group: B)Depth: 28ft (Ending Pressure Group: K)
Temperature:
Surface: 55º
Minimum: 55º
Total dive time to date: 7:10 (430 Minutes)
Description: Now this was the nervous dive... Our very first Night Dive, which was our third Advanced Open Water dive. Our instructor said it was called at a place called Lava Point, but I couldn't find that on a dive map of Catalina, looking at the map I think we may have been at Rippers Cove, but since I wasn't driving I'm not sure where we were. You have to have some trepidation when you're looking into the dark, really dark, almost black, water and pulling out your flashlight and taking the plunge. It's unbelievably dark underwater. You do everything by flashlight. There weren't many skills to practice on this dive, we got all of those done in just a couple of minutes. So then we went lobster hunting. The lobsters pretty much only come out at night, so if you're going to go lobster hunting, plan on doing it in the dark. I've heard plenty of tales of people not getting a single catch in their first year of hunting. I however actually managed to catch one on my first dive (2nd attempt, the first attempt I caught water and wake, they're quick.) Sadly, the one I caught was just a tad shy of legal, so we let him go, no harm no foul. Thankfully our instructor was much better than we were at it, and he caught 3 of them, and was kind enough to share so there was one for each of us. While my wife didn't manage to catch one, she did prove to be quite good at spotting them. This dive was just fun. The challenge of the hunt, the slight apprehension because of the darkness, all added up to make it a really exciting dive. We have another week of Lobster season still, hopefully I'll manage to catch some before the end of the season. But whether we do or not, we'll be looking forward to next season.-
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17 Images
February 24, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #10 - @ Laguna Beach, CA - Shaw's Cove
Time: 3:34pm - 4:07pm = 33 Minutes
Depth: 31ft (Ending Pressure Group: F)Temperature:
Surface: 59º
Minimum: 56º
Total dive time to date: 5:14 (314 Minutes)
Description: Shaw's Cove was the place we did our very first Open Water dive during our classes. This is our first return since that day. We've tried to go before, but the parking isn't terribly optimal, and we ended up at Diver's cove which is rather close with significantly better parking. This dive I decided to shoot video rather than just take pictures. Video is even harder to get right, because of all the motion of the water, it ends up making everything look shaky. We found a huge dead crab, about 3' across, he has become snail food now. We also saw lots of fish. We took some frozen peas with us to feed the fish, and they swarmed us once we started feeding them. Saw lots of Garibaldis, Blacksmiths, Opal Eyes, and Sea Stars.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #11 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Shaw's Cove
Time: 5:12pm - 5:48pm = 36 Minutes
Surface Interval: 1:05 (Starting Pressure Group: B)Depth: 38ft (Ending Pressure Group: M)
Temperature:
Surface: 57º
Minimum: 56º
Total dive time to date: 5:50 (350 Minutes)
Description: Our very first twilight dive. The sun was about to set when we dove, and was set by time we surfaced. It was still light, but only just barely. We made use of our flashlights on this dive. Saw another huge dead crab, with stuff living in the carcass. We fed some more peas to the fish. Saw lots of Garibaldis, Blacksmiths, Opal Eyes, and Sea Stars.
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50 Images
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6 Videos
February 10, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #9 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Diver's Cove
Time: 2:59pm - 3:41pm = 42 Minutes
Depth: 18ft (Ending Pressure Group: H)Temperature:
Surface: 59º
Minimum: 57º
Total dive time to date: 4:41 (281 Minutes)
Description: This was our first trip back to Diver's Cove, this was the place we did the majority of our snorkeling at. Back in the snorkeling days, we commonly saw a family of Bat Ray's. They were like 1'-2' last summer. They grew up during the winter. They were like 4'-5' across and pushing 6' long. We kept our distance, which means we didn't get any good pictures, only 1 of them came out at all. Also the underwater landscape changed drastically over the winter. Back when we were snorkeling last summer the area was mostly sandy with occasional rocks and kelp. Now the area is mostly rocky, almost no sandy areas at all, and kelp is growing everywhere. But it also means that there are an abundance of life that has moved into the area. Tons of fish are swimming all around the kelp and rocks, and of course the bat rays. This was the very first dive we've ever made that we didn't actually see any crabs, but this dive had more variety and abundance of fish than we had ever seen before.
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49 Images
February 4, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #7 @ Redondo Beach, CA - Veterans Park
Time: 1:32pm - 2:06pm = 34 Minutes
Depth: 41ft (Ending Pressure Group: J)Temperature:
Surface: 62º
Minimum: 56º
Total dive time to date: 3:36 (216 Minutes)
Description: This was the day of firsts when it came to diving. It was our first dive outside of Orange County (Redondo is in LA County). It was our first dive with someone other than just the 2 of us since we finished our classes, our buddy Jeff joined us (He is a very experienced diver, and he helped us learn a lot.) It was our first time in "deep(ish)" waters, we had never gone below 22' before. We saw a lot of Squid eggs, some pretty big Sea Stars, quite a few Crabs, some Sea Pens, tons of Sea Dollars.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #8 @ Redondo Beach, CA - Veterans Park
Time: 3:14pm - 3:37pm = 23 Minutes
Surface Interval: 1:08 (Starting Pressure Group: C)Depth: 63ft (Ending Pressure Group: O)
Temperature:
Surface: 62º
Minimum: 56º
Total dive time to date: 3:59 (239 Minutes)
Description: Even more firsts. This was the first time since being certified that we made a 2nd dive in a single day. All the other times we went out we only did one dive because of being cold, or because of losing light (we just never get up early enough, can't wait till summer when the light lasts longer.) This was also the first time diving to the depths of our certification, we're certified to 60' and this dive we actually went down to 63'. A strange thing happened during this dive, about 5 minutes into the dive all the light suddenly got a red tinge. My personal opinion is that something nearby (with red blood) got eaten. It cleared up after just a couple of minutes, although it may have been because we swam out of it. We did not see anything that would have explained why that happened. For all we know it could have just been some smoke / clouds blocking the light above the surface, but it was kind of eery seeing everything turn red. We mostly saw the same things as the first dive of the day, but when we saw squid eggs on this dive, they were just blanketing the ground, there were literally thousands of them all over the place. I call this dive the circle of life dive, we saw the red which probably meant life ending, we saw the eggs which means new life about to begin, and we saw 2 crabs making crablettes, meaning... well, even more new life about to begin.
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56 Images
January 27, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #6 @ Corona Del Mar, CA - Main Beach
Time: 1:43pm - 2:25pm = 42 Minutes
Depth: 16ft (Ending Pressure Group: H)Temperature:
Surface: 60º
Minimum: 56º
Total dive time to date: 3:02 (182 Minutes)
Description: This dive had terrible visibility. But even with the poor visibility we saw some Garibaldis, Crabs, Clams, Bass, and a few Anchovy. The poor visibility did not help with the picture taking.
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19 Images
January 21, 2007
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #5 @ Corona Del Mar, CA - Main Beach
Time: 3:47pm - 4:30pm = 43 Minutes
Depth: 14ft (Ending Pressure Group: H)Temperature:
Surface: 59º
Minimum: 56º
Total dive time to date: 2:20 (140 Minutes)
Description: This was our first certified dive. So there was some trepidation about things. We saw a lots of Crabs, lots of Garibaldis, a fairly large Sea Star. This was the first time using the camera under water, 2/3rds of the photos were just deleted because they were unidentifiable. I clearly need more practice with the underwater pictures.
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22 Images
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This set does not have descriptions.
December 10, 2006
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #3 @ Corona Del Mar, CA - Main Beach
Time: 9:50am - 10:15am = 25 minutes.
Depth: 22ft (Ending Pressure Group: C)Temperature:
Surface: 60º
Minimum: 59º
Total dive time to date: 1:22 (82 Minutes)
Description: (Description written 4 months later.) One of our worst dives we've ever been on. (This statement was written 4 months later.) This started our final day of getting our Open Water certification. But it was pretty miserable. Visibility was 5-10'. When we did our navigation skills, nobody could find the marker under water. We all got "close enough." The water was cold (it felt colder than our computer said it was), and the air was even colder. The weather was visibly getting worse throughout our dive. We all completed all of our skills we needed to for this dive, but that's about all. If this would have been our first dive, I don't know that we would have finished.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #4 @ Corona Del Mar, CA - Main Beach
Time: 10:25am - 10:40am = 15 minutes.
Surface Interval: 0:10 (Starting Pressure Group: C)Depth: 19ft (Ending Pressure Group: G)
Temperature:
Surface: 60º
Minimum: 59º
Total dive time to date: 1:37 (97 Minutes)
Description: (Description written 4 months later.) Our final dive for our Open Water certification.We took a really short surface interval on this dive, which was fine because of how shallow the previous dive was. The weather was starting to get really bad. So we did what we needed to do to finish the Open Water course as quickly as we could. But we finished it all, and got certified, we're now officially Open Water SCUBA Divers.
No pictures available.
December 2, 2006
Day Dive #1 - Life Dive #1 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Shaw's Cove
Time: 8:35am - 9:01am = 26 minutes.
Depth: 23ft (Ending Pressure Group: D)Temperature:
Surface: 60º
Minimum: 60º
Total dive time to date: 0:26 (26 Minutes)
Description: (Description written 4 months later.) Our first dive in the ocean, and it was exciting. A bit of nervousness. A little trouble getting through the surf with all that gear on. Did our basic skills. I HATE taking my mask off underwater. Good thing I learned to do it though, since my mask actually got kicked off on my first dive after getting certified. Spent about half the dive doing skills, then the 2nd half of the dive was for fun, got to explore. Saw some Garibaldi and a Crab.
Day Dive #2 - Life Dive #2 @ Laguna Beach, CA - Shaw's Cove
Time: 10:23am - 10:54am = 31 minutes.
Surface Interval: 1:22 (Starting Pressure Group: A)Depth: 22ft (Ending Pressure Group: H)
Temperature:
Surface: 60º
Minimum: 60º
Total dive time to date: 0:57 (57 Minutes)
Description: (Description written 4 months later.) Our second ocean dive. A little tired from our first dive, but excited to get back in again. Saw another crab and a flat fish that one of the other divers said was a guitar fish. Once again spent half the dive doing skills, and the other half just exploring. When we came out of the water on this dive was when I realized just how tired I was from all this activity. We couldn't make it all the way back to the car without stopping and resting for a while. And oh boy did I hurt the next day.
No pictures available.
Last updated: May 15, 2011
E-mail me at: dive@pyaray.com
Visits since April 10, 2008