doriopsilla
11-13-2008, 10:36 AM
Wednesday Night Scripps Canyon Dive Report
All:
Seven of us did Scripps Canyon the easier way last night. None came away disappointed, as always. The founder of DLAM was in town too, and it is always a special treat to dive in his presence. The Badger, apparently, was grumpy and did not dive.
I have lost my diving edge, I fear. I was the last one to gear up, and I wasn't even in a drysuit. Everyone else was down on the beach while I was still up on the hill. On the other hand, I take pretty big steps when I walk, and caught up to me buddy before we got to the kick-out point. There was no surf to speak of... well, there was some surf, but in the light of the full moon it was easy to see if you paid attention, and not very big or powerful.
After I got my fins on and was reaching for my gloves and light, I found I had a third fin in my bag. I then realized, while feeling my stomach drop, that I still have Kim's fins in my bag from the dive Saturday - one of them, anyway. Great! I must have pulled the other out when I was getting my fins, and it floated away. Lovely! We pressed on to the drop site, which is darn hard to find at night with no buoy. I have a spare buoy that needs only a little more fixing up, then I can drag it out there and attach it. Last night, though, we took advantage of another buddy-pair's bubbles to locate the canyon, and dropped into the South branch, almost exactly where we wanted to be.
The water was noticably colder, and I started to pin for my drysuit. I think next time I will be using it. On the other hand, the vis seemed pretty good. I don't know if that was from the helium in my tank, or if it was just good last night. In any event, I must say that I am much more aware of my surroundings when using helitrox instead of air or nitrox.
We hit the end of the South branch, and I went over the lip of what we used to call the Narc Launch. The South branch plays out into the Sumner branch at about 135 feet. In the old days when we did deep air dives we used to stop there then plunge over the side to seek our narcossis. Now, not so much, but it is still a nice feature. We moved north through Cleridy's Hole, then west, and north again along the wall. The Echidna found an octopus, and later I found a few swell sharks. I did not find any legal lobster, though.
After we cleared our deco, we separated. I wanted to go south in the hope of finding my lost fin. I figured I had two changes - slim and none - of finding it, but I have gotten lucky before. Not last night, though.
Later, when I was cleaning my gear, I found the "missing" fin in the back of my truck. Huh.
George
All:
Seven of us did Scripps Canyon the easier way last night. None came away disappointed, as always. The founder of DLAM was in town too, and it is always a special treat to dive in his presence. The Badger, apparently, was grumpy and did not dive.
I have lost my diving edge, I fear. I was the last one to gear up, and I wasn't even in a drysuit. Everyone else was down on the beach while I was still up on the hill. On the other hand, I take pretty big steps when I walk, and caught up to me buddy before we got to the kick-out point. There was no surf to speak of... well, there was some surf, but in the light of the full moon it was easy to see if you paid attention, and not very big or powerful.
After I got my fins on and was reaching for my gloves and light, I found I had a third fin in my bag. I then realized, while feeling my stomach drop, that I still have Kim's fins in my bag from the dive Saturday - one of them, anyway. Great! I must have pulled the other out when I was getting my fins, and it floated away. Lovely! We pressed on to the drop site, which is darn hard to find at night with no buoy. I have a spare buoy that needs only a little more fixing up, then I can drag it out there and attach it. Last night, though, we took advantage of another buddy-pair's bubbles to locate the canyon, and dropped into the South branch, almost exactly where we wanted to be.
The water was noticably colder, and I started to pin for my drysuit. I think next time I will be using it. On the other hand, the vis seemed pretty good. I don't know if that was from the helium in my tank, or if it was just good last night. In any event, I must say that I am much more aware of my surroundings when using helitrox instead of air or nitrox.
We hit the end of the South branch, and I went over the lip of what we used to call the Narc Launch. The South branch plays out into the Sumner branch at about 135 feet. In the old days when we did deep air dives we used to stop there then plunge over the side to seek our narcossis. Now, not so much, but it is still a nice feature. We moved north through Cleridy's Hole, then west, and north again along the wall. The Echidna found an octopus, and later I found a few swell sharks. I did not find any legal lobster, though.
After we cleared our deco, we separated. I wanted to go south in the hope of finding my lost fin. I figured I had two changes - slim and none - of finding it, but I have gotten lucky before. Not last night, though.
Later, when I was cleaning my gear, I found the "missing" fin in the back of my truck. Huh.
George