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December 23rd, 2005, 03:52 AM
| #1 (permalink) |
| New Member  Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 708
  | San Clemente Island And Farnsworth Banks (Los Angeles, March 2005) We had planned a two day trip aboard the Sundiver (http://www.sundiver.net) The boat usually holds around 24 people for a day trip, but due to the bunk layout, is limited to 11 or so (unless you don't mind sharing a bunk with a wooly-mammoth of a dive buddy). On this trip though, we were blessed with a light load (8 people, 3 of whom cancelled!) San Clemente is home to some of the best diving off Southern California, with visibility often exceeding 100ft. Unfortunately it's also home to the U.S. Navy that like to shoot live ordnance at it...which means that it's often off limits to divers, and you cannot set foot on the Island (not that there's much on the Island worth seeing!) Day 1: San Clemente We awoke at around 6am to be greeted by an ominous gloomy cloud-filled sky, and an even more ominous black cliff looking over us. I was already wonering what the heck I was doing...We couldn't possibly be diving here, could we? The answer was ... kinda. We had holed up (at Fish Hook I think) for breakfast, and Captain Ray soon moved the boat to our first dive site, a short distance away. The water looked inky black and I was wondering when the punchline was due to come... Prior to the trip I had a total of 26 dives, so this was a big deal for me... Dive 1: Net Rock Max Depth: 121 feet (ulp!) Average Depth: 69 feet Dive Time: 29 mins So, this was my first time below 100, 110 and (ouch) 120. I guess you could say I ought to have known better, and I dont have a lot in my defense on that one. Gas was air (as I was not yet certified for Nitrox) The dive was amazing. Despite the dark appearance of the water, we easily had 50 feet of visibility, huge kelp beds rising up from distant cliffs. We briefly dipped down to 120 feet to inspect a small cave-like structure (no, we did not go in), and had the great fortune to see a stingray swimming along below us. Fantastic. Dive 2: BB Wreck Max Depth: 71 feet Average Depth: 41 feet Dive Time: 47 mins This site is home to a shipwreck, but it was way too deep for me (somewhere over 130). Instead, our team ran along a wall, playing in and out of the kelp beds, which seem much thicker on San Clemente than anywhere else. We spotted a bat ray sleeping on the bottom. I managed to get a couple of OK-ish photos before it took off. These things never cease to amaze me. Dive 3: 11 Fathoms Sadly, we had to abort this dive as my buddy called it due to current. This was my one disappointment of the weekend, but following the rule of "anyone can call any dive at any time for any or no reason," we surfaced and made our way back to the boat. I believe there is a huge underwater arch at this site (although I also think there are multiple sites with the same name). The reason I was disappointed at losing this one was when someone asked how to get back to the boat, and the Captain pointed out over the side (I'm sure there's a technical name for that) and laughed -- you could see the bottom 80 feet down and divers already moving along it. Dive 4: East End Wall Max Depth: 70 Average Depth: 46 Dive Time: 32 mins Similar to dive 2. Plenty of fish life, amazing kelp, amazing visibility Dive 5: Not sure the official name, but I gave it "Mud Cove" Max Depth: 30 feet Average Depth: 20-30 Dive Time: 33 mins This was my "official" Drysuit training dive (yes, yes, I guess I *was* wearing my non-DIR thick wetsuit in the prior dives -- maybe I died and didn't realize it yet  The training consisted of a few pointers on how to dump air, how much air to put in, and procedures for recovering from "floaty feet" -- which due to the construction of the suit, I was to have in abundance... I took the plunge from the boat and ... amazing .. I wasn't wet at all. Unfortunately, the suit was bought used (unless you *really* are a stock size, NOT recommended and fit somehow baggy around the shoulders, tight against the (ever-expanding) middle, tight around the crotch and baggy on the legs (but at least it was a Tri-lamintate suit, so the DIR police dont need to be notified -- joke joke )Sadly the boots are huge rubber ones, that have a very narrow opening into the suit. So you cant wear thick socks, but the inside of the boot is huge and likes to trap air -- well, after this dive I was kinda getting the hang of things, but my legs hurt like heck finning down those boots (I actually dived it again the other night, 100 dives later and now I can handle it, but still less than optimal) Dive 6: East End Wall (night dive) Max Depth: 74 feet Average Depth: 42 feet Dive Time: 45 mins My second ever night dive ... During this dive, I managed to prevent my floaty feet problem by putting almost no air in the suit. We saw plenty of lobster, and lighting up the structure on the bottom with HID lights was amazing. Day 2: Farnsworth Banks. What a treat ... Farnsworth is top of a lot of peoples list for diving in this area. It's on the windward side of Catalina Island, and a way off shore, so it's rarely divable. Farnsworth is Basically a set of Pinnacles that start around 75 feet deep. I believe you can get to over 200 there pretty easilt (see map) This site is home to huge amounts of wildlife -- stingrays, torpedo rays, ling cod, tuna. And its one of the few sites where you can still see purple hydrocoral. Dive 1: Farnsworth Banks Max Depth: 86 feet Average Depth: 62 feet Dive Time: 22 mins (OK, so I was a hoover back then We descended onto a pinnacle that comes up to 75 or so feet. We saw plenty of ling cod (avoiding the 6 or so fishing boats anchored up nearby), and tons of yellowfin tuna. it was an eerie experience as the pinnacle is draped in old fishing nets and broken off anchor lines -- looks like a scene from some kind of Pirate movie. Dive 2: Farnsworth Banks Max Depth: 63 feet Average Depth: 54 feet Dive Time: 32 mins We took it easier on this dive. Captain Ray had found us a shallower pinnacle (we opted for 2 dives on Farnsworth as it's so rarely divable). We circled around the pinnacle, letting the slight surge move us back and forth gently before making a slow ascent up the anchor line. All in all, an amazing weekend of diving. This is one of my favorite trips of the year, and one that I repeated just recently (december), a hundred dives later and in a (new, custom ) drysuit and doubles...Maybe I'll write that one up later. NOTE: To say my knowledge of marinelife was "poor" would be a compliment. Some (or all) of the attached photos may not have any relation to what I think they actually are ... The (amazing) topographical view of Farnsworth Banks was made by local diver Ross Overstreet (http://http://diver.net/ross/Farnswo...worth_bank.htm) |
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December 23rd, 2005, 10:29 PM
| #2 (permalink) |
| GUE Instructor Site Admin  | Hi - It woud be interesting to know how you found the latest trip compared... (hopefully you will remember slightly more of Net Rock  )
__________________ Clare . "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions....Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great." Interested in DIR dive training? Always happy to chat/answer questions so get in touch via PM or visit www.dirdiver.co.uk |
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Pacman Champion!
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December 23rd, 2005, 11:08 PM
| #3 (permalink) |
| New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 708
| Quote: (Originally Posted by Gledders) Hi - It woud be interesting to know how you found the latest trip compared... (hopefully you will remember slightly more of Net Rock ) The most recent trip was really really nice. Boat captain said it was the flattest he had seen conditions in about 15 years.We didn't do exactly the same sights, but the twilight/night dives were awesome -- 50+ feet of vis, and all you can see are HID lights all around you. We did a site called "Swiss Cheese" which is basically a big old rock that looks like a bit of cheese -- littered with swim-throughs and small caves. Farnsworth was not quite as good, but still awesome. We go back for a 1-day trip to Clemente on Jan 8th (before the big Tech1-training program starts...) |
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