Posted by Dick Analog on April 22, 2005 at 21:45:02:
I just downloaded the pictures from our dives last weekend at Catalina/Avalon (4/16/05-4/17/05). We didn’t take many photos on this trip, but the few that we did take brought back pleasant memories.
A herd of divers, approaching the deep end of the pool. It was a spectacular Southern California weekend.
Below the surface, it was more adventurous than spectacular. Divers approaching 100ft depth, near wreck of Sue-Jac.
Three amigos (in daytime). During one of our day dives we did a recon on lobster hangouts, anticipating returning to the same area at night. Our night dive turned out to be quite adventurous. Due to a fireworks display at the Casino, our group couldn’t get into the water until after 9pm. Jan and I let the class complete their dive before we got into the water (about 9:30pm), so we had the entire dive park to ourselves. It was kind of spooky, but fun-spooky. When we returned to the lobster hangout, they were crawling EVERYWHERE. There were baby-sized, and bubba-sized lobsters, and every size in between. We counted well over 25 in a relatively small area. They were crawling up and down the walls, across sandy flats, and through algae patches. I suppose because they have (hopefully) never been hunted, most were very approachable. If you were careful not to contact an antenna, you could touch them and they would just flinch a little. It really got us pumped up for next October!
Looking up a mini-wall on Casino Reef.
C-O Turbot. Not knowing it was buried beneath the sand I accidentally rested my hand on this fellow after gently settling on the bottom to call some reef fishes for close observation. Rather than sacrificing a poor sea urchin or carrying a pocket full of frozen peas, by simply clicking a couple of small rocks together for a minute or two you can get the curious reef dwellers to come running. Small sheephead are especially susceptible to this ploy, though occasionally a toothy ten-pounder will stick its face in your face (which can be a little un-nerving). Bass and garibaldi may also respond but they tend to hover a little ways off. I suppose the sound of rocks clicking mimics what happens naturally when foraging fish like sheephead churn their way through bottom sediments. If you slowly swirl your fingers through the sand, they really get excited and will start nipping at your gloves.