Posted by tleemay on September 04, 2001 at 16:38:07:
In Reply to: I've never been to Cortez Bank.... posted by msblucow on September 04, 2001 at 16:17:53:
Last Sunday it was beautiful. A very slight and
wide timed swell, full moon, and light breezes.
As one on the boat said, "Today is the kind of
day freediving hunters live for". He took his
limit of white sea bass and an equal amount of
yellow tail. He was a happy guy. There was only
an anchored trawler anchored in the distance, the
hourly spotter planes, and the marking buoy other than us there all day long (an NBP privateer left
by noon).
Diving there is like diving SoCal 50 years ago, or
so I'm told. I wasn't diving CA 50 years ago for
me to make a personal comparison. Hell my parents
were not even dating back then.
Lush bull and stalk kelp. Eel grass everywhere,
big fish everywhere including yellow tail and
white sea bass. There's the cement hulled wreck
home to about a bazillion bugs. Nudibranchs all
over ther place. Big spanish mackerel in large
schools curtain in front of you every few minutes
- usually with a small yellowtail or two cruising
behind them. Oh yeah, there are is a seal or two
that are just pesky enough for you to wish they
would leave you alone. Purple hydrocoral was
found. Lots of photographers and hunters alike were in the water. Everyone was happy to find
their own little bit of heaven.
There was a slight upwelling happening that
knocked the vis down to about 50'. The temps
seemed to vary from between 48 and 53.Depths were from about 40' to 90' on the
plateaus we anchored on.