Posted by Ross-O on April 28, 2003 at 00:48:56:
Hi Guys,
Phil, Don, Beth, and I spent Saturday morning getting tossed around PV waters in The Giant Stride.
The first spot was a wreck off of PV. The game plan was for Phil and me to descend down the anchor line and investigate if the anchor was in a favorable position and check conditions. If the anchor was where we wanted, and vis looked good, we were going to ascend to the top of the wreck where Phil would shoot a bag for Don and Beth to descend on. If conditions were bad or the anchor wasn't in a good spot, we were going to head back up. Well, vis was only 20ft and the anchor was beyond sight of the wreck so we decided to head back up.
The second dive was the Spires of Pt. Vicente. As I've described before, these are big boulders that start at 50ft and reach within about 10 ft of the surface. They are covered in life and have interesting cracks, crevices, and swim-throughs. I got a few good nudi pics even though the surge was brutal, it was still 52F, and vis was still 20ft. I was really happy to find a couple of Cuthona divae that were busy laying eggs. I somehow missed the seal that tried to remove one of Phil’s fins as I was fooling with the camera or scanning the rocks for nudis. I've really starting paying attention to nudi eggs. I know it's a startling discovery but I've come to realize that when you find eggs, the responsible nudi is usually close by!
The current was strong enough that I didn't want to shoot my bag and do a drifting safety stop for fear of getting too far from the boat. I ascended to the top of one of the spires and found a bare rock handhold. I was like a weather vane in a tornado! The surge would literally flip me over my arm. I managed to break several rock handholds before I finally relented and just headed to the surface.
Although conditions were rough, Don's transderm 'scope didn't quite work as advertised, and Beth somehow got an enormous purple bruise on her butt from becoming airborne during a wave, we all had a good time. Diving is an adventure sport, and you can't have a true adventure without occasionally facing adversity!
I added a few new things to my Dive Pics web site and relocated my page to Chris' domain at www.diver.net. My new URL is linked below. Chris - I REALLY appreciate the web space. Thank You!
I have a few questions about some of the pics from my last trip to Santa Cruz on the Peace. See the page for more details and let me know if you have any insight about the Tritona's or the infestation on the gorgonian. I also added a few more local pics and updated my nudibranch page. I now have 16 local species and counting. They're not exactly publication quality photos but I'm having a good time taking them and that is what counts!
Cheers,
Ross-O