Dive Report: Engine Block & Wreck of the F.S. Loop

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Dive Report: Engine Block & Wreck of the F.S. Loop

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Posted by Chris on August 18, 2008 at 17:28:46:

Last Sunday August 17, 2008 Ross Overstreet invited me to join Scott Gietler and himself for a day of local diving aboard his boat the Orion III.

Ross Overstreet and the helm of the Orion III

Our first dive is a spot Ross calls the Engine Block Wreck. It is a very large engine block, transmission, and shaft which are all that remains of a ship that sank there long ago. Ross likes to go there to visit the resident two Wolf Eels. There is a very large one and one that is smaller that Ross has watched grow over the past few years.

When we went down the line to the Engine Block it was a cool 53 °F with about 25 foot visibility was about 25 feet. It was my first time here and I swam around checking the area out and keeping an eye out for the Wolf Eels. The bottom is mostly very fine sand with many White Sea Pens (Stylatula elongate). There were many California Scorpionfish (Scorpaena guttata) on and around the wreck, as well as many Blacksmith (Chromis punctipinnis) and small rockfish. Ross and Scott found the smaller eel looking up from a hole in the top of the engine block. Scott came and got me and that is when I took the photos. Once we were back to the boat Ross said he saw the larger eel way back underneath, but it was not where it could be photographed.

Anarrhichthys ocellatus (Wolf Eel)

For the next dive we headed for F. S. Loop wreck. This site is covered with nudibranchs, most of which were Tritonia festiva. It is a combination of scattered wreckage, sand, and rocks.

Tritonia festiva

While we were down for the dive the wind came up very strong and it was quite bumpy on the surface. Thus we elected to head back to port instead of making the third dive.

I had a great time diving with Ross and Scott, and I thank Ross again for having me along.

You can see all of my pictures from the trip by clicking on the link below.

Underwater photographs from the Engine Block and the Wreck of the F. S. Loop

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Re: Dive Report: Engine Block & Wreck of the F.S. Loop Lee 12:14:17 08/19/08 (0)

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