Dived with ODA Sunday @ Long Point (PV), our late start helped us out for the most part with the THICK fog layer present, haven't had the cover off the Radar in awhile and we safely tucked in @ Angels Gate for an all-clear run North.

Retrieving a few of the derelict Bug traps @ OML was the goal, dead calm seas all this week, and now a building wind chop, oh well. We anchored out @ "the Point", 3 HD Vid rigs onboard and 30 feet of anchor chain in site, Oh Boy! Team 1 Bob Walls, Jeff Conner and me cruised down the length of the scope to find the first trap just about under the anchor, SWEET! The boys hooked it to an up line in short order and floated a surface marker as I recorded. .....Hunt on now! We kicked all around the Point in 56/7 degrees and 10-15 FOV. Nudies, fishes, and pinnacles of course.

I peeled off early as this had become a "fun" dive and I was freezing (pre-planned for all you safety nuts :~). At my safety stop I was stoked to be enveloped by a HUGE bait ball of Smelt. Juveniles were feeding on the droppings from the "not so clean" ODA Vessel "Clear Water", the main school circled while I was treated to an eye-of-the storm diameter of about 70 feet, just awesome! One of the best Pacific bait balls I've ever had the luck to encounter (underwater). EZ 10 minute safety stop :)

Bob and Jeff come back with a report of 2 more traps ID'd, cool. Second dives team find and float a lift line for trap 2, Excellent! Captain Kurt shoots more HD from Max's home~away~from home. Ross-O and crew cruised by after diving Whale Rock and reported 40' FOV! Wow! He said they hit Olympic earlier too, I thought to myself tough to relax and achor out in the Horseshoe Kelpbed traffic with that fog?

Very fulfilling to go get that trash out of our favorite site. This is like an advanced beach clean up diving. If your interested in volunteer diving with ODA, E-me.

• Re: ODA @ Long Point report Divebum Don 20:46:31 10/27/08 (0)