We've been avoiding the ocean due to the swells and green water. Kevin Lee reported better than twenty feet of visibility at Vet's on Wednesday. Today, Captain Jim Simmerman of the Giant Stride called me and said his divers reported good visibility at Hawthorne Reef. I've been wanting to try Merry's new 8-15mm lens so we took a chance and went to the Avalon Wreck this afternoon.

We had to pull ourselves down the anchor line against a strong current. At the bottom, the visibility opened up to nearly six feet. I had the lens set at 8mm, so I figured I would be fine as long as I got close to my subjects. In that visibility, I had no choice. I planned to shoot 8mm and 15mm at the stern and the bow but with the conditions we had, I wasn't about to go far from the anchor. All I was able to get were a few 8mm circular shots.

After fighting the current for thirty minutes, I thumbed the dive. I'm sure conditions were great on the other side of Rocky Point, but the curse that seems to follow Merry and me was hanging over the Avalon today.