It doesn't get any better than this! On Saturday we boarded the dive boat Giant Stride for a day at Farnsworth Bank. The swells had been at 1.6 feet for two days. There was no fog, no wind and no current at the offshore pinnacles on the backside of Catalina Island. There were, apparently schools of white sea bass as there were boatloads of freedivers everywhere.

Captain Jim Simmerman picked a couple of unoccupied reefs for us to drop on. Visibility was over seventy feet, the best I had seen in California in years. Six divers with cameras began flashing strobes as soon as the Purple hydrocoral, Stylaster californicus came into view.

After two of the best dives I've had at Farnsworth, we headed back around the West End to Eagle's Nest where only Kevin Lee opted to dive. The rest of us were basking in the afterglow of our earlier dives or knocked out in the V-berth.

The water was a refreshing 58°, chilly for Catalina but perfect for those of us used to Summer diving around Palos Verdes.

If you have been wanting to dive at Farnsworth, now is the perfect time to go. Contact the Giant Stride for any available spots this month at jim@thegiantstride.com

Mid-channel sunrise

Approaching Catalina Island

Merry Passage feeling pretty good about the day

Fishing at Eagle Rock

Red Spotted Sea Star, Pharia pyramidata

Kevin looks for the lone nudibranch of Farnsworth Bank

He must have found it

Merry is already planning her next trip to Farnsworth

Merry and Kevin, all smiles

• Re: Perfect Day At Farnsworth Bank Max Bottomtime 17:13:25 10/13/19 (0)