CopyRight @ 1997
This was just some fun I had one day and it can inspire one to
think...
Dale and I were cruising up around the San Simeon area one day.
This is basically south Big Sur, just below Ragged Point. I wanted to
find a beach dive. There are all kinds of likely places up there, but
you do have to catch it on a good day. Summer and Fall are the best
bets. Consider 20 feet of visibility to be a very good day and 10
feet to be divable. In the shallows, that may be plenty. Along Hotel
Row in Cayucus are incredible rocky reefs just offshore. There is a
boat launch there. It is not much of a ramp, but it is enough for
kayaks, inflatables and aluminum boats. Further north is San Simeon
with interesting reefs all along the shore. Kayakers go out from San
Simeon Pier to San Simeon Point for the excellent fishing. Further
North up Hiway 1 is Piedras Blancas. It was probably named White
Point because of the large sea stack just off the point that is
covered in bird stuff. There are numerous rocky, kelp filed coves,
just off the road, that look like some really inviting diving. Past
Piedros Blancas the coast rises towards Ragged Point, which is the
real start of the Big Sur Coast. Access to that area is another
matter and is difficult even by boat, let alone shore.
We had gone as far as Ragged Point and were heading back south
again with the plan being that I would select some spot that I had
scoped out on the way up. It is not what would be called a really
calm day and since I am solo diving, I have to be a bit careful in my
selection of where to dive. The drawback of solo diving, one has to
be even more conservative about other safety procedures. I was
looking at an area just below Piedros Blancas, where the road goes
right near some nice partially protected coves. There are good areas
to pull off the road there. Then, I saw a guy near his van with scuba
gear laid out. That seemed like a good place to start and ask about
conditions. It turned out that he was supposed to meet some people
who couldn't make it. His inflatable was in the water at the cove and
he was about to go, but actually, he would like some company. Sure
Bob. Why not?
We loaded up quick and were heading out of the cove carefully.
It was not a calm day and as we passed the break on the rocks at the
edge of the cove, I was happy that I was not beach diving it that day.
He said that we would go behind the large sea stack to another one
that was submerged beyond it. I guess that that makes it a sea mount.
It was calm going, because the waves were swell, not wind generated.
It made for a beautiful sunny day out there. It was also nice,
because the inflatable was small by any standards. We went about a
mile to get behind the big sea stack and there was an extremely
dense patch of Bull Kelp. These are the kelps that are attached to
the bottom by what seems like a long slender rope, then they get very
thick towards the ball at the top. On top of that are a few long
"leaves". They can reach the surface in very deep water and usually
only show their ball above the surface. Here, instead of being spaced
apart, they grew so thickly together that the surface was more than
solid with them. This was above the top of the seamount where we were
to dive.
It is really something to look at the seaward side of the sea
stack. Beyond the point, this is really the open ocean. It evokes
thoughts of the storms that come in here so often. It is a beautiful
place, but obviously quite harsh a lot of the time.
Dale was going to splash around in his wetsuit, but not really
dive. Bob was going to sightsee and I had a pole spear. We rolled on
in and dropped through the kelp. It was dim, but the visibility was 25
or 30 feet. I saw the top of the seamount at about 50 feet, but
dropped down along the vertical side to the bottom at about 80 feet.
It looked like it a bit rough for there to be real luxurious bottom
life. There were anemones, stars, mussels and some algae, but also a
lot of bare rocks. It was beautiful in the cracks where the life
was a bit more protected. The sand along the bottom had typical
little crawlers and some juvenile flat fish. I was following the
bottom edge of the mount looking for rock piles or hidey holes when I
saw what looked like a Red Snapper, but all white, with a small patch
of red on its side. I have heard that this may be the same specie,
but a color variant, just as Red Snappers sometimes have a white patch
on their side. I cannot say for sure, but there is one thing that
makes me think that it is another specie. Whenever I have seen these
fish, they leave immediately and fast. I have only succeeded in
getting to one once and so consider them to be a real challenge. Red
Snappers are friendly by comparison. In any case, this was the
biggest one that I had ever seen, so the chase was on.
Now, this is a bit of an odd chase, for many reasons. If the
fish actually thinks I am after him, he will be halfway to Ragged
Point in a flash. Visibility is about 35 feet and if he sees me
within 20 feet, he is going to leave. I cannot give off any signals
like quick movements or direct pursuit. Aiming my pole prematurely
will send him scooting and even speeding up my breathing will scare
him off. All I can do is wait for him to stop around a corner or pass
some ledge that will allow me to move up without being seen. I had
followed him for about 50 yards when he went into a pile of rocks
leaning against the base of the seamount. I realized that the hole
went through the rocks and was actually big enough for me to follow
through. It made a little tunnel about 6 feet through. The decision
to follow through the hole has to be made very fast and one barely has
time to enjoy the uniqueness of the journey. About this time, the
fish is starting to notice this big bubble blowing blob pacing him.
He went about 20 yards further along the base and then straight up the
side of the seamount, into the kelp, at full evasive speed. He's seen
divers before. Well, that was fun.
I was no longer attempting to pursue him, but I took his path up
the side of the seamount to the top. Now I am in the craggy top of
the seamount which is densely covered with the Bull Kelp holdfasts and
a wide variety of other brown and red kelps. There is patches of
iridescent Porfira seaweed occasionally and different species of
Gigartina. Up here are lots of smaller rock fish and perch. All
kinds of worms, crustaceans, shellfish, starfish and whatnot are
distributed on the rocks. It is careful going, because the strong,
rope like bases of the Bull Kelp are only inches apart. The light
coming through the kelp is a bit dim and very yellowish. Vis here is
closer to maybe 15 feet. I found a nice Cabezon in a rock and figured
that to be dinner, but I was mostly sight seeing by then.
I floated on up when my tank was empty. Bob was already back and
Dale was still playing in the kelp. It was a nice day to be on the
ocean and it was an extremely exotic little spot. Even if it does get
some divers, this place will always have a somewhat primeval nature,
because it in not a place for land dwellers to go carelessly. It is
real ocean and a harsh place. I want to go back and find that fish.