Channel Islands on TA Conception

[dherbert]

It has been a rough year for the LDS. They usually fill the boat with plenty of lead time, but this year is different. With the departure date rapidly approaching, there are still quite a few bunks available and the shop is looking to fill them.

$495 will get you on board for four awesome days of diving. The plan is to motor down to San Clemente and work back up the islands through the week. I can only offer this deal through Tuesday (7/28) afternoon, after that, we cancel half the boat.

If you are interested, drop me a PM.

[dherbert]

Wow, what a trip!

2 days at San Clemente, 1 at Catalina and 1 at Santa Cruz. with only 24 divers on board, the deck, bunk room and galley were very roomy.

This has to be the best $500 I've ever spent. Now, I need a new camera.




Bat Ray Video:

Soup Fin Sharks video:

And the obligatory GSB vid:

[Mo2vation]

WOW WOW WOW!!!

That's a fattie flattie.

Nice GSB.

I love that boat - so huge, so roomy, so plush.

I was completely jealous when I read you were going. I am SO GLAD you had a great trip.

Tell me more about it. What else did you see? Conditions? Anything really cool or unusual?

I gotta get back up there again.

---
Ken

[dherbert]

I was a paying customer on this trip, rather than a comped dive leader and I have to say I really enjoyed four days of diving for "me". All dives were planned as solo, though I would hook up with a few of the divers from time to time. All but two dives were with scooter, though I was typically only on the trigger about 10% of the time.

When I think of the CI, I think warm water. I dived my Fusion with minimal undergarments, starting the day with just polypro unders and adding a light fleece as the day progressed. San Clemente was warm enough to leave the hood in the bag and dive a dew rag. Unfortunately, the Fusion decided to leak on this trip and the dryer was TU on the Conception. With only two sets of appropriate unders, it was a damp trip.
Most of my profiles started rather deep and I was surprised to see temps as low as 48(Ship Rock) at depth. Typical surface temps were about 68.

Boarding the boat, Captain Jerry informed us that conditions at San Clemente were the best this year. I've seen much better, but conditions were quite good. 60'-80' vis was pretty typical. I saw a couple legal sized abs during the two days we were there and no eels. I recall diving this site in the 70's and remember how plentiful each had been at that time. It's not the same island, but still a great dive.
As we settled in for the last dive of the day, Navy patrol boats came in and gave us the boot. The Navy wanted their island back, so we motored to Catalina.
Our first dive on Catalina was Ship Rock, which is one of my favorite dives on the island. I can typically find Angels in the sand near the base of the rock, so I dropped to the sand for a look. I found two Angels, but ambient light was not sufficient for decent video, so I moved shallow and proceeded around the rock. I had decided to dive wet as the misery of soggy undergarments seemed at the time to be the greater of two evils. By the end of the 72 minute dive, I decided damp and war beat wet and cold.

I had been concerned I miss a lot of smaller life zooming around on the scooter, but that wasn't really the case. At one point, I noticed two shells on a large boulder which had delicate white arms protruding from each. As I stopped to observe, I witnessed a Hermit Crab showdown that was quite hilarious. The lil dudes were wielding their claws like swords and the mini battle ended when the victor flipped the invader off his boulder. Would have loved to shoot this, but the flash card was left in the notebook and my measly internal memory was occupied by the three shots I got of the octopus earlier in the dive.

I've done well over 20 CI trips over the years, but this was the best yet. Not the greatest trip for the Fusion, but when the diving is that good, I can tolerate a lot.

[LCF]

Thanks for the report -- that's the second great one from the CI today; sounds as though it's a great time to be there!

Sorry to hear about the wet Fusion. I don't think there are many things more progressively demoralizing in diving than repeatedly having to dive wet undergarments.

[dherbert]

Thanks for the report -- that's the second great one from the CI today; sounds as though it's a great time to be there!

Sorry to hear about the wet Fusion. I don't think there are many things more progressively demoralizing in diving than repeatedly having to dive wet undergarments.

It was like making love to a beautiful woman on an inflatable mattress with a leak.

During the dives, it barely registered as an issue and will be the last thing I recall when thinking about this trip. If I had to dive like that every day, I'd do it with pleasure as long as the diving was as good as it was last week.