Date: Saturday, 5/7/05
Location: Scripps Submarine Canyon, Sumner Branch, La Jolla, California, just North of Scripps Pier in La Jolla, near Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Time: 1:07 pm
Dive Length: 37 mins
Max Depth: 125 ft.
Viz at Depth: 15- 20 ft. or better
Critters Seen: Senoritas and Blacksmith Fish, Yellow Sponges and Spanish Shawl [a type of colorful marine snail without a shell]
With George in the lead and Martin just ahead and me bringing up the rear, we dropped down into the Sumner Branch, just North of the cable, into a narrow gap similar to the one below the cable, but one which puts you further North, avoiding much of the wall going towards Fishhead Point.
Almost immediately upon descending into Sumner, I saw Martin give the signal to ‘jump the gap,’ and like a small train, we all slowly turned in unison and began heading West, over the abyss, across the gap, to the other side.
After just a few minutes of swimming, we could see the other side of Sumner, looming up ahead [after a couple minutes in the nearly bottomless abyss, this is always accompanied by the tiniest sigh of relief, I’ve noticed]. We could see the ledges of the other side of the canyon quite clearly.
Along the wall, I could see numerous yellow and orange sponges, as well as pink Strawberry Club anemones, dotted along the various crevices as we headed North.
Shortly after arriving on the other side, we noticed George pointing at something white in the water column. As we got closer, we could see it was a jellyfish of some sort, suspended in front of us, about 3-4 inches long, but a species unknown to any of us.
Continuing North along the wall, we could see schools of Senoritas darting in and out and around us. After a bit, the viz was good enough where we could make out the East side of Sumner Canyon and other divers cruising along on the other side, with their lights, which was a cool sight to behold.
At about this point, we decided to cross back over again and it was easier making the crossing this time, since the opposite wall was narrower at this point, as well being visible.
After making the return crossing, we continued on North until we reached the head of Sumner, where I had never been before. Looming up ahead, I could see the flat, square, shape of Table Rock as well as some pretty spectacular geological formations, with striations visible in the various layers of rock.
I found myself pausing here, this being my first time this far North up Sumner, I couldn’t help wonder what a geologist might think of these huge rock formations. Looking down on a strand of kelp, I could see a tiny Spanish Shawl, it’s purple and orange colors almost luminous in my light.
Then, I noticed our little train begin heading up and Eastward and I knew our dive was coming to a conclusion.
We came back in through the shallows into a little rip and had to go South a bit to get out of it, but all in all it was a fascination trip to the other side of Sumner, as well as into the head of the canyon, a first for me.
Well led by George and Martin.
I’m not a photographer myself, but for some excellent photos of the marine life on Scripps Canyon by Rick Ramsey, see:
http://tinyurl.com/8n7ek
