Dive #1: Elkhorn Forest
Location: About 1 mile West of Wind ‘n’ Sea
Time: 12:37 pm
Dive Length: 30 mins
Environment: Elkhorn Kelp
Max Depth: 94 ft.
Viz: +/- 15 ft
Temp on Bottom: 56 F
Mix: 28%
Dive Buddies: Barb and Charlie
Purpose: Photography/Videography
Marine Life Observed: Elkhorn Kelp, Red Algae, White, Orange and Yellow Sponges, Red Volcano Sponge, Blacksmith Fish, Senoritas, Rockfish, Strawberry Anemones, Ronquils, Painted Greenlings
Photos: pending upload by Charlie
Highlights:
We had trouble locating the exact GPS coordinates for the Mushroom House, as we call the large, round structures in the area, but were able to drop anchor nearby, on the edge of the Elkhorn Kelp Forest, which ends on a sandy bottom heading West.
Barb and Charlie glided about the bottom, looking for suitable photographic subjects, while I hovered nearby.
As is common in this area, in addition to the adult Elkhorn Kelp, which stretches all the way from the bottom to about 20 ft. from the surface, younger or fronds or strands Juvenile Elkhorn Kelp jut up from the bottom about 3-5 ft., every few feet, making like a mini-forest of very short kelp, that you have to part like a bead curtain as you swim along the bottom, or risk snagging a ‘wait-a-minute’ vine. It’s more of a concern for those with photographic equipment, I think.
I cruised about, along the bottom, admiring the abundance of colorful sponges and marine life, while Barb and Charlie did their thing.
After about 30 mins., I was forced to surface, because my computer has been stuck on 31% for the past week, when in fact, my mix on this dive was actually 28%, so I didn’t want to risk showing deco, since I’d have no way of knowing what my hang time would be. It was just as well, because it was towards the latter part of the dive that we noticed the surge beginning to pick up noticeably.
I clambered onto the boat, unzipped my dry suit, using a technique I developed recently using a bungie cord and Charlie and Barb joined me soon after
Dive #2: NOSC Tower
Location: Wreck Alley
Time: 3:12 pm
Dive Length: 10 mins
Environment: Artificial Reef
Max Depth: 60 ft
Viz: 0-18 inches
Temp on Bottom: 56 F
Mix: 31%
Dive Buddies: Barb and Charlie
Purpose: Photography/Videography
Marine Life Observed: not much: maybe a few Giant Spined Stars and a couple Blacksmith…..hard to tell in 18 inches of viz.
Remarks:
I should really be flogged for suggesting diving anywhere in Wreck Alley during a strong Westerly Swell that we all knew was moving in, but I think the truth was, without NOAA Jim aboard today, I was looking for a place where I wouldn’t have to pull the anchor up [again] by hand [manual winch], so I selected NOSCT Tower due to the mooring set up 
So, I should have known that with 7 ft. Westerly swells predicted for the afternoon, almost anywhere off Mission Beach was going to be stirred up, but nonetheless I suggest NOSC Tower, and was properly punished as a result.
It was decided we would be SOSD [Same Ocean Same Day] dive buddies for this dive, since the dive area is both small and fairly shallow, and we figured we would all meet down there anyway, so I jumped in first, and started down the line.
As is common off Mission Beach, the top 20 ft was actually not bad: I could see a fair way down the mooring line, but once I got down to the bottom, it was just a swirling, Gobi Desert of sand ‘white out,’ and I could barely see my hand in front of my face.
This, coupled with the fact that NOSC Tower consists of a lot of rusty iron bars projecting both horizontally and vertically up from the bottom, makes for a rather hazardous obstacle course-type environment, where you can easily collide with a rusty metal projectile in the murk, if your aren’t careful.
Plus, it produced a ‘no’ answer to my two Cardinal Rules of Diving: 1. “Am I safe?” and 2. “Am I having fun?”
So, after about 10 mins of getting thrown around in nearly zero viz, I said to myself: ‘Screw this, I’m heading up,’ and I headed for the surface.
I was actually hoping to intercept Barb and Charlie on their way down and tell them not to bother, but we missed each other and they ended up doing a full dive in the murky, surgey conditions.
So, I take the blame for suggesting Wreck Alley when we knew a large surge was coming in, but other than that, the first dive of the day in Elkhorn Forest, made it all worth while.
Dive safe, everyone…..
