LAUPS California Shootout Trip Report
10/15/06
What a day! The good ship Sundiver departed Alamitos Bay Landing promptly at 7 am on Saturday, September 23. Weather clear, sunny and warm.
The first stop for our jolly “limited-load” group of 18 was oil platform Eureka. This rig is out in the middle of the channel in some 600 (or more) feet of ocean. So, hardly any of us explored the bottom. Actually, the best part of the dive for videographers and wide-angle shooters was sea lion action which took place in shallow water. There must have been at least a dozen of the fun-loving beasts surrounding and buzzing us. For those shooting macro, the platform legs were totally covered in growth all the way to the surface. Anyone going down to 95 feet or deeper was treated to open metridia, the snow-white anemones which blossom with a slight current such as we had.
The plan was to stop next at a well-known giant black seabass spot just west of Long Point, Catalina. Unfortunately, the unusual wind had stirred up the water to the point that photography was out. So we proceeded along the island toward the west end for the last two dives.
The number two dive site was Little Gibraltar, a good sized reef jutting out from shore. Here, some of us did, in fact, see a giant black seabass. One diver got within about five feet of the beauty, but it was camera shy and went off stage. There was an abundance of the normal Catalina sea life to keep shutters clicking and tape rolling.
Our last dive of the day was at Skylight Cove. Here there was more kelp and loads of garibaldi and sheephead in your face.
You will be able to see all the wonders of our shootout dive at the October meeting. That’s when members can show their best still and video results in competition. Be there!
The Sundiver is a well-managed dive boat with a crew that couldn’t have been more helpful and courteous. The one drawback for photographers is the limited seating in the salon and minimal table space for cameras. Our group of 18 filled the cabin. None the less, we are making plans to charter the Sundiver next year for several trips. But on those, we’re going to limit the load even more to 16 divers. It’s been a few years since the club has scheduled more than one local dive trip per season. This is great! Keep tuned to the LAUPS web site for dive news.
Photos by Kelly Bracken
Photo by Joe Bellanger
The first stop for our jolly “limited-load” group of 18 was oil platform Eureka. This rig is out in the middle of the channel in some 600 (or more) feet of ocean. So, hardly any of us explored the bottom. Actually, the best part of the dive for videographers and wide-angle shooters was sea lion action which took place in shallow water. There must have been at least a dozen of the fun-loving beasts surrounding and buzzing us. For those shooting macro, the platform legs were totally covered in growth all the way to the surface. Anyone going down to 95 feet or deeper was treated to open metridia, the snow-white anemones which blossom with a slight current such as we had.
The plan was to stop next at a well-known giant black seabass spot just west of Long Point, Catalina. Unfortunately, the unusual wind had stirred up the water to the point that photography was out. So we proceeded along the island toward the west end for the last two dives.
The number two dive site was Little Gibraltar, a good sized reef jutting out from shore. Here, some of us did, in fact, see a giant black seabass. One diver got within about five feet of the beauty, but it was camera shy and went off stage. There was an abundance of the normal Catalina sea life to keep shutters clicking and tape rolling.
Our last dive of the day was at Skylight Cove. Here there was more kelp and loads of garibaldi and sheephead in your face.
You will be able to see all the wonders of our shootout dive at the October meeting. That’s when members can show their best still and video results in competition. Be there!
The Sundiver is a well-managed dive boat with a crew that couldn’t have been more helpful and courteous. The one drawback for photographers is the limited seating in the salon and minimal table space for cameras. Our group of 18 filled the cabin. None the less, we are making plans to charter the Sundiver next year for several trips. But on those, we’re going to limit the load even more to 16 divers. It’s been a few years since the club has scheduled more than one local dive trip per season. This is great! Keep tuned to the LAUPS web site for dive news.
Photos by Kelly Bracken
Photo by Joe Bellanger