M/V Horizon, October 31-November 1, 2006 Guadalupe Island
Days 1 and 2 with San Diego Shark Diving

We departed San Diego on a bright and sunny Hallow's eve...

Seas were calm outside the bay for nearly 60 miles before a mild one to two foot windchop developed. The temperature of the greenish blue water climbed steadily from the lower sixties as we motored southward. The fifteen knots of wind backed off to 10 to 12 as we neared the island, and conditions were excellent as we pulled into El Faro to drop our pick. The rising sun illuminated the rust-red cliff and glistened off the deep azure waters of the bay.

Before the cages had even touched the water our first shark appeared, a big male. then another, a female, shouldered her way up to the hang baits. The photo opportunities were good throughout the day, sometimes better than others, though everyone was very happy as the light waned in the afternoon. After a delicious dinner of sushi, seared ahi, and tiramisu to finish, we rolled into our bunks and hoped for more good luck with the sharks tomorrow.

adios,

Captain Chris

M/V Horizon, October 14, 2006 San Clemente Island
Day 2 of 3 with Summit Divers

A breezy and cool dawn greeted us this morning in Pyramid Cove. With the first showers of fall, the summer seems to be truly over. Fortunately the fun has not!

We started our dive day off at Smuggler's Point. Lots and lots of lobster, however few were legal, so there was a good deal of catch and release. The water temperature and visibility had improved from Santa Barbara with 30 to 40 foot vis and a surface temperature of 64.

The wind picked up throughout the day, making topside cooler than underwater. Though we didn't catch tons of lobster, there were plenty of cool critters to see, bat rays, octopus and moray eels, and the largest red crab ever seen at Blockhouse Reef. After a night dive the wind backed off and we rocked gently to sleep at anchor.

hasta manana,

Captain Chris

M/V Horizon, October 13, 2006 Santa Barbara Island
Day 1 of 3 with Summit Divers

An occasional flash of lightning lit up the sky offshore as we churned Northwest through calm seas.

Today dawned grey and a mix of scattered showers and sunshine. The sky alternated from rain, wind, calm, sun, and rainbows. I had counted three full arcs over us before the sun set.

The diving was a bit rough with a solid surge in shallow where the lobster had holed up, still we came back with a few, and the ever present and playful Santa Barbara sea lion pups kept us company. The water temperature ranged from 62 to 63 degrees and visibility was anywhere from 5 to 15 feet.

We jumped in for two night dives after dinner and had our best luck with lobster, pulling in the most all day. At midnight we packed up the boat and headed for the warmer, calmer waters of San Clemente Island for tomorrow's diving.

until then,

Captain Chris

M/V Horizon, October 11, 2006 Cortes Bank
Day 3 of 3 with Bodega Bay Pro Dive

After one of the calmest nights ever on the bank, the wind and current blew gently from the southeast as we opened the gates for a few dives this morning. Our first stop was a little slow for bugs, though the yellowtail swirled around our divers' bubbles. We moved to a spot that had been one of our best dives last year and it was even better today with a little over thirty lobster finding their way back onto the boat.

The water was crystal clear at 80 foot visibility, no current, and a gentle surge waving the eel grass back and forth. Purple hydrocoral patches literally glowed their vibrant hue of lavender as we kicked across the reef, looking for those honey holes bristling with antennae.

When we pulled the anchor for the last time this trip, we felt jubilant and melancholy at once, knowing we had lucked out with mild weather and good friends sharing the beauty and bounty of the ocean, yet sad we had to leave such a gorgeous place.

As we motored home common dolphin surfed our bow waves for miles in the indigo water and I almost forgot that I was actually working. I'd like to thank Lou Castleberry for putting this trip together. We look forward to another awesome expedition to Cortes Bank next year...

ciao,

Captain Chris

M/V Horizon, October 10, 2006 Cortes Bank
Day 2 of 3 with Bodega Bay Pro Dive

As I write the moon rises in the east over the flat waters here on the truly Pacific Ocean. A rippled trail of silver light leads up to the horizon under the waning moon. It has been another beautiful day at the bank, even calmer than before.

We had a moderate current at our first dive west of the bank where we did well with some deeper lobster and scallops. Temperature still hovered at a balmy 66 degrees from top to bottom and the visibility was very good at 60 to 80 feet.

We moved back to the bank and found more of the tasty crustaceans in palm kelp covered ridges dropping to cracks and crevices before the sand in deeper water. Bat rays winged their way through the reef and bonito harassed the schools of bait in the blue above us. We dove throughout the afternoon in shallower water with slack current over the eel grass covered seamounts.

A number of divers finished the day with their daily limit and a can of cold suds to celebrate the big ones that got away, and those that didn't. Weather permitting, we'll stay overnight for a morning of diving on the bank before we have to return home. Being the only boat here anchored on the bank it seems like we have a whole ocean to ourselves...

adios,

Captain Chris

M/V Horizon, October 9, 2006 Cortes Bank
Day 1 of 3 with Bodega Bay Pro Dive

After trying again and again to reach the bank the last few weeks, we finally reached the bank!

The water is blue with visibility ranging from 40 to 70-feet in areas. We made four dives, a number of people caught their limits of lobster and 4 real hogs were caught in the 6 to 7 pound range.

Spearos found plenty of yellowtail, most in the 15 pound range, and the rod and reel bonito action was non-stop. With very little wind and swell, conditions are ideal.

I jumped in for a couple dives to bring back a few red rabbits. The bank teams with life--huge cabezon, lingcod, and scorpion fish lie in ambush on the bottom, schools of sardines swirled in silver streams through the kelp and hundreds of yellowtail circle me on my safety stop. I took a bearing and kicked back to the boat at 15 feet, nearly bumping into a 35 pound white seabass all barred up and running from my bubbles.

It was a gorgeous day on the bank! A good weather forecast means we'll stay here tomorrow as well, mother nature permitting...

until then,

Captain Chris

D/V Horizon October 8, 2006 San Clemente Island
Day 3 of 3 with Wallin's Dive Center

As we pulled up to the bank in the darkness of early morning the baitfish schooled so thickly below the boat, our depth meter bounced back before reaching the seafloor, giving a false reading again and again. Fortunately the school parted enough for me to set the anchor over the shallow end of the seamount.

Fields of purple hydrocoral, torpedo rays swimming in formation, and one big lobster laughing in its deep crevice were just some of the cooler things seen by our divers. We stayed for two beautiful dives and though the sardine schools were packed on top of the pinnacle, no gamefish showed their tail. Perhaps the cooler water at 62 degrees had slowed things down a little bit.

Visibility was below average for Farnsworth at 30 to 40 feet. At noon we packed up the boat, pulled our anchor and were off to San Diego. Tonight we go right back out for another crack at Cortes Bank....we'll keep you posted.

Captain Chris

D/V Horizon October 7, 2006 Santa Barbara Island
Day 2 of 3 with Wallin's Dive Center

Our first dive at SBI had some dramatic topography, however no luck with the bugs, the visibility was a little lower than Clemente at 15 feet and a little cooler at 61 degrees, though one free-diver caught a glimpse of a nice sized white seabass. At the rocks we pulled in a few bugs, our best luck had by another freediver who grabbed some solid lobster.

We hopped around to finish off the day with five dives and though the sea lions were ever playful for our photographers, the spearos had more luck with lobster, scallops and uni, than fish. A few diehard freedivers pulled a couple more nice bugs out of the shallows, during the night dive.

In the wee hours of the morning we pulled our skiff and hook and headed for Farnsworth Bank off Catalina, hoping for some good diving and free-diving.

ciao,

Captain Chris

D/V Horizon October 6, 2006 San Clemente Island
Day 1 of 3 with Wallin's Dive Center

The last report I heard of Tanner Banks buoy was twelve knots, swell height 3 ft, however the forecast was for an increase in both, and they definitely did that. First the swell picked up, then the wind and soon I had to slow down a bit so the passengers would not bounce off the ceiling of their bunks as well.

The morning at San Clemente Island was blustery with a strong wind from the Northwest. The water was still gorgeous, though, visibility holding at 40 feet, though the water temp had dropped to 63 degrees. Our next stop proved good for the spearos with ten yellowtail returning to the boat. Congrats go to Daren Smith on his first fish.

We squeezed in a few more dives as the wind reached gusts up to 15 knots. Our night dive proved best for the bug hunters, rounding out our total at 13 for the day. An octopus, soupfin shark and huge calico bass were out and about for our sightseeing divers.

The weather forecast for the bank does not look good for tomorrow, so we'll head to Santa Barbara Island for a little change of scenery.

hasta manana,

Captain Chris

M/V HORIZON October 3, 2006 San Clemente Island
Day 4 of 4 with Scuba World of Sacramento
LOBSTER OPENER

The calmer waters of the Western side of San Clemente were a nice respite from our rock and roll on at Santa Barbara these last few days.

We began at Lost Point with good vis for this side at 30 to 40 feet, and tons of lobster. Too bad most of them were short! Still a number of good bugs came back on the boat.

Down the island we went to try a new point, and while most enjoyed the sunshine and cool ocean breeze, a handful of divers jumped in for one more shot. I had a little break and took a peek down under. There the kelp forest filtered the light down to the algae covered rocks, shading the nooks and crannies where the bugs packed in with each other. The sheephead followed me around, waiting for any stray spiny lobster to flip out into the open. I saw a few legals, missed one, and brought another back to the boat. I even brought a few urchin spines back to remind me of the one I missed.

With close to two hundred bugs in our tanks, we've done pretty well for some challenging diving at the islands. Some hard chargers brought back their 3 day limits of 21 bugs. I know for sure we all can't wait to get back out in the water...

hasta entonces,

Captain Chris

D/V HORIZON October 2, 2006 Santa Barbara Island
Day 3 of 4 with Scuba World of Sacramento
LOBSTER OPENER

Another deep red sunrise greeted us this morning on the lee of the island and a few sea lion pups lept in circles and zig zags around the chain as we pulled our pick.

Our first site saw a few bugs and some current. Vis ranged from 10 to 20 feet and the surface temp hovered around 62 degrees.

We moved in tighter to the island on the West side. The bigs were holed up tight close to the island where the surge tossed us around, but still pulled out some solid keepers. On the southern side we pulled in a few, including a real hog before the wind and current sent us looking for something around the corner. The popular consensus was to pass on the last dive of the day for two night dives.

Weather turned a little nasty, but we held tight and the bugs went into the bag for a number of our divers. A few people jumped in on the second spot of the night and almost everyone came back with bugs.

Tomorrow we're off to San Clemente for some warmer, clearer water and another shot at those tasty crustaceans.

until then,

Captain Chris

D/V HORIZON October 1, 2006 Santa Barbara Island
Day 2 of 4 with Scuba World of Sacramento
LOBSTER OPENER

Once again we made our turn with the spray flying over the wheelhouse and passengers bouncing in their bunks. The dawn came a bloody orange in the east, dotted with high clouds. Lightning dotted the horizon for a moment as thunderstorms passed offshore.

We kicked off our diving with a few solid bugs and luck improved throughout the day as we hit each successive site. It was hard work in the surge and very low visibility in tight to the island, but the bugs were there.

We finished off the day with a solid, though bumpy night dive on the Northwest side of the island. If the weather holds we'll stick it out here for another day.

adios,

Captain Chris

D/V HORIZON September 30, 2006 San Clemente Island
Day 1 of 4 with Scuba World of Sacramento
LOBSTER OPENER

We churned out towards Cortes Bank up until about 5am with 22 miles to go, we turned back towards San Clemente Island. There the diving was beautiful with 30 to 50 foot visibility, and one of our spearos brought back some calico hogs, however the bugging was a little spotty. For those who worked hard in the shallows it seemed a little more productive.

We made four dives during the day and maximized our chances by making two dives at night. The bugs were definitely out and about, though most were short, a few came up with solid legals. The water temperature has definitely cooled off at 66 degrees. Tonight we'll pull our anchors and once again charge into the wide open some times not so Pacific Ocean in hopes of making it to Cortes. If not we'll veer over to Santa Barbara Island to try our luck.

ciao,

Captain Chris