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San Clemente Island After another quiet evening, we got an early start today as we needed to be back in port early this evening. The diving has been so good for the previous three days it will be tough to leave. After yesterday mornings great diving I figured that I should whip out another dive site less traveled so we ventured back toward China Point and spent our first dive on a deep kelp covered ridge 1/2 mile offshore. I had a chance to hop in this morning and all I can say is "Wow!". The ridge, 45 feet on top and 105 - 120 off the edges was fantastic. I had been close to 10 years since I'd visited this place and I'd forgotten just how beautiful is was. Beautiful walls, gorgonians, huge life filled cracks and crevices and a healthy kelp forest! Plus our first giant black seabass sighting of the trip! A small one in the 50 - 75 pound range but another true sign that spring's in full swing. The current was mild, but just enough to the keep kelp lying over a bit and clouds of half moon and blacksmith filled the water column on the upcurrent side of the reef. The water temperature was a mild 61 on the surface and 56 at depth. Not bad for late May... After retrieving our last smiling diver we moseyed east and secured ourselves to one of our favs, Twin Peaks. The visibility was a solid 50 feet and the wall was alive! The divers found the resident butterflyfish in the cave at 80 feet while those looking for shallow enjoyed the sunlit plateau in 35 to 50 feet. It was with a sad face that we needed to head home from this fantastic weekend of diving, but we will be back next week for three more days, so stay tuned! Adios, Captain Greg
San Clemente Island
After a quiet night in Smuggler's Cove we
decided to take the gang to secret spot number 26 at China Point. I
had not been to this particular dive site for about 5 years due to
it's inaccessibility. We weren't disappointed this morning! The water temperature is typically cooler on the windward side and the vis is not as good as other areas but the trip "Around the corner..." is worth it on every occasion. After two dives we ventured back into Pyramid Cove and spent the final three dives at Petter's Kelp. Petter's has some of the most diverse topography at San Clemente and a lush, healthy kelp forest to boot! We stayed for three dives...well because it was that darn good! White seabass were heard croaking from the depths as there bizarre mating call sounds exactly like a bullfrog. Spring is here and every is in the mood for love! The night dive was a good one, even though we only had 6 make the jump. Everyone else was enjoying the beautiful evening topside as wine and beer were the liquid that most were diving into. Today's visibility was 30 - 65 feet depending upon where you were swimming at the time. Water temperature has been 57 degrees F at depth and 61 to 63 on the surface for both days. We're excited about tomorrow as I plan to whip out another secret spot! Adios, Captain Greg 
San Clemente Island
May 26, 2007 Day 1 of 3 "Kelp, canyons and sunshine..." The 60 mile overnight crossing to San Clemente Island was made on an glass smooth ocean. Foreshadowing of the day of diving ahead The kelp has been doing a bit of growing over the last month with many of our sites adorned in beautiful kelp forests that just last summer were very sparse. The cool winter waters rejuvenate the fast growing algae which in turn creates an amazing habitat for animals large and small, not to mention really sprucing up some already fantastic dive sites! We opened the pool bright and early in Pyramid Cove on the islands southeast end, and enjoyed a good first dive along the walls of Pyramid Palisades. The Palisades is a great place to get all the kinks worked out as the depths are moderate, currents are typically light and the topography is pretty cool with numerous walls separated by 50 - 70 foot wide sand channels. Pink and green abalone are numerous on the tops of the plateaus and always seem to enjoy a free meal of kelp provided by a willing diver. Try sticking a kelp leaf next to an abalone sometime, you'll get a kick out of the result! After the check out dive, we turned up the gas a bit and planted ourselves at Pyramid Head, which on the right day can be one of the most electric sites in the southern Channel Islands. We positioned Horizon on the edge of the shallow plateau in 45 feet of water with a 60 foot wall just on our port side. Off our stern, was series of canyons and ridges with depths varying from 35 feet on top of the ridges to 120 feet in the seaward mouths of the canyons. The final ridge places you at the islands termination point and leads to the abyss...THIS IS WHERE THE ACTION CAN BE! The ridges top falls from 30 directly to 150 feet, and then slopes into a canyon where depths of 600 feet are just 1/4 mile away. Blue and fin whales were seen from the surface just off the islands end today and large schools of bait fish were present calling out for the larger pelagic species to come in for lunch. Unfortunately, with the exception of seeing the whales from a distance, Pyramid Head was quiet today. But the diving in the kelp and canyons was still spectacular! We finished up our day on the leeward side of the island where unfortunately the water was a bit green due to a warm 65 degree water temperature. The afternoon warm up quite often causes the water to green up a bit. Nonetheless, the dive was quite pleasant and a great way to end the day. For the night dive we headed back around to Pyramid Cove and snuggled in tight to Smuggler's Cove. Easy dive in a shallow kelp forest with beautiful rocky terrain. The lobster, scorpionfish and sea urchins were out tonight! Today was fantastic, we can't wait to see what tomorrow brings! Adios, Captain Greg |
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