It is good to be back at San Clemente! Yesterdays diving at Santa Barbara, even though the sea lions were out in force, was mediocre at best.

We started our day with two dives in Pyramid Cove’s, Horseshoe Beach. Good stuff in 62 degree water with 60 feet of visibility. The kelp forest here is beautiful and the place was alive.

Captain Spencer chose Fishhook Reef for our third dive. Everyone came back with smiles after diving it’s beautiful wall!

For our final two dives I chose Twin Peaks. All were in agreement that Mother Nature had saved the best for last as the kelp, wall, cavern and beautiful plateau were awesome. We even had a Pacific electric ray make an appearance on the night dive. Talk about lighting the place up!

We’re on our way home as I write and should arrive in port by 6:30am. Our next departure is slated for December 5th. We hope to see you aboard!

Adios,

Captain Greg Grivetto

Another beautifully calm ride to Santa Barbara Island preceeded an okay day of diving at the “Island of the Sea Lions”. The conditions were a bit disappointing after the stellar conditions of last weekend, but overall we still had a great time!

Angel sharks, bat rays, swell sharks, huge lobster, brittlestars, sea lions, harbor seals and eels were just a few of the crowd pleasures today. On my one dive today I spent 50 out of 55 minutes in a swirling mass of pinniped frivolity. Sea lions swirled everywhere around me to the point of me finally wanting to say, “Enough already, move along, nothing to see here!”

The visibility hovered in the 30 foot range today with the temperature at a brisk 59 degrees.

We’re night diving as I write and will be underway for San Clemente Island as soon as all the divers are aboard.

Adios,

Captain Greg

As the first divers started to rise up from their cabins they couldn’t believe how calm the worlds largest ocean was last night. Someone ask me if we had even left the dock. It was a beautiful ride out to San Clemente Island. As the sun rose from the East you could see Catalina Island and LA Crystal clear. We all new it would be a day to remember. I set the boat up at black caverns to start our day off. The visibility was well over fifty feet and the water temperature was just above 62. Everyone came back with big smiles on there face. Lot’s of Morey Eels and Lobster filled the cracks while the playful Harbor Seals frolicked in the shallows. Black Caverns always seems to be a great dive first thing in the morning. Once we got all the divers back aboard we picked up our anchors and moved on down the island.

After a quick move I set the boat up on the South West end of the island. The kelp was thick and the water seemed to be chillier but that didn’t stop all 22 passengers from taking the plunge into the big blue. When the first divers returned they showed me pictures of some of the largest Abalone I had ever seen. They told me how when they put kelp next to them the Abalone lifted it’s shell and sucked in the kelp. It’s always nice to hear that people are still seeing Abalone down here in southern California. As the last divers returned they noted that the visibility had dropped off to around thirty feet but it was still beautiful up in the shallows. We double checked that everyone was aboard and pulled our anchors to enjoy a nice deli shop lunch while moving to our final site of the day.

As I pulled the boat up to Little Flower reef I could see that this was going to be the best dive of the day. I had the boat in sixty feet of water and could see the shells on the bottom. I quickly anchored up the boat and after a short site briefing we opened up the gates. The divers could hardly wait to get wet. The sun was shinning overhead and the conditions were something out of a movie. Every diver returned to the boat with a look of surprise on their face. One of our long time customers said it was the best dive he had had in ten years. Up in the shallows there were large Leopard sharks and HUGE bass. Out in the sand many divers saw bat rays feeding on the bottom as the white fish picked up the scraps. Even the people who went out off the wall saw lots of lobster and big sea stars. Everyone seemed to be as happy as could be when I was retrieving our anchors. As we pointed our bow toward home, a friendly pod of dolphin led the way. You couldn’t ask for a better day out here at San Clemente Island.

Till the next underwater adventure

Captain Spencer

Good morning San Clemente Island! Good to see you again. It’s been awhile, a long while actually.

Anyhow, we arrive at 3:00am into the calm of Pyramid Cove. Beautiful night with a warm easterly breeze, presumably from the Santa Ana winds that are now blasting the Los Angeles area. From what I hear, California is on fire once again.

With this news, our divers enjoyed 4 fantastic dives today. An early pre dawn dive, where we experienced the reef changing from nocturnal to diurnal inhabitants. Then one dive at Pyramid Palisades then off to Little Flower Reef for two dives before heading home.

Little Flower was the best today with 80 foot vis and 63 degree water. The kelp forest was amazing, the sand proved lively and overall it was…GREAT!!!

We’re back out to San Clemente tomorrow and look forward to another amazing day of diving. Captain Spencer will be at the helm as I have the trip off.

Adios,

Captain Greg

In departing Catalina last night, I reflected back upon last year and the fires that ravaged southern California. The weather report for today was increasing north to north-east winds, better known as Santa Ana Winds. These winds fanned the flames that destroyed a good portion of San Diego last Fall. Luckily for us, the winds did not arrive…offshore at least.

We started the morning diving our new favorite SBI dive site, Sutil Plateau. This site, on the south and western edge of Sutil Island had been undived by us, and by my understanding all of the other California liveaboards for quite sometime. But last month we ventured forth and found what could be the best dives at Santa Barbara right under our nose.

Where was I? Oh yeah, the dive. Well, we set up on the northern edge of the plateau, just out of the current just on the edge of the wall. I, unfortunately, did not have the chance to jump in, but by all accounts, the sites dramatic topography and plethora of vertebrate and invertebrate life made this the best dive of the trip. The wall starts at 35 and drops to 120 feet, and the plateau is an amazing life magnet.

From here we ventured for 4 dives in the lee shore of Santa Barbara’s north-east side. Sea lions, by the dozens, frolicked about while offshore I found an reef that resembled something you may find in the Caribbean with every nook and crannie absolutely chocked full of fish, sea fans adorning most of the rock faces and large wrasse and other benthic dwellers patrolling the reef looking for a meal. Thousands of brittlestars, in every imaginable color, carpeted sections of the reef. Immense sea anemones seemed to find room between the brittlestars and a smattering of sea urchins added additional color to this surreal seascape.

The night proved to be quite amazing as the sea lions that buddied up with us on our day dives joined us for the night dive as well. During my 40 minute dive I spent 25 minutes in a swirling mass of juvenile sea lions. Every direction I shined my light a brown streak with glowing eyes found my beam. And when not in my beam I could feel them darting within millimeters of my head as the water swirled passed in addition to the occasional tug on my fins. Upon my return to the boat, I turned off my torch and sat down on the sandy bottom, bathed in the mild light emanating from Horizons exterior lighting. In the clear 80 foot visibility I enjoyed a black and white sea lion ballet with dozens of these playful juveniles lying in the sand next to me and enjoyed their playful urgings for me to engage in their graceful frolic. This was the best part of my entire day, as I felt accepted on some level by these trusting pinnipeds.

On a very sad note, we found one of these inquisitive sea lions caught inside a lobster trap. I’m sure he was trying to capture a meal, or possibly just exploring the fishy smelling cage. Once he or she stuck it’s head in the door, the only way to go is in and once in, it could not find it’s way out. My heart sank when I heard the story from one of our divers and then I happened upon the cage during my night dive. My heart sank…

We’re underway to San Clemente Island now and will be on scene in the wee hours. We’ll be offering a pre dawn dive this morning and look forward to the familiar kelp forests of the Jewel of the southern Channel Islands.

Adios,

Captain Greg Grivetto

After much deliberation I aborted my initial plan to head to Santa Barbara Island utilizing plan “B’ of Catalina Island. The reason? Well they are numerous.

Reason 1: The majority of San Clemente Island was closed today
Reason 2: The wind, she was supposed to blow very hard today
Reason 3: When the wind blows at Santa Barbara Island…it sucks!
Reason 4: With the majority of San Clemente Island closed due to military activity, we were going to be stuck in a small diveable area, which was to get even smaller as the wind started blowing
Reason 5: Catalina, even though I hated to say it, was going to be the best option due to the first four reasons

Now with that said, the forecasted wind…she did not blow today. We’re still waiting for the wind. They say it’s coming. Supposed to get ugly actually, up to 40 knots. And I forgot to bring my kite, darn!

So what did we do today, well we had one of the best Catalina diving days that I’ve ever been party to. Farnsworth Bank was the bomb!!!

We departed Clemente at 4:30am, arrived to a beautiful sunrise over Catalina and a glassy smooth ocean. This was foreshadowing to our 2 morning dives which mirrored the sunrise and glassy smooth ocean.

Let me first start off by saying that in my umpteen years as a dive / adventure eco travel boat captain, I’ve not ever felt the need to personally dive Farnsworth Bank twice in one day. I do have to admit, that even though it is one of the most beautiful dives that we do, I get jaded knowing that I’ll be back at a later date to dive there. But today…WAS THE EXCEPTION! WOW…100 foot visibility…zero surge…just enough current to keep the swirling mass of baitfish up in the water column, a beautiful sunny morning, and the list goes on!

As my buddy and I did the freefall over the beautiful north wall, I could see from my depth of 80 feet all the way to the bottom that levels out at 150ish. Cruising at a depth of 110 feet we happened upon a lingcod, a field of purple hydorcoral, skillions of nudibranchs, jillions of every fish you’d ever want to encounter and a cool cave just calling out for exploration…by somebody with a twin tank set up and a reel. Not us, that’s for sure.

Ascending back up to shallower portions of the reef I could take in almost the entire expanse of the southern high spot. And its pretty darn expansive. Looking in all directions I could count our courageous, fearless underwater adventurers. The water so clear that they looked small in the distance!

On my second dive we moved Horizon a bit closer to the high spot, still keeping our anchoring system away from the reef, yet allowing us to provide a shorter swim from the boat to the buoy. The was so darn clear at that point, that as I entered the water I took a compass course toward the buoy and then swam the 35 yards to the reef underwater. It was very cool as I approached, once again seeing divers so far off that they looked small.

On this dive we worked the eastern wall, delving to 100 feet on this dive as we enjoyed the feeling of weightlessness hanging off the wall with 100 feet of water below us! After clearing fishing line from the reef we made our way up to the shallows once again, and swam the entire reef system from a depth ofabout 25 feet above it. I’d not had the chance to survey the entire area in my previous dives, typically focusing on the northern wall and adjacent reef, taking advantage of the fantastically clear water to do so.

Needless to say, everyone had smiles on their faces after these dives. Mola mola’s were seen as were Pacific bonito, northern yellowtail and Pacific electric rays. It was awesome!

As I write we’re enjoying a scrumptious meal and preparing to venture forth into the dark expanse of the nighttime ocean environment. I can’t wait to jump in, the water looks amazing!

Adios,

Captain Greg Grivetto

The 60 mile crossing from San Diego to San Clemente was a polar opposite to our recent crossing from Rocas Alijos, flat and smooth. MV Horizon motion on the ocean was barely noticeable and provided a fantastic sleeping environment.

Well, enough about sleeping…let’s talk diving. Good diving at that! Which today’s was good diving and just plain old good fun! We enjoyed 63 degree water and 50 - 70 foot visibility today while diving Purple Boilers, Castle Rock and finally Koka Point on Clemente’s west end. A mild Santa Ana breeze kept the air temp a comfortable 80 degrees while causing the ocean to go completely flat.

Anywho, we’ll be venturing farther west to Santa Barbara Island tonight in search of the the elusive “Brittlestar”. Hmmm, me thinks I know where to look!

Ayedeyeoooohhhseeee,

Capitano Gregorio Grivetto Pacifico Bizarro El Queso Grande

We made way for San Benito at 3:00am last night, rounded the northern tip of Cedros Island and bounced our way across the channel, arriving at 7:00am. The wind has not slowed a bit over the past 3 days and continues to plague us today.

We spent the morning diving the Pinnacles south of west island in beautiful water with 80 foot vis and 72 degrees on the surface water temperature. It is unfortunate that the surface conditions have been so horrific today as we really could have had a great time diving in this beautiful water at some of the more exposed sites.

After lunch we ventured to Jack’s Bay on the east islands eastern lee, finding similar conditions with large schools of yellowtail in the shallows. Well, actually one large school of yellowtail. The rest of our spearos saw pretty much nothing, which unfortunately has been the theme of the trip. Mother Nature has definitely beat us down over the previous 8 days.

In about an hour we’ll be getting underway, heading north for San Martin Island, 135 miles to our north.

Adios,

Captain Greg

The wind backed off a bit today, but only a bit. We were relegated to diving the expansive southern bay of Isla Cedros, unfortunately due to the wind we could not visit some of the good offshore areas but we still had fun.

Schools of smallish sized Pacific bonito patrolled the outer edges of the reef while occasional large yellowtail shouldered their way through the bait fish and into the sights of our spearos. During lunch and unfortunately into mid afternoon I searched for other areas out of the wind. Finally finding an area on the islands leeward side about 12 miles from the southern end.

The spearos didn’t have any luck here but in exploring the rocky substratester and huge sand dollars in the sandy interludes. We also had an unidentified reef shark make a quick pass into Captain Spencer’s field of vision as he was hunting the deep water.

We’re now anchored quietly in the same location with nary a breeze to wave our dive flags, looking forward to a scrumptious meal provided by Chef Marko. Tonight we’ll navigate the waters around Cedros’ north end and head west to Islas San Benito. The ride is going to be a bit blustery, but the payoff tomorrow should be good diving in warm clear water as satellite imagery points to all systems go.

Adios,

Capitan Gregorio Grivetto

The wind continued to freshen overnight, so by the morning it was a steady 12 - 15 knots and building. We got in two jumps this morning into beautiful gin clear, 160 foot vis, water. Our first was on a pinnacle to the west of the rocks that rises from 180 feet directly up to 30. It resembles a pillar of concrete with completely vertical sides. It’s amazing that it has withstood the forces of nature as it is only 40 feet in diameter and 150 feet tall.

We made a second dive in the lee of the south ridge, in attempts to get out of the building wind swell. Once again great vis and tons’ to see with sea turtles galore inhabiting the shallows. Our spearos attempts to find pelagics were almost futile today, with only one wahoo captured. The ocean seemed almost sterile of pelagics and after a conversation with a visiting sportfishing vessel to concur the facts that the area was devoid of tuna and wahoo plus the fact that the weather was building, we begrudgingly decided to head north.

After 24 hours of slow travel north we arrived into the lee of Isla Cedros’ immense south bay shortly after lunch. The water is typically green on the south end of the island, just as it was today. But the 71 degree temperature made it a bit more inviting. A good number of our spearos stayed aboard, opting to get some sleep as sleep had been fleeting since our departure from Alijos. But a the few who did jump in found some nice yellowtail and kelp bass. Our largest of the day was a whopper, 43 pounds.

Tonight we’ll spend the evening in the south bay in hopes that the wind drops a bit. It’s blowing 15 - 35 knots consistently as I write, but you know what? Who cares…we’re at Isla Cedros, 295 miles from San Diego having a blast! Wish you were here!

Adios,

Captain Greg Grivetto