Date: May 9, 2007
Time: 5:30/8:00
Location: Diver's/Shaw's
Depth (feet): 30/30
Dive Time (minutes): 60/63
Surf (feet): 1+
Surge (feet): 2-4
Water Temp (fahrenheit): 58
Visibility (feet): 2-10
Visibility Description: strong red tide
Notes and Highlights: Dove first at Diver's with Scott, Loi and Derek (nice to meet you both)...Red tide was obviously socked in around all of Laguna...looked like (but didn't taste/smell like) Newcastle Brown Ale. Damn the torpedos...goin' in anyway. Dropped down quick and into 2 feet of vis. Looked around for bat rays - but I didn't see any. Loi saw a small one. I saw a large halibut tail - but only the tail. Made our way off the sand and into the broken-up reef area. The vis opened up to around 8 feet there...still didn't find too much of interest. Scott and Derek split off to take some pictures - and Loi and I found a striped greenling, the usual suspect garibaldi, sea cukes (one which was extremely animated), and sea hares. Horrible vis, bad water quality...but it was wet...beats the hell outta workin'.
Loi had to leave, and Kevin and Ron joined the three of us at Shaw's...Vis was marginally better here, and there was at least the nudes around the Arch. More sea hares, stingrays, a seal that caught me by surprise while I was trying to shoot a Hopkin's Rose, and an octopus that Scott found rounded out most of what we saw...Kevin and Ron split off and found much better vis deeper and colder...I'll be diving Friday morning, and will be sure to keep that in mind. Overall - a good time was had by all...enjoy the short clip: