Ishie's Logbook

Here I can REALLY bore you with my logs. I'm not going to break it down by dive, because I'd like your eyes not to fall out. I'm grouping dives by trip. I usually take weekend runs so I'll list things that way.

May 7-8th, 2005
Monterey/Pacific Grove

I got my camera back! I got my camera back! This was the first weekend to take my new baby out since the Great Flood, and my first chance to use my spanking new Ike housing. Oh, do I love it. I'm using more manual settings and figured out how to get my supermacro mode to work. Did four dives in two days, all off the boat. On Saturday, we had two boats; on Sunday, we had three boats and fewer people. John was kind enough to let me tag along on his boat all weekend. Lori invited Ericson and me along, so we all met up Saturday morning at Breakwater and launched. This was the first time I dived any of the sites this weekend. First dive was at the Barge, a broken wooden structure quite a distance off Breakwater. 66' for 44 min. My first wreck! Lots of broken up wood and tons of life. A lot of kelp rockfish, which isn't unusual, but also a lot of small lingcod. Awesome rainbow nudibranchs! I haven't seen any for a while, and there were a number of them. Accidentally blew one off the tube anemone it was eating. Spring is here! EVERYTHING was mating! Saw a huge white rainbow nudi mating with a smaller red one, and got some cool shots of that.

Lori was concerned about her air consumption since she is still pretty new to diving, but she did really well! I came up right behind her. Lots of fun along the wreck; nice visibility.

After the dive, Lori had to take off, and we all prepped for a second dive at the Mating Amtracks that are way off Lovers Point. Apparently an Amtrack is/was an amphibious military vehicle and the mating Amtracks are supposedly (they're pretty dessicated) arranged in about the same positions that everything else was this weekend. There is SO much life crusted on this things; it is absolutely coated in strawberry anemones and cup corals, including a weird heart shape that emerged. It was kind of sweet, because right near the heart, there were a couple of Kellet's whelks mating, and on top of a structure near it, there were two tiny nudibranchs getting ready to do the dirty (cheers to both John and Ericson for noticing those little things; I'd have missed them completely). Awwww. 80' for 37'. I went up because my computer was getting cranky with me and informed me that if I didn't head up, my blood was going to be warm soda pop and it wasn't responsible for the consequences. Oh, for a Nitrox cert. Visibility was absolutely incredible! Couldn't believe how light it was down there. Before we descended, John was like "Well, hopefully I've anchored closely enough that we'll be able to find it." Ha. I think the anchor landed two feet from the structure with the line stretching at a forty-five degree angle overhead. I'm impressed. I have trouble finding the beach after a dive, personally. Also landed almost on the barge for dive 1. Ripping current from 0-20' and had to clip onto the boat to get our stuff on. Ericson swam over from the "hunter" boat to the "photo" boat and was able to grab the current line, but he gets an "A" for effort! I was hooked to a line off the side, and I felt like I was being dragged through the water when we were anchored! On the bottom though, no current. After the dive, Ericson headed back home. The others did another dive, but wimp that I am, I decided to call it a day.

Sunday morning, met up at Breakwater again and waited for one of John's friends. Saturday had been really sunny and bright (nicely burning me), but Sunday was overcast and rainy in the morning, which meant (horrors!), we might get wet. We did a dive at the deep shale in search of a weight belt, and naturally, the guys found it almost immediately. DARK dive. There was some crud near the top, so the visibility was about 10-15', but it was still a cool dive, my second deepest, at 82'. Saw my first vermillion rockfish and orange sea cucumber. The shale offers a really different kind of life. There was a bottom of rocky sand that had about a million spiny brittle stars waving arms around, and then a series of shale ledges comes up that are between 5" and 2' high that form "steps". Those run for miles, I'm told. Would have liked to have a light. My computer started yelling at me again, so I headed slowly up the anchor line.

Last dive was Aquarium Reef. It's off the Monterey Bay Aquarium (surprise!). I got to do a very zen dive, though it was really cold and I'm not sure why. I actually wore my hood this weekend (grumble). A sea lion buzzed me near the beginning of the dive, and about halfway through I saw a white thing that I first thought was an anemone, but realized it had big cocker spaniel eyes, and as I went for my camera, the harbor seal took off into oblivion. Apparently they like you when you DON'T have the camera ready. Lots of metridium anemones forming big cauliflower patches here and there. Cool topography. Sand at the bottom of a huge series of rock formations that would rise 20-30' above the bottom. Saw the biggest sunflower star I've ever seen, which is a tough contest. When I went up, I was hanging in my safety stop when this silly kelp rockfish starts slowly circling my hand, and moves up, examining me. It pauses approximately six inches from my nose and just STARES at me, occasionally moving its position slowly from side to side so it could check my out more thoroughly. This goes on for five minutes and I don't want to move and scare it. Finally, time for me to go up, so I left the creature alone. Lucky for it I wasn't a shark.

Great weekend; some of my best pictures so far and some great new experiences; great new buddies!


April 16-17th, 2005
Albion Cove (up near Mendocino)
First ab dives ever!! Thanks much to Jeff and Barry who extended the invite. This was a big camping trip that included one of my instructors (Jeff) from my open water cert. Lots of fun. The first dive was on Saturday morning, and I got the Dual "X" chromosome benefit package of getting to go out first, with calm seas, with the other women. Did I get anything? Nope. Heh heh. Couldn't really relax on the water at first, so was holding my breath for about ten seconds, which was long enough to go down, say "Wow, look at all the frigging abalone!!!!" and shoot for the surface.

For the uninitiated, red abalone are delicious giant marine snails that due to extensive regulations, are nearly impossible to get commericially. Regulations state that abalone can only be taken north of Yankee Point, must be taken by either freediving (breath hold diving) or shorepicking. Three can be taken per day; twenty-four can be taken per year, and they have to be at least 7" at the widest part. They have to be taken with an ab iron so the animal isn't cut since if they're cut and not taken, they'll bleed to death.

So couldn't get any abs, but then stopped trying for them and tried to relax in the water. As the tension slid away, I was able to hold my breaths for a normal amount of dive where I discovered my rare talent for poking abs in the face with my iron. This, of course, causes them to clamp down so hard on the rock that a jackhammer couldn't get them off. But I had fun! Pretty up there!! Both Jeff and Barry had zodiacs and the boats stayed primarily together, finding a good ab spot that was probably 10-15' deep. Naturally, on the second dive where the men went out, they found the 5' shallows that had the bottom covered in legal abs. Hmph.

During the rest of the day, I went to a nursery with the other women, and had a blast! Learned what a Japanese maple is. Then we went into Mendocino and partook in some sinful deserts and wandered out to the headlands to see some wonderful rock formations that made us long for a kayak. That night was the big ab cookout jamboree, and mmm mmm mmm. Ate my first abs, pounded my first abs (not in that order) and watched one guy get in trouble by the rest for feeding a small piece of raw ab steak to a particularly cute harbor seal that was begging in the river near the clearing station. By the time the guys were done cleaning the abs and filleting the GIANT fish they shot (40.5" lingcode and 25" cabezon!), they had an audience of three seals and about a hundred seagulls.

Second dive was Sunday morning, and the conditions had... deteriorated, shall we say? All the solid boats were turning back, but being in an inflatable, just try us, nature! So headed out with the two boats to brave high swell, white water, and seasickness for those delicious little molluscs. Jeff and Barry found a shallow area that was somewhat protected by rock walls, and we hit the water. After a few ab pokes, I decided to abandon the idea of the iron, and started trying to flip them by hand. Whew, does that work better!! Grabbed a couple that were short and had to put them back (right side down), and figured out the sizes I was looking for. Got one for the cover of "Barely Legal" and proudly stuffed it in my ab float. Right as everyone else was getting back on the boat (and Barry and Jeff are absolutely amazing at getting these creatures; truly), I saw a big one, got down to him, and pulled him just at the end of the breath. Woo hoo!!!!!!!!!!! He and the 7.25 incher are occupying my freezer waiting to be et. The trip back was quite exciting. Sadly, Jeff sacrificed his speargun to Poseidon on our way through a hairy patch, and ended up riding in a series of waves that had the boat hurtling through the water at Mach 12, and occasionally had Big Jim and me sprawled across the ab floats in the front. Yeeeee ha!!!!!


*More to come when I get around to sorting through my dive log.*

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