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January club dive report 2022

 

Nine tooters gathered at Outer Lovers for a dive Saturday the 22nd. Attendees were: Alan Stanek, Bill Briscoe, Gian Garriga, Gary Henry, Gary Norton, Dave Chervin, Dennis Hocker, Patti Shannon, and Oliver Edwards. The day was sunny, with comfortable temperatures (Dennis Hocker was in shirtsleves in the afternoon!), and a 1' break made for a fairly easy entry. Seven divers made the first dive and six the second. 

Oliver and Bill went to examine one of Reef Check's kelp repopulation rocks, found via GPS after a fair surface swim. The visibility was so good that Oliver was able to identify the rock at 35', populated with kelp, while on the surface. After examining the rock they slowly swam further out, jumping from one reef check repopulation rock to another, enjoying the colorful underwater flora, reaching a maximum depth of around 46'. Visibility was unusually good while at deeper (35'+) depths the entire dive.

Other groups dove closer to the entry point, exploring the rocky reef.

On the second dive, Oliver, Bill, and Gian swam out past the point underwater, exploring the underwater topography.

Another group, including Dave, Gary, and Alan, stayed closer to shore. Alan and Gary saw a grey whale underwater estimated to be 30'! (Unfortunately Dave wasn't looking in the right direction -  probably studying details on the rocks.)

Alan says:
Great day, good water and weather. Silver lining on the urchin barren floor…. with all that kelp out of the way the gray whale was much easier to see. 🤪. Could be a once in a life time thing for 25 ft depth at Lovers Pt.

Gary says:
Yea saw a Grey Whale at the end of our second dive AMAZING Vis ~25-30' whale about 30'+ long and swing fast, 3 strokes it was out of sight. Just wonder if this happens more frequently we just cannot see them with our typical 10' vis. Thanks to everyone for making this a good day diving.

Post dive, several Tooters went to Giannis for food and libations.