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Moving Northward
So finally have had enough of the San Francisco Bay Area and am moving up into Oregon. Scio to be precise - 58 acre farm. Total life change for me. But... still going to dive and so I am posting this in the hope that any Oregon folks in that general Northern OR area comment with dive clubs, dive sites, dive shop recommendations etc. Thanks in advance. E...
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Finally Gave In to the Drysuit lure
After years of diving in the less-than-warm waters of Monterey Bay I finally gave in to the prodding of my drysuit-wearing friends and got one too. It had always been a little bit of a badge of honor to comment to students something along the lines of "50 degree water is NOT ’cold’... it is chilly" and truly, that was mostly the case. I also was fond of pointing out that "I can pee with impunity" (in a wetsuit) to which my drysuit-wearing friends could only shrug their shoulders and nod in begru...
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Follow-up to Jellyfish Invasion Entry
So was helping my instructor to do a deep dive with some students so they can finish off their Advanced Open Water Cert. The two students have both tried this once before and one got narc’d and panicked at 70’ last time and the other got seasick and threw up on the surface in nice one foot swells. The site is known as "Ballbuster" and it is about 3/4 mile into the bay from the Coastguard Breakwater in Monterey, CA (which I think puts it in Pacific Grove territory). The pinacle top starts at ~ 70...
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The Eyes Aren’t What They Used To Be
I finally had to admit to myself that, despite my admiration for my Suunto D9, it is finally time to move on. Not that it does anything wrong - the problem is with my 40+ year old eyes. Kinda disconcerting to not be able to read the LCD of the device I use to not get injured or die so needed something with a bigger face and characters. Will miss the nice, neat, small package that made the transition from under to above water so seamlessly but also relieved to be able to see water temp, remaining...
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Jellyfish "Invasion" in Monterey, CA
Was down at Breakwater 2 weekends ago helping with a Stress & Rescue course and the water was TEAMING with Sea Nettle Jellyfish (Chrysaora fuscescens) and more than a few Egg Yoke Jellies too. Local newspapers are taking notice. Luckily Sea Nettle stings are more of an annoyance/distraction (especially when you get a face full) than a danger. Quite interesting to play "dead" face down on the bottom waiting for a student to "recover" you only to be rolled over and have your BC inflated until the ...
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Sea Lion Die-off throughout CA
Just uploaded a few pics of Sea Lions that have recently been coming ashore in DROVES down in Monterey, CA. Marine Mammal Center is collecting about 20 a day to take back and rehab because of starvation issues. Sadly, once in the water one is exposed to DOZENS of Sea Lion corpses littering the sea floor in various states of decomposition - some look like they’re peacefully sleeping while others are covered with Starfish and crabs being recycled. Apparently there was a larger then average birthin...
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