I will always begin and end with the ocean.
The ebb and flow of the sea's tide courses through my veins. The
ocean has become the framework for who I am. Changing, adapting,
failing, succeeding, and inspiring.
But a beginning is just a beginning and an end is just an end. It is
in the middle, the “in-between,” where we find out who we really are. And
the middle is hardly ever at sea level.
*I am a fish out of water, always yearning to return to my beginning*
I had received a heads-up from a good friend and past co-work at SIO (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) that Anchovies were seen schooling around the pier in the La Jolla Bay. I decided that I should ready my gear for a potential dive the next day, conditions permitting. I checked the surf report and scoped the local beach cam and decided to head up the coast for a quick dip. The surf was small, the water looked pretty clear and warm, and one of the lifeguards I spoke with said the visibility was pretty solid this morning from his dawn patrol surf session. Good enough for me.
I had just finished rebuilding one of my doublehoser regulators, did a test dip last weekend with it, and decided to take it for a dive today. While the conditions at Marine Room have been better in the past, the thousands of schooling bait-fish (anchovies and sardines) more than made up for the less than perfect conditions. Dive Details:
Time in the water: 10am
Dive Site: Marine Room, La Jolla Beach
Max Depth: 11 feet
Average depth: 7 feet
Water Temp: 73F
Dive time: 75 minutes
Air dive
Vintage back-plate with 25lb wing
12lbs of weight (a bit overweight, but this was good due to the high surge in the shallows)
5/4/3 BodyGlove suit, Voit Duck fins
AL80 tank at 2500PSI to start, used 1,000 PSI for the dive
1975 Royal Aquamaster Aqualung doublehose reg, 3CF SpareAir bailout
Solo dive
The doublehoser in action
The school appears on my way out to the abyss
This is the anchovy's death spiral, look closely at its caudal fin
Sunbeams
School is in session
This poor guy is on his last few swim kicks...
Thorny Back Ray
In the eye of the swarm
A baby halibut I found being tossed around in the surge
