Looking over my fifteen postings, this is fast becoming the economics and scuba blog. This post won’t change that average.
I completed my advanced PADI course this weekend. It focused on peak performance buoyancy, underwater navigation, night dives, deep dives, and wreck dives. I had three dives at the shores on Saturday, including one at night. In between practicing skills we got to see a decent amount of life around the edge of the canyon. Sheephead and miscellaneous fish, as well as a large bat ray chowing down on some critters buried in the wall.
The night dive was a great experience. We arrived in the golden hours and watched the sun go down as we got our equipment ready. Empty looking bumps in the day transformed into sea pens and anemones at night. There were a lot of halibut and lobster out, as well as a few scorpion fish and a small red octopus in the canyon.
On Sunday we did two deep/wreck dives. The first was the HMS Yukon, a 366 foot long Canadian destroyer that was sunk in 100 feet of water in 2000. The wreck has only been down seven years, but it is completely covered with life. Most of the ship is coated in metridium, an anemone that looks like a large cauliflower. Small to medium sized fish swim around and through the wreck’s railings and holes. I’m going to have to come back here.
The next dive was at the Ruby E. This cutter wreck is 165 feet long, and about 85 feet deep. Since it was sunk in 1989, the ship has dissolved in certain areas. But it also has abundant life in and around it, with strawberry anemones coating most of it. Yet another great dive.
At this point, I think I’m almost done with classes. I’ll probably end up taking nitrox/enritched air (to extend my bottom time), and deep dives (130 feet) so I can check out La Jolla Canyon.