New Years 2007 Channel Islands Trip

Spent three days diving off the sides of a 100 foot boat around the northern Channel Islands, having left Santa Barbara’s port on Saturday morning at about 4 am. Having chugged the 20 or so nautical miles out to the islands during the wee-hours of the morning, it was nice to wake to a beautiful sunrise, and the first island, Anacapa, just in the distance.

Did three dives around Anacapa Island on Saturday, sitting out the last dive because of Mark not feeling well. The next morning his cold persisted and we both sat out the first morning dive. I was invited to tag along with another couple on the later dives around Santa Cruz Island, and eagerly joined in. Fortunately, Mark’s cold was better on Monday morning and we were able to finish off the trip with three more dives before the boat headed back to the mainland.

Of all the dives, the last dive was my absolute favorite of all times. Having been told of an underwater arch, Mark and I jumped in – first couple off the boat for the last dive of the day. Determined to find the arch that many others reported being unable to locate, we took very precise directions from one of the captains, got a compass heading and leaped in. Dropping down to 40 feet into a sandy bottom with a few sea urchins and shelled crabs, we headed due north, and lo and behold, found the most exquisite underwater arch. Covered in urchins, kelp and other vegetation, we swam through the arch side by side. What awaited on the other side took my breath away. Coming out on the other side, the sea was like an aquarium. About 200 fish swam peacefully in the clear water, kelp strands slowly moving in the current. It was absolutely beautiful.

We swam to a sandy patch and lowered to the bottom. Within moments, two sea lions swam into the area, tearing around, buzzing us as we sat there. They would swim close, and then dart off into the distance, only to return a few minutes later. We spent about 10 minutes quietly enjoying their company, the fish, the urchins, the peaceful ocean – just us and nature. Soon other divers were making their way through the arch and we decided that it was the best time to head back and let the other enjoy the area – albeit not as serene as we had by ourselves.

What a wonderful trip. A wonderful experience. I wish I were back in nature’s aquarium with the lovely sealions again.

This is all the information that I logged into my divelog so it does not contain the minute by minute information as to the specifics of depth, etc.

12/30/06: Dive #1 of the Trip: Dive #13 overall Site: Goldfish Bowl - Anacapa Island. Calm water, small surve, no current. Water temp 57 degrees. Deepest point, 41 feet, 37 minutes bottom time. Notes: current became strong after about 10 minutes down, resulting in us not finding the anchor line. Long swim back to the boat on the surface.

12/30/06: Dive #2 of the Trip: Dive #14 overall Site: Corral Reef - Anacapa Island. Visibility about 40', calm water and a slow current. Water temperature about 58 degrees. Max depth 53 feet, 23 minutes bottom time. Notes: Beautiful dive, long, giant kelp strands and tons of starfish, including a number of sunstars. Swam to the right through the kelp to an amazing ledge that just dropped, supposedly to about 70 feet. I only went down part way, and then turned to look at the ledge and was amazed by the fish hanging in the water, the kelp "blowing" in the waters movement. One of my nicest dives ever.

12/30/06: Dive #3 of the Trip: Dive #15 overall Site: Phillips Cove - Anacapa Island 57 degree water, 25' visibility. No current small surf. Maximum depth 36', 28 minutes bottom time. Note: Site is nicknamed "Sea Urchin Alley" which was an appropriate nickname. Tons of sea urchins, some as big as basketballs (overall size). Finally saw a spanish shawl! Relaxed dive.

12/31/06: Dive #4 of the Trip: Dive #16 overall Site: Flame Reef – Santa Cruz Island Calm water with small surf, slow current. Weather slightly cloudy. Water about 55 degrees, 30’ visibility. Max depth 60’ with bottom time of 27 minutes. Notes: Nice site with huge kelp strands. Ascent on a kelp strand. Regrettable long surface swim post-dive.

12/31/06: Dive #5 of the Trip: Dive #17 overall Site: Cobra Head – Santa Cruz Island Water temp 55 degrees, visibility about 25’. Calm water, small surf and no current. Still cloudy. Maximum depth 42’ with 33 minutes bottom time. Notes: Dove with Rich, instructor from Pinnacles Dive Center along the cliffs at the site. Saw a bunch of sea hares, played with a sunstar measuring about 18 inches across. At the anchor line at the start of our ascent, two sea lions darted by. Really nice.

1/1/07: Dive #6 of the Trip, Dive #18 overall Site: Unknown, deep dive – Anacapa Island Maximum depth 90 feet at the anchor line. Sunny water and calm water. Bottom time, 21 minutes. Notes: Nothing very interesting to see except some brittle stars and sea urchins. Slight problem with ear clearing on descent at about 40-45 feet.

1/1/07: Dive #7 of the Trip, Dive #19 overall Site: Underwater Arch – Anacapa Island Water temperature 57 degrees, good visibility, about 30 feet. Calm water, small surf with a slow current. Max depth 36 feet, with bottom time of 28 minutes. Notes: Nice dive at a sea lion rookery. Strong surge at the rocks. Only a small amount of playtime with the sea lions at the start.

1/1/07: Dive #8 of the Trip, Dive #20 overall Site: Underwater Arch – Anacapa Island 57 degree water, calm with small surf and almost no current. Visibility about 30’. Max depth 35’, total bottom time 25 minutes. First ones into the water, and this time we found the underwater arch for which the site is named. Swam through side by side and swam into an aquarium with 100s of fish swimming around. At first I hung onto a kelp stand soaking in the environment, we them moved to a sandy patch on the bottom. Sea lions were playing with us, zooming in and out, and all around the arch. We were alone at the arch for about 10 minutes before any of the other divers arrived. Amazingly to have it all to ourselves in such a peaceful and clear state.