|
|
BAUE Trip Reports
2/8/2003 E3 aboard Escapade by David Chamberlin -- [View this report only]
| Bottom Team: |
David Chamberlin, Alberto Nava |
| Support Team: | Isaac Callicrate, Nick Radov |
| Visibility: |
20' - 50' |
Time: | 9:00 AM |
| Temp: |
54F - 55F |
Surge: |
1' |
| Scooter: |
Gavin Short |
Burn Time: |
0:15 |
| Max Depth: |
170FSW |
Avg Depth: |
160FSW |
| Bottom Time: |
0:20 |
Total Time: |
58:00 |
| Bottom Gases: |
21/45 | Deco Gases: | EAN50 |
| Backgas Config: |
RB80,Double HP120,LP51 | Deco Tanks: | AL40,AL80 |
| Deco Profile: |
70 5
60 3
50 2
40 2
30 3
20 8
10 4
|
| |
We were the first team to go in. Our goal was to set the downline for the subsequent teams. We initially dropped a 10lb weight tied to caveline with a surface marker attached. We dropped the weight where we believed the E3 pinnacle was. We then descended the line to see if we were in fact on the pinnacle. If not, we were going to locate the pinnacle and move the line to it. As it turned out, the weight was right on the SW corner of the pinnacle. We tied the line in to the pinnacle to ensure the downline would remain fixed.
We then scootered the entire circumference of the pinnacle once. During this run, we encountered what appeared to be a yellow gorgonian. Later analysis of the video and photo documentation showed that it was actually a red gorgonian completely covered with Zoanthid
Anemone, Parazoanthus lucificum.
After completing our first loop, we had sufficient time that we decided to go back and cross through at the large cut in the middle that we found (and also the location of the "yellow gorgonian").
These two scooter runs gave us a good feel for the structure and geography of the area. We took video from a scooter-mounted video camera for the entire run. This has provided us good visual correlation between the sonar map and what is physically there.
This image shows a graphical depiction of the course we took on the sonar map.
|
2/8/2003 E3 aboard Escapade by Clinton Bauder -- [View this report only]
| Bottom Team: |
Clinton Bauder, Sami Laine |
| Support Team: | Isaac Callicrate, Will Gore |
| Visibility: |
20' - 70' |
Time: | 11:00 AM |
| Temp: |
54F |
Surge: |
|
| Max Depth: |
160FSW |
Avg Depth: |
150FSW |
| Bottom Time: |
|
Total Time: |
0:55 |
| Bottom Gases: |
21/45 | Deco Gases: | EAN50 |
| Backgas Config: |
Double LP104 | Deco Tanks: | AL40 |
| Deco Profile: |
1,1,1,1,4,2,2,2,2,8,5 |
| |
|
Sami and I were one of two teams to start the underwater documentation of E3 after team 1 (Dave and Beto) set the upline and scouted the area. Susan and Joe were the other documentation team. Sami and I dove along the southwest wall of the pinnacle while Joe and Susan explored the northeast slope. We didn't find anything exceptionally unusual but the scenery was incredible. Have a look and see for yourself! |
2/8/2003 E3 aboard Escapade by David Chamberlin -- [View this report only]
| Bottom Team: |
David Chamberlin, Alberto Nava |
| Support Team: | Will Gore, Nick Radov |
| Visibility: |
20' - 60' |
Time: | 12:22 PM |
| Temp: |
54F - 55F |
Surge: |
1' |
| Scooter: |
Gavin Short |
Burn Time: |
0:17 |
| Max Depth: |
164FSW |
Avg Depth: |
150FSW |
| Bottom Time: |
0:20 |
Total Time: |
1:03 |
| Bottom Gases: |
21/45 | Deco Gases: | EAN50 |
| Backgas Config: |
RB80,Double LP80,LP51 | Deco Tanks: | AL40,AL80 |
| Deco Profile: |
70 5
60 3
50 2
40 2
30 2
20 10
10 5 |
| |
The goal for this dive was to jump from the E3 pinnacle to the G3 and surrounding pinnacles. We descended on the downline set earlier, scootered along the south wall of E3 until we hit the SE corner. From there we continued to the south across the sand until we hit the pinnacle west of G3.
We followed along the south side of this pinnacle, then jumped to several small pinnacles to the SE. We then returned to pinnacle west of G3 and headed north until we reached the G3 pinnacle. We circled around the G3 pinnacle as we ascended.
This was a beautiful dive with lots of interesting geography. As with the earlier dive, we had a scooter-mounted video camera recording the entire run.
One thing of interest noted was the very large number of blue rockfish in the 70-100FSW range of G3.
This image shows a graphical depiction of the course we took on the sonar map. |
2/9/2003 E3 aboard Escapade by David Chamberlin -- [View this report only]
| Bottom Team: |
David Chamberlin, Alberto Nava, Susan Bird |
| Support Team: | Nick Radov, Kevin Metcalfe |
| Visibility: |
20' - 50' |
Time: | 11:57 AM |
| Temp: |
54F - 55F |
Surge: |
1' |
| Scooter: |
Gavin Short |
Burn Time: |
22:00 |
| Max Depth: |
171FSW |
Avg Depth: |
150FSW |
| Bottom Time: |
0:25 |
Total Time: |
1:10 |
| Bottom Gases: |
21/45 | Deco Gases: | EAN50 |
| Backgas Config: |
RB80,Double LP80,HP120,LP51 | Deco Tanks: | AL40,AL80 |
| Deco Profile: |
70 5
60 3
50 3
40 3
30 3
20 12
10 5
|
| |
The goals of this dive were to remove the downline, then explore through Crabville and over to the Needle. We descended along the downline and removed the ties so it was free, allowing the surface team to pull it up. Then we removed the line we had set earlier as a reference for the photo/video teams and proceeded to scooter along the north wall of E3.
After reaching the NE corner of E3, we headed due north across the sand in search of the pinnacles in the Crabville area. We reached the first pinnacle after about 250'. We followed along its south side to the east until we found the E/W running sand channel. We followed the sand channel to the west, then rounded around the next pinnacle to the N/NE.
We then took a somewhat meandering path roughly E/SE towards the Needle. We successfully reached the Needle and circled around it as we ascended.
The geography throughout this entire run was spectacular. Hopefully we will have some of the video footage from this run up on the site soon to give some perspective on what it's really like.
This image shows a graphical depiction of the course we took on the sonar map. |
2/8/2003 E3 aboard Escapade by Clinton Bauder -- [View this report only]
| Bottom Team: |
Sami Laine, Clinton Bauder |
| Support Team: | Isaac Callicrate |
| Visibility: |
20' - 50' |
Time: | 2:00 PM |
| Temp: |
54F |
Surge: |
|
| Max Depth: |
160FSW |
Avg Depth: |
135FSW |
| Bottom Time: |
0:23 |
Total Time: |
0:58 |
| Bottom Gases: |
21/45 | Deco Gases: | EAN50 |
| Backgas Config: |
Double LP80 | Deco Tanks: | AL40 |
| Deco Profile: |
1,1,1,5,2,2,2,2,10,5 |
| |
For the second dive of the Day Sami and I swapped sides of the pinnacle with Joe and Susan. This time we worked the northeast side. A priority for this dive was getting images of the zoanthid infested gorgonian (1, 2) in the middle crack area.
I saw a large Mola Mola as we started the deco but it was too far away to get any good images. |
2/9/2003 E3 aboard Escapade by Clinton Bauder -- [View this report only]
| Bottom Team: |
Clinton Bauder, Sami Laine |
| Support Team: | Kati Laihia, Nick Radov |
| Visibility: |
50' |
Time: | 10:30 AM |
| Temp: |
54F |
Surge: |
|
| Max Depth: |
160FSW |
Avg Depth: |
150FSW |
| Bottom Time: |
0:22 |
Total Time: |
0:58 |
| Bottom Gases: |
21/45 | Deco Gases: | EAN50 |
| Backgas Config: |
Double LP104 | Deco Tanks: | AL40 |
| Deco Profile: |
1,1,1,1,5,3,2,2,2,8,5 |
| |
Back at E3 for more documentation. This time we focused on the SE corner before working our way back to the middle crack. I got some fairly nice footage of a vermillion rockfish on the reef and of the gorgonians in the middle crack.
Kati got some nice photos of us during our deco hang. |
2/8/2003 E3 aboard Escapade by Susan Bird -- [View this report only]
| Bottom Team: |
Joe Talavera, Susan Bird |
| Support Team: | Nick Radov |
| Visibility: |
20' - 50' |
Time: | 2:00 PM |
| Temp: |
54F |
Surge: |
1' |
| Max Depth: |
169FSW |
Avg Depth: |
154FSW |
| Bottom Time: |
0:20 |
Total Time: |
1:07 |
| Bottom Gases: |
21/45 | Deco Gases: | EAN50 |
| Backgas Config: |
Double LP80 | Deco Tanks: | AL40 |
| Deco Profile: |
70 5
60 2
50 2
40 2
30 2
20 12
10 7 |
| |
|
Dive two for our team, this time we explored the SW wall of E3. This wall falls off sharply to the bottom, compared to NE wall. We swam to the far end of the pinnacle, then zig-zagged back towards the downline, and spent time in the middle crack area, where the zoanthid infested gargonian was being documented by Sami and Clinton. We ascended from the top of G3, taking full advantage of the excellent conditions and live boat support. |
2/8/2003 E3 aboard Escapade by Susan Bird -- [View this report only]
| Bottom Team: |
Susan Bird, Joe Talavera |
| Support Team: | Will Gore |
| Visibility: |
20' - 70' |
Time: | 11:00 AM |
| Temp: |
54F |
Surge: |
1' |
| Max Depth: |
166FSW |
Avg Depth: |
156FSW |
| Bottom Time: |
0:20 |
Total Time: |
0:57 |
| Bottom Gases: |
21/45 | Deco Gases: | EAN50 |
| Backgas Config: |
Double LP80 | Deco Tanks: | AL40 |
| Deco Profile: |
70 5
60 2
50 2
40 2
30 2
20 8
10 5 |
| |
|
Joe and I were one of two teams doing underwater documentation of E3. After a briefing of the area by Team 1 (Beto/Dave), our teams entered the water. Team 1 set the downline perfectly for us, allowing for a direct descent to the SW corner spike of E3, and easy access to both faces of the long, narrow pinnacle. Sami and Clinton swam along the SW wall, while Joe and I expolored the NE side, which slopes at a more gradual angle to the sandy bottom. Our teams made steady progress along our respective walls; occasionally we could see the lights from the other team across the width of the pinnacle. We swam the length (275 ft) of E3 in 10 min at a very leisurely pace. We saw numerous elephant ear sponges, gargonians, lings, decorator crabs, and vermillion rockfish. E3 is a remarkably lush pinnacle for this depth range. |
7/4/2003 E3 aboard Escapade by Clinton Bauder -- [View this report only]
| Bottom Team: |
Clinton Bauder, Sami Laine |
| Visibility: |
30' - 80' |
Time: | 3:30 PM |
| Temp: |
48F - 52F |
Surge: |
|
| Max Depth: |
150FSW |
Avg Depth: |
140FSW |
| Bottom Time: |
|
Total Time: |
1:12 |
| Bottom Gases: |
21/45 | Deco Gases: | EAN50 |
| Backgas Config: |
Double LP104 | Deco Tanks: | AL80 |
| Deco Profile: |
Deep stops, 5,3,3,3,4,12,6 |
| |
Ahh, 4th of July. What better way to spend a day celebrating freedom than on the water in beautiful Carmel? Unfortunately as we sat in traffic on 101 it seemed we weren't the only ones with that in mind. Happily it turned out that many of our fellow travellers preferred to go boating elsewhere and exited 101 towards Los Banos for waterskiing or other freshwater activities. Traffic after that was amazingly light. Unfortunately parking was another matter altogether...
Anyway we met John and Beto at K dock for some deep diving at E3 off of the Escapade. It was sunny in Monterey but a looming fog bank indicated it might not be that way in Carmel. Most of the thick stuff was off of Cypress Point and Point Lobos had just the right amount of cloud cover turning the famous meeting of land and sea into an ethereal dreamscape with pines poking out of the fog and headlands vanishing into the mist.
The water was a spectacular clear blue and I knew it was going to be a great dive as soon as I hit the water. We headed down the line and were soon greeted by the sensational technicolor verticality that is E3.
For this dive we stayed near the top of the pinnacle where the life is densest. Visibility at depth was easily 80 feet and we spent a leisurely 30 minutes plus savoring the beauty of it all.
The reef here is absolutely covered in life; Corynactis, big sponges, gorgonians, etc. The contrast between the cream colored sponges and the red anemones and gorgonians gives it a sort of a candy striped effect. For variety mix in some yellow sulphur sponges, translucent tunicates and purple algae. As usual there was a school of blue rockfish at the very top of the pinnacle with vermillions and rosies living on the reef itself.
Near the end of the dive I spotted a small wolf eel out in the open. You don't see a free-swimming wolfie against such a pretty background every day. I must have overdone my signalling to Sami though as he turned away from his picture taking with a "You had better be out of air!" look on his face. Sorry bout that dude!
Deco was straightforward if a bit chilly at 48F. Following the dive we headed back to the harbor for some fireworks. Jim's mooring provided front row seats in front of the fireworks barge. This was a perfect venue as we were close enough to really hear the sounds of the rockets and the taut snap of the explosions but far enough that it didn't hurt our ears and with an angle such that we didn't have to crane our necks too badly to watch the show. Ohh, ahhh. Happy 4th! |
Previous 1 2 Next
|
