Blog for Nayan

Since i won’t be able to dive the next two weekends i decided to take advantage of the excellent conditions and dive this sunday. I decided to go on Great Escape Charters and i loved what the boat had to offer.

I reached the pier at about 6.30 am and was pleasantly surprised to see Andrew on board, Ferris was going to be there too so i didn’t have to bother about dive buddies. I love the facilities on the boat, it has nice seating arrangement on the stern and the galley is spacious too. They have an amazing DVD collection, I won’t hesitate to spend a weekend on this boat, too bad i can’t make it for the labor day weekend trip they have. The boat wasn’t only half full so there was plenty on room to spread out the gear and take things easy. My only complain would be having those mugs for water, for some reason i tend to drink less water if there aren’t any water bottles.

I found myself a bunk and tried to take a nap since i was really exhausted from all the laser tag games from the previous night and I also felt not adequately hydrated. Didn’t get too much of sleep so i went on the deck and we saw a huge pod of young dolphins. There must be atleast 50 of them, I tried taking pics, will have to see if got them. 

We got out pre-dive briefings as we approached the site and there was this old guy who was without a buddy, i wasn’t too keen on buddying up with him but i did nevertheless. He told me that he was an instructor and it was his first time diving in Calif. I felt little more comfortable diving with this guy but at the end of the dive i was pissed.

So since he was the instructor out of respect and he being more experienced i asked him to lead the dive, a big mistake. He got into the water ahead of me and went in an opposite direction of the dive site, i didn’t think too much about it then. We dropped to about 70 ft and kept going deeper, I wasn’t sure why was he going deep since the dive site was in about 30 ft of water and on the opposite side as well. I followed him, didn’t have a choice and we soon reached 110 ft. 

After 5 mins into the dive i saw his SPG was leaking air so i swam upto him and pointed it out. He said it was fine and we continued the dive, he briefly headed out in the correct direction and we came across a small reef in about 40 ft of water but then suddenly not sure what struck him he headed of in the wrong direction again. After a while all of sudden he signaled out of air and indicated that he was going to ascend. I expected him to take a safety stop at 15 ft and then after a while hit the surface but as soon as i came to 15ft for my safety stop he was at the surface. 

Wow, what reckless diving from an instructor, skipping a safety stop after hitting 110 ft and we were at 100+ feet for a few good minutes as well. I completed my safety stop and then met him at the surface, he said he was fine and he just ran out of air. duh!!!! i pointed out that your spg was leaking so you should have monitored your air and immediately moved to a lower depth instead of loitering more at 100+. We could have also shared air and completed safety stop together but he didn’t bother. 

I was super pissed at the end of the dive not only did we missed the dive site but also for some reason my camera won’t work in its case. Also I was completely surprised how that instructor acted, it was completely irresponsible on his part. He didn’t bother to ask about my dive experience or my certification level and went to a depth of 100+ without actually bothering to see how i was doing etc. He acted as if he was on his own during the entire dive, why did he want a buddy in that case?

Dive 1 Details: 

Max Depth: 112 ft.

Dive Time: 20 mins.

I was glad that he decided not to dive again and his SPG was still broken. I was going to buddy up with Andrew and Ferris for the next two dives, boy i was glad or what. I tried opening my camera up and it just wouldn’t budge, for some reason it didn’t want to take pictures when i put it inside the case. So i gave up on the camera and decided to dive without it, wish i had it one me though.

For the second dive we moved to a different spot and I got into the water first, Ferris had some problem with the tank so i had wait almost 15 mins but it was no biggie since i was very comfortable in water and i preferred that instead of getting heated up on the deck. 

We dove right next to the reef and were exploring it, the usual critters were there nothing too exciting till i found an eel, It was a big moray and as soon as i come little closer it opened its jaw as if trying to intimidate me. It was more like a yawn to me and it seems that they breathe that way too. That was the highlight of the dive and we just explored kelp a lot more. Ferris was having a good time clicking pictures with her brand new camera. I also found another eel, it was hiding in the rocks. There was also a gang of Garibaldis who were going crazy, they were really fighting it out over something and each of them was big. It was fun watching them slog it out so to say. 

Andrew found a lobster and was shining his bright light on that guy, it was interesting to watch the lobster react to it, the lobster was kinda curious and also appeared to be confused at the same time, what is this bright thing. It was cool. We finished the dive soon and it was time for lunch. Had veggie burger which was good and we were going to stay at the same spot for the final dive.

Dive 2 Details:

Max Depth: 76 Ft

Dive Time: 43 mins

Steve, the divemaster was also diving by himself and when he came aboard he mentioned that there were few Giant Sea Bass  (GSB), I was super excited always have wanted to see these huge monsters and today could be my lucky day. Indeed it was. I told Andrew that we need to find these guy and so we decided to stay at about 50 ft and just outside the kelp. It would be little cold but would be worth it. 

We got into the water and hit the bottom where i saw a flounder sitting there, i pointed it out to Ferris since she was the one with camera. After that picture Ferris mistook some other divers for us and we lost her. We looked for her for sometime but couldn’t find her. Me and Andrew continued the dive and as we were hanging by the kelp I saw a couple of GSB, i just caught a brief glimpse, the vis wasn’t that great as well. I wanted to follow them but they were headed in the direction of ocean so i decided against it. We explored the kelp more and I was losing sight of andrew a lot in the kelp, it was like a little game of hide and seek. 

After a while as i was hanging near the kelp, I saw another GSB this was going into the kelp so i decided to approach it, It was an awesome experience that thing was huge atleast 4 – 5 feet and seemed like 250 lbs easy. After that experience I also saw a kelp bass which was about 2.5 – 3 feet, never seen those guys get so big as well. Found an eel hiding in the rocks as well after a while and it didn’t seemed to be bothered by our presence. I was at 550 psi and so it was time to end the dive soon.

Dive 3 Details:

Max Depth: 71 ft

Dive Time: 47 mins.

I packed up my stuff, took a shower and it was time for fudge and ice cream, that thing was good. Also earlier in the day there was some sort of sweet bread called as Monkey bread, it seemed as if it was dipped in honey. I totally digged that stuff, couldn’t stop eating it. As usual I went to the bunk and dozed off on the way back home. 

We reached early and i was at home by 6.30 pm. Cleaned my stuff and went to ralphs to get water, soon i passed out after having dinner at Taco Bell. A mixed day of diving but nevertheless was good.

Finally after today’s experience and in general the more i dive, more i appreciate how well you have taught me Jeanne, thank you hollywooddivers. Now only if you could improve your website 😉

That is one mean Eel Eyeballing.

State Fish of California, Garibaldi

Pictures Courtesy of Ferris.

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