Just relaxing after a very good 2010 Memorial 2 Day trip. We had a very comfortable amount of divers and nondivers of 27. On Friday night the wind was looking very bad for us. We were scheduled to leave at 1am but because of the wind I decided to leave at 3am. San Clemente was the intended destination, but the swells were up and nasty, again because of the wind. A little side note here. The wind is our worst nightmare on the ocean.
Anyway the first dive was at “Yellow Tail Point” and we had about 60’ vis there with a slight current. The next spot was “Blue Caverns, or as the newer divers call it Sea Fan Grotto”. Again great vis and the divers really enjoyed it. Then off to “Black Rock”. I often go there as it has a large Harbor Seal population. The vis had dropped a little but still good. Several huge Black Sea Bass were seen here and for several of the divers it was their first encounter with them. The reaction is always the say, some sort of profanity and “was that big”.
We then had lunch and I was heading for “Whale Rock” on the back side. As I went around the west end I changed my mind. I got on the PA and said we are off the Clemente. About 3 hours later I pulled up on 9 Fathoms Reef. As we pulled up to the high spot I knew that we had a problem, but hoped we could still dive the reef. 4 divers got in, 2 made it to the bottom and only 1 made it down the anchor line. We closed the gate and waited for the divers to get back. It did not take long and the diver who made it down the anchor line said it was absolutely beautiful on the bottom with no current. We then moved over to “North West Harbor” for the night and made a dive there. Stayed for the night, made a night dive, and moved over to “LCI Point” in the morning. According to San Clemente’s website this area was open until 10am. Every time I go there I get kicked out by the military. Once again this is exactly what happened. A shore boat come over and called me on the radio. They said I had to leave and I asked why as the website said it was open and I asked if the island was going “HOT” (going hot means live fire). They said no, but I was in a sensitive area and had to be 3 miles off shore. I told them that as soon as the divers returned I would move. I did though recall the divers. I let them finish their dives. I think the military was getting pissed as another boat showed up, but I ignored them.
The last 2 dives were at “Hole in the Wall” and the divers had a great time. We left the island around 11am as we still had a 6 hour run back. So we ran the trip backwards, but still got to Clemente and Catalina.

Until next time…………………..