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Channel Islands, California (By Marsha Eckart)
"Just after midnight on February 1, 2003 the 'Peace' diving boat departed Ventura for the Northern Channel Islands with a full load of 32 passengers. 'Sea Sabres' filled one half and shared basically an open boat with the other half (sponsored by Sea to Sea or Sea Sons, not sure). This was the first dive of the 'Sea Sabres' Fiftieth Anniversary Year. The weather had been warm all week - but there were reports that it might change that day. We anchored about 7:15 am to blue skies off backside Santa Rosa Island, and expectantly listened to Cap'n Eric describe the conditions. He warned that we would have current on this dive. A number of folks sat it out. The 'Sea Sabres' for the most part rose to the challenge and found conditions that were fairly amenable. Water was warm! - about 55 degrees. Air was warm too. Sea lions were visible even before we descended, and many of us saw them during our dive. When we looked at the line as we jumped in, it was fairly vertical, suggesting the current wasn't as bad as we have frequently encountered. But current there was, and everyone reported quite an effort to reach the succeeding ridges down at bottom. We were in 60 - 90 feet with some large anemones and sheepshead. Few bugs seen, some game taken, and all divers made it back on their own. After the 'Peace' motored back to Santa Cruz Island, we made two dives near Gull Island. There was still a little current, but for the third dive the wind picked up, and some clouds were visible. Swells were 2-3 feet high. This site had very pretty blue water, pink anemone, and pink and orange Gorgonian fans. Photographers reported finding nudibranchs (they only seem to be visible when you sit still for 10 minutes!). Sheepshead and lingcod were about, and there were schools of small non-game fish as well, such as opal-eye and blacksmith. Our fourth dive was further east on Santa Cruz. Here, we were a bit closer to the shore and the winds died down, and the water was flat. I saw a ray, another sea lion, and the biggest sea star I've ever seen. It was 4 or 5 feet in diameter, with one of its five legs comfortably crossed over another. This site had good, large rock formations with a lot of variety. Lots of photos were taken, as most photographers seemed to have some new gadgets to try out for their cameras. As usual, the food was wonderful and original, with Debra providing whipped cream for the hot chocolate and a new broccoli-raisin salad that won many fans. On the way back, we interrupted our viewing of some of Walter's past and future prize-winning videos, when we learned about the loss of the space shuttle Columbia. For a January/February dive, the sea and sky were unusually warm and bright - a good sign for the rest of our winter dives?"
The 'Seasabres' are a diveclub based in California and can be contacted on Diveboats@seasabres.com
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Five
Islands form the Channel Islands National Park, South California. Adjacent
to the mainland coast between Ventura and Santa Barbara.