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Day Diving Trip Report:
Thursday August 7th, 2008
Dive Master: Jessie Harper
Accidents or Close Calls: None
Location(s): Salvatierra, Swanee Reef
Surface Conditions (Sun, Wind, Waves, Temperature):
Leaving the dock this morning, the sky was cloudy, but the wind was calm. Throughout the day, the wind slowly built and the waves grew till we left the dive site. We encountered a storm front head on as we entered the Bay of La Paz. We proceeded slowly and watched the thunder and lightning show with awe. We got wet.
Under water Conditions (Visibility, Temperature, Thermocline, Current):
At the wreck, the current was moving, but we made it down without any problems. Once behind the boat, we noticed that the visibility was down a bit from all the water movement, but there were many predators taking advantage of the situation and hunting all around us. The water was comfortable and there were no noticeable thermoclines. Once at Swanee, there was a current, but nothing my divers could not handle. It made for a beautiful sight, all the fish pointed the same direction and close to the rocks. The visibility was much better too: 35’.
Description of the day’s events:
Overall, we had a great day of diving. At Salvatierra, we used the line to get to the wreck. Once there we saw large schools of predator Jacks using the current and visibility to their advantages. We spotted mating stone fish and many enormous puffers hanging around in the shadows. It was alive, but we had to hide a little from the current. The water was stirred up quite a bit, which allowed the larger fish to come in closer and we watched them feeding on the unsuspecting smaller ones. After just one dive, we opted for a new location and arrived at Swanee to see the water much clearer. We had two wonderful dives around the reef and were amazed to see how many more fish there were, even from a few days ago. The Garden Eels were out enjoying the buffet of food a good current brings them. The sea lions were unusually curious today and were playing around just behind the divers’ backs. They looked as if they were laughing.
After the dives, we had a smooth ride to the point where we turned the corner to find a large pod of Orcas!!! We turned in circles as the whales jumped and played around us. We were amazed to see them, just off Balandra Beach. Looking towards La Paz, the sky was black and the lightning and thunder was warning us that we should be getting home. Sure enough, just after we left the Orcas to play on their own, we were hit by the wind.
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