SCUBA Dives 15-18September 29 - 30, 2007: This weekend was the opening weekend for lobster season; which meant divers coming out in force to catch the little underwater bugs. On Satruday, the girlfriend and I decided to try out a new diving spot just south of Shaw's Cove. We went to a spot known as Treasure Island which is the beach down the cliff from the Montage Resort and Spa. The spot is fairly easy to get to. There is a small covered parking garage right off Westley street. We decided to hit the small little enclosed reef, so we walked about a quarter mile from where we parked in full gear towards the diving spot. There is a very nice little trail all along the back side of the Montage resort complete with dog path and drinking fountains for dogs. At each beach entry point, there are showers. The lobsters I found at Treasure Island were a bit on the small side and they were all hiding in rock crevices. Other than the quarter mile walk to get to the site, this dive spot is a very nice area to dive in, and I will be returning.
p>The 30th was a boat trip out to Catalina Island. Our first dive dropped us to about 70ft. We ascended to some shallower areas where the marine life was much more interesting. I snapped as many pictures as I could. The first dive lasted 30 minutes, which isn't too bad, it was short because of our depth we dove at for a good amount of the dive. The second dive at the opposite side of where we began at lasted 53 minutes which is the longest the girlfriend and I have gone on a single 80 cu ft tank of air. We stayed mostly between 20-25 feet. When we surfaced, and finally got aboard the boat we were the last to surface as the boat was waiting for us before they took off to the next dive spot. Our long dive also resulted in missing lunch as all the food was gone by the time we got up. Our third dive was along a rock face and we found lobsters all over the place. Unfortunately, they were also sitting just beyond arms reach. My lack of experience in lobster hunting had several instances of hesitation that resulted in the lobster quickly swimming deeper into their homes.The wild life off Catalina and the visibility is simply amazing. I love diving this place, but doing 4 dives this weekend definitely took a but of a toll on my girlfriend and I. We're absolutely exhausted, and I think the girlfriend is getting sick. If she's well by the end of the week we may try our hand at lobster diving (night time when the critters are out and about feeding...) Oh, and the other guy in the pictures is a buddy from our open water class Clifford.
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September 29 & 30, 2007: Treasure Island and Catalina diving weekend