July 12, 2014

I was offered a deal that I could not refuse – the last spot on a six-pack diving boat on a trip to the Yukon and Ruby E wrecks.

Financing and a ride to San Diego was arranged thanks to Mean Bob of Divevets.

Bob was due to pick me up at 6 AM; I got news that a very close relative has been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) at 5:30 AM.

There was nothing I could do about it, and if I cancelled at the last minute, all it would do was free me up for an early drinking binge.

Bob picked me up four minutes early and we made the hour and a half drive to San Diego with no issues.

Donna the Hot Biker Chick was surprised to see me – we had kept me going a secret as we were afraid she would have cancelled.

The Pacific Swann is a fairly small, but comfortable six-pack diving boat operated by a cool guy named Jeff.

Kasia, Mike C and Donna The Hot Biker Chick

Dan and Mean Bob

Rough seas and big swells made the trip to the wreck pretty macho – the non-macho became seasick.

Another boat was already on one of the markers.

I was the first one off, Donna the second; we were getting sort of impatient waiting on the others, so we decided to head down first.

Logged SCUBA Dive #469

Dove with Donna The Hot Biker Chick

The Yukon Wreck
San Diego, CA USA

In With: 3100 psi
Out With: 700 psi
Max depth: 98 feet
Waves: Choppy on the surface
Visibility: 15 to 20 feet
Water Temperature: 54 degrees
Air Temperature: 75 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 30 minutes

Heading down the line.

Visibility wasn’t that great, and it was dark, but we could see.

White sea anemones?

Looking up.

Fish along the hull.

Donna the Hot Biker Chick examines the sea growth.

Kelp along the top deck.

A Marine died on this wreck a few months ago – an American and Marine flag had been placed there in memory.

Amazingly, we found the mooring line that we went down on, and made a slow return to the surface.

Coming soon! Our next dive on the Ruby E.

March 7, 2014

After a sort of disappointing dive at the last location – four divers and two bugs – we decided to go to a nearby sunken barge.

This was a spot I had no clue even existed.

The Dive Master said, “The barge has openings in the side; There are bugs inside, but if you’ve never penetrated a wreck before, don’t do it.”

Hmm – I had my plan now.

The next spot was so close, I didn’t even know that we actually moved.

We had pulled anchor, and I heard the engines, but between the big swells that were making some puke over the side and the short ride, I couldn’t tell that we had actually moved anywhere.

After more than an hour surface interval, I jumped over and swam to the anchor line.

I submerged first, determined to get to the barge first, but like the last dive, some divers can equalize faster than me, and I was beaten to the anchor.

Logged SCUBA Dive #465

Same Ocean Diving With Chipper, Nice Bob and the other Jeff

Secret Location: 54 68 65 20 61 6d 6d 6f 20 62 61 72 67 65 20 6e 65 78 74 20 74 6f 20 74 68 65 20 6c 61 73 74 20 6c 6f 63 61 74 69 6f 6e 2e
Redondo Beach, CA, USA

In With: 2900 psi
Out With: 600 psi
Max depth: 82 feet
Waves: A lot of surface chop, fairly calm underneath
Visibility: 10 feet, a lot of silt
Water Temperature: 62 degrees
Air Temperature: 64 degrees
Total Bottom Time: 24 minutes

I followed the anchor line to the barge, but visibility fucking sucked.

I soon discovered Nice Bob and the other Jeff were leaving a James’ Bond type trail of kicked up silt to ruin my visibility.

Instead of going along the barge, I went over and pinned a lobster within 30 seconds – it was legal and I bagged it.

I cut over the barge and dropped to the other side where there was a big hole in the side.

So, there’s lobsters in the barge?

I went in; maybe about 15 feet, and then towards the right, into another compartment.

No bugs; I turned around to a view of nothing but silt.

Fuck! – it’s a small barge and I have plenty of air, but I should have taken a compass heading before doing such a dumb-assed maneuver.

Which way is out?

Then, I saw a light shining in from the outside.

That diver was later identified as Chipper, who I thought was trying to show me the way out.

In actuality, he was just looking for bugs.

I went towards the light, only to approach a hole the size of a football.

Hah! At least, I know where the side is, and the entrance is just one compartment over.

I found where the first compartment was and the exit.

As I was going out, Chipper was coming in.

I waited to see if he needed help getting out, but left after a minute or so.

After telling my story, Chipper later recounted that, “Yeah, I didn’t think it was such a great idea going in there, especially after you had kicked up all that silt.”

There were bugs under the barge, but out of reach.

I did another circle, until I found the anchor that was resting on top of the barge and started heading back.

I made an extended safety stop, before surfacing.

The rest soon made it back; Nice Bob and the other Jeff got skunked, Chipper got two lobsters.

Chipper’s two lobsters were fighting in his bag.

The grappling continued on the ground.

My catch for the night – this monster bug weighed almost two pounds.

Well, the one bug I caught cost about $100 – even though the fish market is cheaper, I did have fun.

However, I’m not sure if I can afford another trip this season; this might be it.