Easter Day Diving Off The Bottom Scratcher Boat
Lion’s Head, Catalina, CA

Solo Diving

In With: 2700 psi
Out With: 500 psi
Max depth: 100 feet and some change
Waves: 0
Visibility: 35 feet
Water Temperature: Cold at 100 feet
Total Bottom Time: 45 minutes

After an hour surface interval, I did my second dive, bringing my camera.

I went back to look for a giant sheep crab that I had seen.

I didn’t find it, but I had gotten so deep, that I decided to hit 100 feet.

I posed a few times with my gauges.

My camera had problems working; the flash didn’t work sometimes and I couldn’t hear the camera advance.

But after a few tries, I took a self portrait of me at 100 feet.

I’m soooo macho!

I was sort of pissed; I paid $40 for the camera and housing and after two years the thing is starting to go on me!

I fumbled around with my camera for a few minutes and then headed up to shallower depth.

I saw a bat ray or a shovel nosed guitarfish that in my narced state, thought was a diver in trouble.

It just looked surreal, like a scene from a weird movie – a diver struggling in kelp turns into a fish!

It was distant and I really do need glasses, but it looked like a diver screaming for help underwater – really weird!

Staying at 40 to 50 feet for the rest of the dive, I squeezed the rest of my air to a 45-minute total dive.

Two divers from Kansas ended up getting caught in the current; they were thrown a current line from the boat and hauled in with the help of several divers on board.

Bubba the chase boat wasn’t feeling well today.

Easter Day Diving Off The Bottom Scratcher Boat

Lion’s Head, Catalina, CA

Solo Diving

In With: 3200 psi
Out With: 500 psi
Max depth: 80 feet
Waves: 0
Visibility: 40-50 feet
Water Temperature: Cold at 80 feet
Total Bottom Time: 45 minutes

I’ve been sick for a week and the weather has really sucked.

I tried for the April 10th dive, but Pacific Wilderness said that they had plenty of room on today’s boat.

There were 16 divers on board, mostly students.

The Dive Master was way mellow and cool; he didn’t give a shit about people solo diving.

Lion’s Head – at least it’s suppose to look like one!

I was the first one in the water.

I ran across Debbie the cook doing a solo dive.

I went down to 80 feet and circled around a bit.

I saw some really big sheephead!

…and some lobsters that tormented me; lobster season is over.

I also recovered a mask and snorkel that two student divers dropped.

Apparently, as I found out later, Captain Greg lost an engine going to the first dive spot.

It was a clogged fuel filter that resulted from a drained fuel tank.

Captain Greg and bobby fixed it without anyone knowing that there was a problem.