A Lush, but Chilly Experience
by David Miner
For my fifteenth birthday, my parents fulfilled my extreme desire to scuba dive by paying for my open water certification. How lucky was I to be beginning my underwater journey, which has now spanned 20 years, at such a young age. Living in Florida, with water all around, made the diving possibilities endless.
My open water instructor was from California and constantly talked about what it was like diving off the California coast in the lush kelp forests. I listened intently, but my passion was more for the warm tropical waters in Florida that nourished the rich coral reefs. But, the more I heard about diving in California, the more it intrigued me, especially diving in Giant Kelp, so the seed was planted in my brain and California kelp diving was added to the “to do” diving list. Who new at the time, but it would take 20 years before I finally plunged into a California kelp forest, and it was well worth the wait.
The Channel Islands off California’s coast are some of the most spectacular untouched islands in the world. There are a total of eight islands in this Southern California area that extend approximately 160 miles from Point Conception to San Diego. Five of these islands make the Channel Islands National Park, including San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara island. Each of these islands is special unto itself, each supporting unspoiled coastlines and species of wildlife found nowhere else on earth. The islands are nothing more than rugged peaks and cliffs of rock popping straight out of the Pacific Ocean. Seawater splashes at their bases forming sea caves, blowholes, and small rock islands. Colonies of sea birds, seals, and sea lions populate many areas of the islands. During whale season, just offshore, you can encounter Grey, Humpback, and massive Blue whales. This is only what you see at the surface, because as soon as your head dips below the water, an array of sea life, different from anything you’ve seen, comes into view.
Steve Straatsma, the photographer, and I were able to book our trip with Truth Aquatics out of Santa Barbara. We signed on for a 3-day live-a-board trip that focused primarily on the southern island, named San Clemente Island, where we did most of our diving. San Clemente Island is approximately 90 miles south of Santa Barbara and 70 miles northwest of San Diego. It has been owned by the U.S. Navy for the past 70 years and is off limits to pedestrian traffic. The Navy uses the island for naval surface fire support, air-to-ground ordnance delivery operations, and special operations, such as Navy SEAL training. We saw a number of Navy jets and transport planes doing practice runs on the island’s runway, but that only added to the lure of this spectacular area.
Truth Aquatics has three boats in their fleet, the Vision, Conception, and Truth, all of which were specifically designed and built for diving operations. We were booked on their largest boat, the Vision, which is 80 feet in length and 26 feet to beam. There were 27 divers on this charter, most of which were focusing on underwater photography, six crew members, and the captain. With a large bunkroom, several heads, a huge salon for eating meals and relaxing, a sun deck, and a large back deck for diving operations, the size and layout of the Vision provided plenty of room for everyone.
We arrived on a Wednesday afternoon for our 10:00 PM departure, which would take us the 90 miles to San Clemente Island. Luckily, the boat trip would take place while we were sleeping. The trip was returning on Saturday around 5:00 PM, so we had three days of diving ahead of us. Steve and I couldn’t wait to get started. We spent several hours poking around Santa Barbara, which is a beautiful coastal town — a must before leaving the area. Around 8:00 PM, we loaded our gear, checked out the boat, and jumped in our bunks for some sleep and the long boat ride.
The next morning, we awoke to the captain announcing our arrival at San Clemente Island and could smell the crew cooking our breakfast. During breakfast, the captain gave a briefing about the area, the diving we could expect, the marine life, the boat, and safety. Basically, this is how the diving went for the entire trip. After the boat was anchored on a site, we were allotted a certain amount of time, usually over an hour, to dive the site. This was referred to as, “the gates are open.” This meant that for the next hour or so, the diving gates were open and you could dive at your leisure. I thought this was a great way to operate, as there was no mad rush to get your dive in. If you wanted, you could do a shorter dive, jump out, get your tanks refilled, which they did for you, and jump back into the water. As long as you were in the water by the time the gates closed, you could dive at your leisure. This made for an extremely relaxing diving day.
The sites for the first day of diving were Truth Boilers, Disney Land and Neptune’s Wall, and Fish Hook, which was our night dive. Each of these sites was located at different parts of the island, which gave us plenty of surface interval time between dives. Each dive ranged between 30 and 60 feet deep and most dives we spent around an hour exploring the lush area.
Now, being from Florida, Steve and I are used to the tropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico, Keys, and southern East Coast. The only colder water diving we do are the caves of north central Florida, which range between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. For Californian’s this is not cold water, as we would soon find out.
Steve and I were diving our thick, hooded seven-millimeter wetsuits that we use in the caves and hoped that would keep us warm enough. Luckily, we were diving in August, which meant that water temperatures were warmer, but that only ranged between 58 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit. This would be the coldest water I ever dove.
At our first dive site, Truth Boilers, Steve and I suited up quickly, as we were eager to meet what lie beneath. Upon jumping into the water, I was pleased that I didn’t quickly freeze to death, but as we descended to around 40 feet, things changed. We quickly felt a numbing in our hands and my face ached. I thought, “how was I going to deal with this for three days?” Giant Kelp was all around us and the first fish I saw was a bright orange Garibaldi, California’s fish. My thoughts quickly shifted from being cold to, “look at what’s around you and forget about the cold water.”
Giant Kelp stalks shot straight to the surface, bright orange Garibaldis were everywhere, and rock spires and walls jetted from the bottom. We were diving the rocky ridges, crevices, peaks, and structures that remain below the surface just offshore the island. Everything was covered with spectacular marine life and lavish flora. I soon warmed to my surroundings, as the 20-year wait and “to do” dive list was being fulfilled. Water temperature didn’t matter, diving in this spectacular area did.
Diving in the Giant Kelp is an incredible experience. The kelp roots to the rocky bottom with amazing strength and can grow to heights of over 120 feet. The kelp blocks a certain amount of natural sunlight, which creates shadows and shaded areas, much like a wooded forest. Swimming through Giant Kelp stalks is like hiking through the Redwood Forests and adds another dimension to the diving in this area. The Kelp helps to support the aquatic ecosystem of the Channel Islands that provides domicile for over 800 species of marine life. The rocky cracks and crevices provide ideal living quarters for many of these species. The rocks are overlaid with brightly colored bouquets of anemones, starfish, and garlands of hydrocoral, sponges, and sea fans. Moray eels, octopus, abalone, rock scallops, California spiny lobsters, and a host of others inhabit the rock fissures and crevices. Fish include the Giant Black Sea Bass, Halibut, Lingcod, Vermilion Rockfish, Calico Bass, and more. There is no shortage of marine life off the Channel Islands, which makes each dive exciting and rewarding with the sighting of something different.
Each dive on day one provided its own unique experience, which was amplified by our first sighting of a Giant Black Sea Bass during our second dive on Disney Land and Neptune’s Wall. A Giant Black Sea Bass resembles a giant Grouper or Jewfish. It can reach lengths of five feet and weigh over 250 pounds. They are dark gray to black in color and have a large head and mouth. Giant Black Sea Bass are on the endangered species list and are protected, which makes the sighting of one that much more special. Our sighting was short as he swam buy in a hurry, but great nevertheless. We didn’t know it at the time, but we were going to be rewarded on another dive with one of these magnificent fish swimming with us for over 20 minutes!
Each dive was building on another with spectacular scenery and spottings of magnificent marine life. Our last dive on day one, a night dive at Fish Hook, was just as spectacular.
It began like this; it was dark, the boat was anchored, and the deck lighting illuminated the water. Then, while everyone was suiting up, massive flying fish began shooting out of the water in all directions, some landing on the boat. Now these weren’t the small flying fish that I’m used to in the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean; these flying fish were massive, with the size and wingspan of a large Seagull. They would hit the deck or side of the boat with a massive thud. Everyone was ducking and laughing out loud about what was taking place. I quickly got ready, entered the water, and waited for Steve.
I drifted slightly off the back of the boat shining my bright light down into the water. I continued to see flying fish flying in all directions. As I looked up at the boat to see if Steve was ready, something smashed hard into the side of my face. Startled, I spun around to the sighting of one of these flying fish lying motionless in the water right next to me. The fish had flown out of the water and slammed into my face knocking itself unconscious. As it floated in the water, I marveled at its size and laughed out loud about how crazy this was. Thankfully, I wasn’t injured. I yelled to Steve to get into the water so we could get below the water and out of harms way.
The dive itself turned out to be just as spectacular as how it started, with the sighting of two octopuses, a green moray, and lobster scattering across the bottom as if they were on some mission.
We awakened on day two still at San Clemente Island. Dives sites for the day were Arch Pinnacle, Balanced Hat/Pyramid Cove, and Octopus Garden.
Arch Pinnacle, our deepest dive of the trip, took us to 100 feet to a massive rock archway and channel cutting through the rocky superstructure. The water chilled to a frigid 58 degrees Fahrenheit and the depth crushed our wetsuits, making it feel even colder. The massive archway cut through the rock approximately 50 feet high and 30 feet wide. Giant Kelp grew straight to the surface for 100 feet, with its massive leaves swaying in the current. After swimming around for 20 minutes or so, Steve and I headed for the surface and the warmer water.
Balanced Hat/Pyramid Cove offered more kelp, Garabaldis, and the fantastic rock structures. Sheer rock faces shot straight up for 20 to 30 feet off the bottom, with lush marine life growing from every available area. As Steve and I made our way to the bottom of one of the rock faces, the face suddenly cut back and disappeared. When we got closer, we realized that it was a small cave. Suddenly, excitement ran through me, and I thought, “would I get to do a small cave dive on this trip as well.” That would complete the experience, as cave diving is a passion of both Steve and I back home.
As I swam into the cave, lobster raced around in all directions. There wasn’t a crack or hole that wasn’t filled by lobster. They darted back and forth across the cave as I swam further in. Steve waited at the entrance shooting pictures. The cave quickly ended after only swimming for around 50 feet. It was short, but at least I was able to enter an overhead environment.
After exiting the small cave, Steve and I swam up and over a rock face and into a wonderful forest of kelp. Within a minute or so, a Giant Black Sea Bass swam right up to us. I yelled to Steve through my regulator so he could get some pictures. The sea bass swam up to us, around us, and behind us for 20 minutes. I was able to get within two feet of him. He seemed as if he was as intrigued with us as we were with him. Maybe he thought we were an endangered species, but little does he know that’s not true.
The final day of diving brought us to Santa Cruz Island, which is around 30 miles from Santa Barbara. We arrived early Saturday morning after surviving an extremely rough boat trip. The four to six foot waves bounced us around like a bucking bronco. Sleep was hard to come by due to getting thrown around in your bunk. As soon as you would drift off to sleep, the boat would smash through a wave so hard, that half of your body would come completely off the mattress. The sound of the boat hull smacking the surface echoed through the cabin.
Santa Cruz didn’t allow us much diving due to poor visibility. The captain found one spot with 10 to 15 feet of visibility and anchored the boat for the final dives of the trip. The gates opened for two and a half hours and it was up to you how many dives you wanted to make.
Steve and I chose to jump in early and finish our diving, so we could get our suits and gear dried before returning to the dock. We were then heading to Los Angeles and an early morning flight out on Sunday.
The dive site, Donna’s Wall, was like diving in a massive tidal pool. Starfish of all colors, brightly colored nudibranchs, small fish, more Garibaldis, a large She crab, a Green eel, and many other lavish creatures covered the area. I spent an hour wallowing around looking at everything I could find. It was a fine little dive to finish out this awesome trip.
Diving the Channel Islands is like no other diving I’ve ever done before. The colder water, lush plant life, rocky structures, and different fish made the experience extremely rewarding, which, I think, is why I liked the trip so much. The vast difference from Florida and Caribbean diving made for an incredible experience, one that I would do again. Hopefully, it won’t take another 20 years for it to happen.
Truth Aquatics has a fantastic operation. Their relaxed attitude, great staff, comfortable boat, fabulous meals, and easy dive operations made the trip a success. For information about Truth Aquatics, go to www.truthaquatics.com.