Murk attack

[petrip74]

The past two weeks here in North County San Diego have been terrible for diving. Wind has been mellow. Swell mostly small(one of the main reasons I hunt, when I can't surf), and the visibility has been awful. Very reminiscent of the pics sent in by midwest lake divers- GREEN. Yellowish muck on the surface, green Missouri pond water under that and krill/plankton galore. I find this suprising since recently the water temp has drastically dropped and I'd expect some dieoff for the microbastards. SOMEONE TELL ME SOME GOOD NEWS BEFORE THE WSB ARE ALL NORTH AND THE FLATTIES IN THE DEEP?
BTW: I just got back from a surf trip at Nexpa, Michoacan. Saw yellowtail feeding 20 feet from me in the lineup and watched a fisherman bring up a huge pargo on a handline in 30 ft of water. Incredible rock outcroppings and crystal clear water. My gun almost a thousand miles away.... anyone gone hunting in those parts?

 

[Jon]

Very reminiscent of the pics sent in by midwest lake divers

I've spent some time divng the San Diego area and I'll put Lake Michigan's vis up against your costal stuff anytime. Once you get otu to the Channel Islands then I have to resort to Lake Superior water for a good vis comparison.

The last two times I was out in San Diego they had to close La Jolla Cove because of some type of toxic run-off.

I can also remember diving Shaw's cove, in the L.A .area, with 40' of vis one weekend and less than 4' the next.

Jon

 

[kosta]

murk?

You got it right about SD. But In no way can you compair the Lakes with our murky, sometimes clear water. The biomass of the Pacific Ocean is obviously larger then that of thoses great lakes that harbor the biggest "suckers" or "mudfish" I have ever seen. Yes its tough to get a great day at times. But, where else can you see a ray, jelly, spider crab, ect, ect all in one dive.
I love smoked jub so let me know when your in town!
Kosta

 

[OceanSwimmer]

...Green Murk...

Phil, you called it; the Murk was back this afternoon.
We have had a few days of cooler water temps, which felt nice. I'm probably not the only person hoping that with the fall in temps (from 72F to 65F) we would see the waters clear up. It looked like that was going to happen, as the viz yesterday had improved noticibly since Tuesday.

My buddy and I jumped in at Boomers today at 2pm.
The viz was looking great, you could see the Garabaldi from the surface, we headed straight for the kelp beds.
It was wonderful, probably about 20 foot vis...and then I noticed a swell moving onshore.
40 minutes later, it was warm, green, and down to less than 5 feet viz. You would have thought someone stirred the entire bottom with a stick, it was that bad.
We swam around the Cove area a bit to see if it was clear...anywhere. No dice. ---Fine for little surface stuff (10-12 feet, a bit better at the bottom) but no improvement, green turbulence/foam at the surface.
I'll be in tomorrow at Marine Street, early am.

---Jon, you're right, the Cove closes sometimes if the runoff from The Children's Pool (we should call it the seal's pool) gets funky.
---Torrey Pines was closed yesterday and today due to a sewage spill. Will check again tomorrow.

---Phil, the Blue Water Open is the 23rd so the local spearos here are hoping the WSB will attend!
---kosta, are you with the San Diego FreeDivers? I saw your post reply to MediCris and we've been checking Swami's and (today) the Cove. Always good to meet more locals

Dive safe and pray for clear viz!

 

[OceanSwimmer]

... murky, and more dead kelp...

Sorry to report that the murk has taken a toll on the kelp and eelgrass here. It's really messy.
With some surge, the algae die-off-or-whatever is tinting the break pea green.

Ditto for the foam :yack

The temps are up again, 70F in the water, with a swell of cooler fluid moving onshore tonight when I jumped in at Boomer's.

---Saw no fish, but 3 dolphins came within 10-15 feet to say hi!

---While they circled, scatters of rainlike patterns broke the surface of the waters all 'round....is that evidence of baitfish movement?

---Hopefully we will experience some better visibility soon.

---Sorry, not a 'kraaack' was heard, just those doggone noisy lobstahs!

All the beaches are open, no closures from contamination...yet.

I'll keep you posted.

Pray for better visibility! ----->The Blue Water Meet of the San Diego Freediving Club is August 23rd!