Anacapa- sometimes is just not your day

6/14/09- First time out on the 'Raptor" http://www.raptordive.com the day boat that is part of Ventura Dive and Sport http://www.venturadive.com/

They run either a 2 tank day or a 3 tank day- This trip was a 2 tanks, leaving the dock at a reasonable 9am back around 4pm. Being used to crack of dawn departures and late returns I was really surprised at how well this worked. It was nice to get some diving in but not have to lock down the entire day.

The boat was roomy and familiar if you have done much Caribbean diving (its a big Nekton) and it MOVES- out to the islands in 45 minutes. Not like the rest of the SoCal fleet which tends to take a more slow and steady approach to arriving at dive sites. The layout was well organized and the lunch that was served was tasty, highlights were the pasta soup and home made brownies served post dive #2. We had 18 divers which wasn't full and didn't feel crowded at all.

We had nice surface conditions: sunny, warm, no swell but sadly the vis was horrible. The first dive vis was 15-20 feet the second dive conditions were slightly worse. It was so bad I gave up shooting video and switched to my other favorite underwater activity messing with my buddy. Notice the hitch-hiker I added to Lorenzo in the photo. It almost made it all the way on to the boat.

Details- 46 mins 34 feet and 34 mins at 35 feet water temp 65 degrees at depth-
With the conditions so poor, I shot a grant total of 2 minutes of video. It was a great day on the boat with some nice people, but the vis just wasn't happening. A perfect excuse to come back again soon.