SoCalSwami Diving

3/13/2009 - 03-13-09 LJS South Wall Dawn Patrol

Location: LJS South Wall
Descent: 5:40 am
Temp: 54 avg (50min)
Vis: 10' Shallows / 20' Canyon
Current: None
Max Depth: 72'
Avg Depth: 45'
Time: 84 minutes
Buddy: Marla

Photo Album: http://tinyurl.com/bfmovb

Arriving at the crack of dawn we were greeted by 1-2' waves and a -0.1 low tide (according to my awesome Divebums calendar). The serine kick out from V street entry point was a welcomed change from the wind chop slop found early in the week.

Dropping into 23fsw, we headed toward the canyon and found ourselves on top of a rusted lobster cage I'd never seen in 45fsw. Rather than head North, we threw caution to the wind, and headed out along the South wall.

In the bitter cold darkness we found a plethora of critters and what looked like another engine block. My highlight was a pair or Janolus barbarensis frolicking in the detritus.

After turning the dive and heading for the exit, the rising sun provided a beautiful haze of ambient light that always seems to make these early morning wakeup calls worth while.

It was good to see Marla back in the water after an extended dry spell. Thanks for the dive and the cup o' coffee that helped thaw some seriously numb fingers/toes.

Mike Hallack
http://www.mydivinglife.com/SoCalSwami/