San Diego/North County Dive Report
I got an e-mail saying that ScubaMagazine missed me :) awwwww So I'm posting a dive report.
Location: Carlsbad, "The Pipe"
Date: 8/04/07
Time: 9:30ish AM
Duration: 61 minutes
Air Temp: 75ish
Surface Temp: 72 F
Bottom Temp: 65 F
Depth: 31ft
Visibility: 10ft
I was going to La Jolla Shores this AM but my buddy called last night with a North County proposal. When he said there was a pipe in Carlsbad. I thought "oh whoopee (insert sarcasm here) a PIPE!" But it is underwater and that's all that matters. Besides, I'm always on the lookout for North County dive sites so I agreed and we met at the Ponto Parking lot. Parking was minimal but we found spots at the top of the hill, met up with our other diving buddies and geared up. The walk down the hill, down the bank and across the beach in full SCUBA gear in the sun was a bit uncomfortable but manageable. Once in the water there were a few waves to dodge, but even the bigger ones didn't have much punch. We dropped down in about 15ft and headed north. At first all there was was sand, lots and lots of sand but soon we found the pipe. The Pipe was covered in life! Fish everywhere, I haven't learned the name of many fish yet so there were a lot I can't name. there were lots of starfish, Garibaldi both adult and juvenile, I saw a few Sheephead and a school of Sardines, There were quite a few Kamikaze Lobster, by Kamikaze I mean that when you looked in at them they leaped out of their holes and rammed right into you....I had several bounce off my chest and stomach as they made their escape. One of my buddies handed me something "squishy" I'm not totally convinced it was sea life. It looked more like an oblong Nerf ball. Two toned green, kinda bumpy, and it looked soft (I had gloves on so I can't verify that part). After a nice long bottom time we headed in, surfaced in about 12ft of water and caught a wave or two to the beach. All in All a great dive!
I got a little tangled in some guy on shore's fishing line. My buddy was no help, he told the guy I was to little he'd have to throw me back!!
Air fill: Free
Gas to dive site: $3.00 gal
Little girl pointing at me and asking "MOM! Is that a MERMAID?: Priceless
