A day at Anacapa Island

What better way to spend a Monday then to spend it diving on a perfect day. Scubalab was trying out a new crop of test divers to add to their pool of divers they can use for the gear test year round. Since I have been testing gear for them for the past 5 years, I asked to tag along and help out anyway I could. So they assinged me the role of Dive Master of the boat. It was the 1st time I have ever DiveMastered a boat and it was pretty cool. So I checked people in and out the water, helped out with any issues and kept a constant eye out for anything that could go wrong.

When we left out of Oxnard Harbor and it was a short 1 hour boat ride over to Anacapa Island. After we dropped anchor, Bill and John gave the gear testing briefings to all the divers.

The divers did 3 short dives to simulate 3 different types of gear tests. The conditions were good, 40'+ viz and about 64 degrees. You really cant ask for more in October.

Since I was the DiveMaster I didnt get to dive in the morning. Only after all the simulated tests were done and we changed sites did I have time for one dive. And so I made the most of it and stayed down for 70 minutes. It was my only 3rd time diving Anacapa Island and it was one the best dives I have had in So Cal. The viz had dropped down to about 20 feet and there was a slight current but not too bad. What really made the dive was all the marine life that I saw on one dive. Here are some shots of everything that I came across.

This little guy was hanging out inside an empty scallop shell

Spanish Shawl

Juvenile Garibaldie

Bat Ray

Octopus

Giant Kelp Fish

Horn Shark

Scorpion Fish

To end the perfect dive, I had a little underwater snack. I found a nice size scallop, slipped my knife into the shell. Cut the top and bottom and opened it up. Cleaned off all the innards, and had a big enough piece that I had to cut it half to eat. There is simply nothing better tasting than a scallop underwater.