August we are camping at the Shelter cove Campground, at Shelter Cove on the Lost Coast. To get there head north on Highway 101 to Garberville and take the turn off to Shelter Cove. It is a long winding ride out to the coast and the grade down to the town is steep so watch your brakes. The drive from Santa Rosa is about 3.5 hours so plan accordingly.
It is well worth the journey as this is one of the most dramatic sections of California coast. Diving can be iffy and conditions remind me of Marin as the Vis can be quite poor at times if the swell has churned up the silt bottom. However the largest abalone found come out of this area so what more do I need to say? Generally a lot of the dive spots are long boat runs although there is some diving close by.
This is also a world class salmon fishing area so bring your poles. The club did better on salmon than we did diving two years ago so be prepared for everything. We figured that out as we ran through the fleet from a bust dive and everyone was hauling in salmon.....when in Rome.....
See you there!
--Jock Doss
The area is a sports persons paradise, with excellent fishing, diving, hiking, and camping. The views of ocean and countryside are Incredible!
The Lost Coast is an amazing and beautiful place to visit and explore. If you haven't been to this area before, come and check it out! If you have been, then you know what a unique and beautiful place it is.
Everyone should bring some firewood and a dish besides fish for the Saturday Potluck. Bring your bodies, your gear, and let's all have a great time!
This had me in such a trigger happy mood that at the first sight of something laying in the sand I fired away. Bad move. Out from the sand erupts one very pissed off angel shark about four feet long.
Now I know better than to tangle with these critters, but here I was with one on my line. So in an attempt to cover this faux pas, I tried to extract my spear and let the shark go his merry way. The only problem was each time I pulled him close to get the spear out he would charge me, jaws snapping.
Finally after parrying several such attacks he succeeded in biting the heck out of my thumb--ouch!
Soooo.....time to pause and consider the situation; plenty of air. Breathe, relax, and so as I drifted along peacefully with the incoming tide, bleeding profusely, connected to my very grumpy friend, I had a strange feeling of serenity and that all was well in the world and really this was a lot of fun.
Really! Can't blame him for being a little out of sorts with me after I shot him. After several more attempts to retrieve my spear, and fending off several more flurries of snapping jaws, I figured it was time to let it go and get some help from Bob up in the boat.
We managed to untangle him and let him go on his way. Hopefully the hole through him will heal. I think it will because if anything was made clear to me, he was one tough customer! Don't mess with Angel sharks if you can help it!
--Jock Doss
HOW TO USE YOUR ABALONE PUNCH CARD
After some confusion and reprimands, and even a fine from Fish & Game, it is time for everyone to learn to use the abalone punch card as it is not going to go away.
There are explicit directions on the back of the card and everyone must read them now, not should or maybe or later but must read them now. The Ab card and your license are made of tyvek and are waterproof.
1) Each line on the card is for one abalone taken (one member had put 4 on each line)
2) The card must be on the boat/kayak and punched prior to landing on any stationary object such as the shore or the pier. (You may wait to write on your card till you exit the boat and dry off but it must be at least punched, and then completed immediately)
3) You must punch and complete the card IMMEDIATELY upon returning to your vehicle or the location of your license (one member has already been fined for waiting too long!).
4) Fish & Game has been out in force lately and they are the law. I have seen them more this year than any previous year that I have been diving this coast. Please take the time to ensure that you are following the current regulations, otherwise you may find yourself explaining your actions to the judge.
The group campground at Manchester is located well away from the rest of the campsites so it is quite private. Due to the unavailability of Abalone, we had a small turnout. Rich's family, the Mendoza clan, Bob Simpton and Kim & Jed attended. Bonnie & John and Dave Batt showed up later on.
The weather was beautiful and the ocean looked reasonably calm. Mike was the only one to show up with a boat, and since he forgot some dive gear and my back was hurting, only Rich and Bob were ready to dive, but Molly came along for the ride. We loaded up and headed out of Pt. Arena toward Arena Rock.
There was some swell but almost no wind so we anchored up and sent Bob and a reluctant Rich down to the bottom with a warning not to come back without any scallops.
We put out some fishing poles and I hooked a small blue rockfish using only a lure. When the divers got back, Rich did his best impersonation of a seal call. This got to the captain and he managed to chum on top of Bob's head. I'm sure Bob was thinking 'thank god for a hood and mask'.
The boys did get scallops so we decided to torture those feeling queasy by salmon fishing for a while, but only had one nibble. So off we went to drop some people off and try fishing by the cove buoy. When we got to the dock we got a double surprise, Mike's boat would suddenly not shift into neutral or reverse, and a Boston whaler had fallen from the crane on the pier and smashed onto the dock below.
Apparently the whalers braided steel cable had snapped, dropping the boat over 20 feet. The dock had a nice hole in it and the ramp was knocked off the guide rails. The whaler was trashed. The outboard was hanging underwater from the steering cable, the console was crushed and rotated 90 degrees, the guard rails were mangled and the 15-horse trolling motor snapped off and was on the bottom.
We circled around and around since we could not stop the boat (will only start in neutral). Once the whaler was hauled up onto the pier, Bob and Rich geared up for a salvage dive. Bob managed to get a rope around the small outboard and we hauled it onto the dock. The GPS unit could not be found in the murk.
The whalers owner was in pretty good spirits considering the condition of his boat and he was grateful for our engine rescue. After that it took a half hour to get out of the parking lot due to a festival going on.
After a relaxing afternoon at camp we had a potluck dinner that couldn't be beat and then had some more excitement.
One of the members had an underwater laser pointer and was flashing it around in the trees and at the bumper of a passing car. Too bad the car turned out to belong to a park ranger who came over and started lecturing us about illegally pointing a laser at people.
After a while of terse responses from some other members, the ranger stated he had only planned on giving a warning anyway, not confiscating the laser as he had previously stated. As the ranger was leaving, he also commented on the wildflowers which were in a cup on the table, since we all know that it is illegal to pick wildflowers in a state park.
We all went separate ways on Sunday with Bob and Rich diving Anchor Bay, Dave diving Arena Cove, and Mike and I sitting around till it was time to go home, which was a mistake since the ocean was much flatter than the day before. See ya next time,
--Jed
Jed touched on the high, and low points of the Manchester Campout, but perhaps there are a few details that I can add.
Mike Mendoza has a great boat. I can personally vouch for its' ability to handle the swell, and the ease of entry, and relative ease of egress while suited up.
With that said, Mike's boat is a 'small' boat. I know what Jock says about his boat. "This is what they get into when the big boats sink," but that does not seem as reassuring as, perhaps, it is meant to be.
It seems that I have a certain fear of small boats and the open ocean. With each dive I get a little better (maybe), but each dive pushes at my comfort zone, and so is more fear inducing.
The ride out to the Arena Rock dive was my personal high point of fear! I started getting nervous when I got into Mike's truck at the camp ground, and things didn't get better for a while!
In hindsight, the ride out was a lot of fun. Molly crouched amidships, pushing herself off of the deck at the top of each swell, hanging onto the side and spending half of the ride in free fall. Mike and Jed had outfitted her in full Salmon Fishing Style, with Jed contributing one of his whimsical hats (there is a picture of her geared up on the web site).
Bob, Jed, and Mike were kind, and solicitous, and comforting. I must publicly thank them for their kindness, and support! Mike kept asking me how I was doing, and then pushing the throttle down to get over a wave in style, and give Molly more air time.
I was more or less catatonic, sitting on the back next to Mike. I asked nervous little questions like 'how far from shore are we going to be' and made helpful meteorological observations about the potential for fog, and how that might affect our visibility (I had also brought my GPS along in my dry bag, just to have a back up).
As we neared the site, Mike and Jed told us that they would drop us off, and then go Salmon fishing, and pick us up in 45 minutes or so. Bob seemed okay with this, but it did not seem to me to be a comforting plan. My fear pecked nerves took another hit, and I busied myself with taking observations on the wind and wave directions. I wanted to be able to swim to shore in the pea soup fog that would arise as soon as we jumped in, and which would keep us from being found by the boat.
An active imagination is not always your friend, and it turned out that this was a joke. It wasn't even a 'cruel joke,' because they assumed that no one could possibly believe that they would leave divers in the water. So, being gullible is also bad...
Once we were anchored I started to settle down, until I started to put on my gear. About the time that I pulled on my hood I developed an intense interest in closely examining the surface of the water next to the boat.
Bob told me "If you are not having fun you don't have to do this dive." I think that I told him that I was not having any fun, at all. He went ahead into the water, and I sat miserable for a moment.
I then sort of pulled myself together, clutching at my fins with claw like hands, grunting my thanks to Mike, and Jed, and Molly as they helped. I heard voices as they held a normal conversation, as if this wasn't the most wretched, of all wretched possible worlds.
The same sorts of conversations that seem to echo around when you are at a hospital waiting for bad news, and other people continue with their normal conversations about normal life.
I managed to roll into the water, give an okay, and swim to the anchor line. Bob and I went down and checked the anchor. A minute of good narcosis at 90 feet helped clear my head, and aside from being forced to carry Bob's gun, I had a great dive (there was also a five minute period where I tried to get my game bag open while holding a huge mussel and Bob's gun. Once I realized it was a mussel, and put it back down, my life got easier).
The rest of the dive went wonderfully. I was careful to watch my gauges, and signaled to call the dive when I was at 1000 pounds. We did a nice slow ascent, and the boat was right where it was supposed to be. I swam to the back, and as soon as I put my hand on the transom I started to call for my mammal friends. Oh well.
Mike let me drive the boat part of the way in, and fun was had by all.
--Rich
INTERIM PUBLIC HEALTH ADIVSORY FOR SPORT FISH FROM TOMALES BAY Elevated levels of mercury have been found in fish from Tomales Bay. The County of Marin Department of Health and Human Services and Community Development Agency/Environmental Health Services Division, in cooperation with the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), is issuing the following recommendations for limiting consumption of sport fish caught in Tomales Bay:
DO NOT EAT LEOPARD SHARKS OR BROWN SMOOTHHOUND SHARKS.
LIMIT CONSUMPTION OF THE FOLLOWING FISH TO NO MORE THAN:
ONE MEAL PER WEEK OF SURFPERCH (SHINER, REDTAIL SURFPERCH) OR
TWO MEALS PER MONTH OF CALIFORNIA HALIBUT OR PACIFIC ANGEL SHARKS OR
ONE MEAL PER MONTH OF BAT RAYS
THIS ADVISORY DOES NOT APPLY TO COMMERCIALLY GROWN TOMALES BAY OYSTERS, CLAMS, AND MUSSELS, which do not contain high levels of mercury.
It is especially important that women who are pregnant or may become pregnant within a year, nursing mothers, and children under age six follow these guidelines. The nervous systems of the developing fetus and young children are especially sensitive to the toxic effects of methyl mercury, the form of mercury that is found in fish.
The newsletter is now available on the web page, at http://www.redwoodempiredivers.com. The member roster will be on the site as soon as I set up a password system.
The web site also has links to pictures that I have taken at club events. If you have pictures that you want included, please get them to me! I can scan pictures, and directly post image files.
I am also sending out club announcements to people via email. If you want to be on the list, send your email address to Rich@chilidog.com.
July 28th-Jock's Tomales Dive
August 2-General Meeting at Round Table
August 3-5th Campout at Shelter Cove
August 16-Business Meeting at 3rd Street Aleworks,
August 25th: Dave's Big Ab Dive
August 24-26th: Sonoma County Rescue Symposium
Stony Point Roundtable Pizza
2065 Occidental Road, Santa Rosa
Jed Douglas RED WEB: http://www.webperception.com/jdouglas
Rocky's Home Page: http://www.sonic.net/~rocky
(with great tips on Abalone!)
CA Dept of Fish & Game: http://www.dfg.ca.gov
California Coastal Buoy Map: http://www.oceanweather.com/~oceanwx/data/cal.html
Marine Radio - Michael Mendoza
O2 Kit - Michael Mendoza
Fish & Ab Log - Dave Batt
Picnic Supplies - Dave Batt
Contact these members for use of the equipment.
Michael Mendoza - Vice President
Jed Douglas - Secretary
Bob Simpton - Treasurer
Rich Gibson - Newsletter Editor