More Training, Ugh

Saturday we were at Lobos. The plan was to do a skills dive and a fun dive. However, the tides and our energy level conspired, so we ended up changing the plan. Instead, we would do the same thing we did last time -- scooter out to 50 or 60 feet, do our skills stuff, then head out for a short fun dive. I was the slow one on the "not it" game when talk turned to who would lead the dive, so I got stuck with that. We loaded our gear on the float (I swam, so much easier than carrying bottles down the slippery ramp), and then got into our gear and headed out. We dropped at the ramp (good viz), and scootered out to about 50 feet. We were just southeast of Hole in the Wall. We shot a bag and tied off to one of the little stalks of palm kelp. Then we did some bottle juggling fun. It went pretty well -- much better than last time! It didn't go perfectly, but I think we were all much happier with it than the last time we did skills.

Once we were finished with that, we decided to ditch or gear on the line, and head out for some fun. It was dead calm, so Kevin suggested we check out the shallow areas in the Cannery Point rocks. We dropped back down the line, clipped off all of our bottles, retrieved our scooters, and headed off. We headed south and then cut over down one of the oyster shell channels, until we ended up in a little are in 15 to 20 feet, with little walls on two sides. It was like swimming in a tide pool. Eventually we ended up in like 10 feet, and Rob and Kevin wanted to surface, to see where we were. We ascended really close to two rocks. It was pretty cool, considering how calm the water has to be to pull that off :) After marvelling at how close we were to the rocks and how little water movement there was, we headed back down and poked around some more. It was a pretty sluggy day. There were lots of Tritonias (and they all seemed to be short and fat!), Rob found a Hilton's, and otherwise it was the usual suspects. We eventually headed north, to about 35 feet, and hung out there for a while. There wasn't anything super interesting, but it was a really nice bright, clear day. Finally I decided I really needed to pee, so I turned the dive.

Unfortunately I had waited just a little too long for a comfortable trip back :) We got back to the line (phew, all our bottles were still there), and we retrieved our stuff and headed in. Rob got chastised for dilly dallying on the way in -- I was on a mission. We ascended right by the line, and dropped our bottles at the float. Rob scurried out of the water to assist me with the low tide exit. It was the quickest low tide exit I've ever made!