Scripps North Branch, Sat June 28, 2008
Headed for North Branch in perfect conditions; the seas are unbelievably flat, no current, no surge. Mike got us anchored perfectly by a wall/slope, and in no time the first team of Charlie L. and Dave rolled in, while Mike, Jimbo and I got some sun and chatted.
Charlie and Dave reported seeing tons of Swell Sharks, but on neither dive did we spot any – I think they did see some pink elephants though. 
So with a stellar report, in no time we were following the anchor line down into the abyss – there is quite the thermocline at 35′, but of course the viz opened up.
We headed S, meandering along the wall, peeking into all the nooks and crannies – it was so nice to look up the walls and see the silhouettes of schools of fish above us, and the structure of the canyon so clearly. The “vast expanse” as Jimbo tried to communicate to me on our safety stop did not disappoint.
Soaking up as much warmth as possible on our surface interval, I did a second dive – the viz actually got even better, but my tolerance to the cold diminished, so I cut my dive a few minutes short, waving bye to Jimbo and Mike at the anchor.
Fauna of note included large male and female Sheepheads, schools of Blacksmiths, Rock Wrasse, variety of nudis, large Spined Starfish, Senoritas, Ocean Whitefish, Treefish, Greenlings, Vermillion Rockfish, some other Rockfish, and the usual sponges and gorgonians.
Finally, it was time to head home, which provided for some surface observations, as half way back we needed the assist of Sea Tow – I quite enjoyed our time just bobbing around the tons and tons of kelp, and seeing all the fish fry, copepods, and a few Kelp crabs hiding in the kelp.
It was nice to dive NB again, in the best conditions you could get.
Map to Dive Site at SeaStarAdventures.com
Time: morning
Seas: Lake Scripps
Depth: 143′ – 98′
Viz: 30′ +, 40′+
Temp: 54 but it felt colder
Tags: la jolla, seastar adventures, san diego, La Jolla canyon, shore dives, scuba diving
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