Weather
Subscribe!
Archive for the ‘North America’ Category
Diving an oil rig has always seemed a daunting task to me both in terms of accessing the site as well as taking on the monstrous-looking structure. On the surface, many people find these rusty rigs to be an eyesore, a hulking man-made blight on the beautiful ocean surface. But, under water it’s a very different story. The thick metal supporting beams of the oil rigs act as a magnet for a vast array of marine plants and animals, creating a kind of artificial reef, a haven for sea life in the middle of the open ocean. Twenty-three oil platforms breach the waters off the coast between Oceanside and Santa Barbara, with names like Eureka, Ellen-Elly and lots of other girly monikers.
Diving the rigs requires special permission. All divers must sign a safety waiver, promising not to touch the structure or harvest any of the creatures that live on the beams. Your best bet for easy, comfortable, and legal rig diving is to go with one of several companies take charter boats out to the platforms. Anchoring is impractical due to depth, and tying off to the rig is prohibited. This type of dive is best handled by intermediate or experienced divers due to the conditions. Surge is common. Visibility can be 10 feet one day, 100 the next, with 50 feet the average. Currents, too, are ever-changing and can be strong, but it’s nearly always possible to shelter behind pilings and girders. The best marine life is found from the surface down to about 80 feet. Prime diving season is generally June through December.
And when I say ‘prime diving’ I really do mean prime. The underwater structures are absolutely teeming with sea life. Upon entry and exit divers usually see sea lions and dolphins, some which may even follow the divers around during the dive. The structures themselves are covered wall-to-wall with strawberry anemones, enormous scallops and mussels, acorn barnacles, and a variety of sponges. On top of all of that growth crawl, crabs, nudibranches, huge sea stars, multi-colored brittle stars, and scorpion fish. In the water column swim a variety of fish including calico bass, sculpins, gobies, sheephead, jellyfish and garibaldi, California’s bright orange state marine fish. Fish schools are common too, with hundreds of mackerels, groups of sardines and packs of halfmoons cruising the waters together.
Ohhh...shiny
If a tree falls in the woods, but no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? If a person dreams up a gynormous yacht, but never builds it, do they get to claim they now have the biggest boat? Belgium-based Emocean Yacht Design recently unveiled plans for an extravagant new mega yacht, tentatively called Project 1000, that — if built — would be the world’s largest vessel of its type. The key being “if built” of course. The yacht would be a ridiculous 656 feet, and cost in the absurd range of $500 million to $900 million to build. That means if you won both the PowerBall and Big Game lotteries, you still couldn’t afford this behemouth.
Of course, for all of that cash you do get some sweet perks. For one, the ship does look sexy as heck. In addition to good looks, the design includes a 100-foot swimming pool, health spa, nightclub, casino, a dual-level cinema, drive-in garage, two 98-foot day boats and a helipad with a hanger. You can bring 44 of your best dive buddies with you wherever you go and also include 70 crew members, so you’ll never sail alone, or have to lift a finger while onboard.
So, Emocean did get quite a bit of press for their announcement, but the reality is that no one has jumped up to order this luxury good yet. Even when (if) they do, the company says it will take another 4 years from the date of order until completion. Perhaps by then they will figure out how to squeeze in a dive shop onboard.
Get out your dive gear, fishing gear or marinara sauce. The Giant Squids have fulfilled their promise of “I’ll be back!” showing up in huge numbers on the California coast off Newport Beach. These charismatic cephalopods are averaging 30 lbs each, but some are up to 60 lbs. That’s enough calamari in one animal to feed a family of 5 for a week, and still have some left over to pair with linguini for a Saturday snack. Anglers have caught 400 of the beasts so far, though far greater numbers are still out in the ocean.
Though the name ‘Giant Squid’ elicits visions of huge sea monsters with a chip on their shoulders and a bloodthirsty appetite, the official name of these beauties is Humboldt Squid (far less menacing, I grant you.) They can grow up to 100 pounds and 6 feet long. They follow their food sources through the ocean, which explains their appearance on the west coast. The squid have also recently been spotted off San Diego, Oregon and Washington.
Less accurate than a coin flip?
Punxsutawney Phil, America’s most famous rodent weather predictor, saw his shadow last Tuesday, signaling six more weeks of winter. CNN meteorologist Chad Meyers, citing stormfax.com, said Phil is correct 39 percent of the time. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration goes even further, saying Phil has “no predictive skill.” I propose we replace Phil with his amphibious cousin, Phish, in order to achieve a more accurate weather prediction.
Anglers and scientists alike agree that fish behave differently before changes in weather. They have an incredible array of pressure-sensing systems—such as their ‘lateral line’—that key them in to changes in barometric pressure. Barometric changes can also cause changes in suspended sediment and plankton, which alter a fish’s feeding habits. Light intensity—due to wave action, cloud cover or water clarity—can also have a huge impact on feeding behavior. It’s worth noting thought that fish and other creatures living in shallow water are more susceptible to the affects of changes in atmospheric pressure than their deep-water counterparts.
Sharks too are excellent weather predictors. They have something known as the ampullae of Lorenzini on their snout that contain small electric sensitive cells. Among other uses, these sensors pick up changes in pressure, currents and temperature brought on by weather. For example, Florida summers with frequent hurricanes produce a much lower instance of shark attacks (ex. 2005) in part because the animals head to deeper water for safety.
Even shrimp can be good predictors of prolonged weather changes. Production of farm-raised shrimp usually increases along the Pacific coast of South America during El Niño years. Shrimp like the warm El Niño waters and grow rapidly in the brackish-water environment created by the heavy rains. Wild shrimp reproduce in great numbers during El Niños, so if the shrimp population is up, you may be looking at an El Niño event, rather than just a quick series of passing storms.
So, pick a sea creature, figure out what it’s unique, weather-related behavior is, and then watch it to determine the forecast. How wrong could it be? After all, even a coin flip would achieve more accurate results than poor, fuzzy Phil.
I’m not really sure what all of the mollusk fuss is about. To me they look like aquatic portabellas or perhaps marine potatoes. But enthusiasts around the world see so much more in the abalone, enough to dive in cold, shark infested waters to collect the beauties. Fans of Abalone diving and eating go to great lengths to celebrate the sport with festivals, cook-offs, and in prose (All Abalone are Deaf by Felix Macias.) I’m always looking for new diving opportunities, so I decided to find out more.
Where can I find these things? The majority of abalone species are found in cold waters, off the Southern Hemisphere coasts of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia, and Western North America and Japan in the Northern Hemisphere. Due to dwindling natural supply of abalone and increasing demand, some countries have begun farming the critters, including China, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, Chile, Iceland, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand, and the United States. Abalone are mostly taken in depths from a few inches up to 10 m (33 ft.) Abalone are normally found on rocks near food sources like kelp. Divers commonly dive out of boats, kayaks, tube floats or directly off the shore.
How do I dive for abalone? It turns out that scuba diving for abalone is illegal in most parts of the world. Instead you have to freedive for them, which makes sense since they are usually pretty shallow. An abalone diver sports the usual gear like a thick wetsuit, booties, gloves, mask, snorkel, and a weight belt. You also need an abalone iron which is used to pry the mollusk off the rock it is so fond of, and an abalone gauge to make sure the size is large enough to take legally.
This is a good time to mention the insanely stringent regulations surrounding the recreational hunting of abalone due to their severely threatened populations. In addition to the aforementioned no scuba rules, there are limits to the number taken, the size taken and the time of year the tasties are collected. These vary by country and even by city, with strict penalties for non-compliance. Some places like California have law enforcement professionals dedicated to catching abalone thieves not following the rules (where did those taxpayer dollars go?) So before you go setting your mind to hunting abalone, you should check the local regulations.
I found one! Now what do I do with it? Abalone are basically sea snails, conceptually similar to conch. You can serve it raw like sushi, or steam it, saute it, boil it, bake it, or even serve it like a “steak.” Winning cook-off recipes have made it into cakes (like a crab cake, not chocolate, thanks), battered it in beer and even mixed it into tomato sauce over pasta. The key appears to be cleaning the fresh mollusk correctly, removing the lip, tough foot and guts. A thorough pounding of the meat with a heavy mallet also seems to contribute to a tasty outcome.
So although I can’t put my scuba skills to work, it does seem like hunting for the great abalone is an interesting proposition. Although I’m not crazy about continuing to deplete the population of this animal which has been so highly regarded for so very long, I do like the idea of celebrating its existence in so many tasty ways. Perhaps I’ll stick to the farmed version and dive for something else instead.
Hey baby, what's your sign?
I recently started asking around for new blog ideas, and got an earful of weird dive experiences from my fellow recreational divers. It was an unusual accumulation of aquatic encounters that I just had to put together into a post.
Subway Cars – “Early in 2009 I dove the Atlantic City Reef to see the NYC subway cars that they put there the year before. It was really strange to see some of them sitting upright, looking like they were waiting to pull out of the station. Some sediment had built up on the seats, looking like somebody stuck more gum on them. I love diving wrecks, but I’ve never seen anything manmade look so bizarre underwater. At least boats were meant for the ocean!” -Rick T.
Divemaster Feeding a Moray from his Mouth – “I just got back from a trip to Moorea in French Polynesia, where I went on a shark feed dive. After most of the fish pieces had been fed to the sharks, one of the divemasters started feeding pieces of tuna to a moray eel who had stuck his head out of the nearby reef. Apparently unsatisfied with his hand-feeding technique, the divemaster took out his regulator, put a piece of tuna in his mouth, and then swam over to give the moray a mouth-to-mouth feeding experience. I guess he thought the move was funny or clever, but I just thought: What a dumbass!” -Tony A.
Wall of Jellyfish – “Diving Jellyfish Lake in Palau was definitely the strangest dive ever. Actually I was freediving because you can’t scuba in the lake. When I first got in the water I didn’t see anything. But then as I swam out into the middle of the lake where the sun was hitting the water, I ran into a wall of jellyfish so thick I couldn’t see through it. They were everywhere; it was like swimming in jell-o.” –Amanda B.
Squid Sex – “In Bonaire my dive group came across a pod of squid during one early morning dive. The squid kept circling each other and would occasionally flash different colors or make their skin look striped. Back onshore I asked our divemaster about it because I had never seen squid do that before. Usually they just hang out in a line and get spooked if you get too close. Turns out the behavior was “cephalopod mating rituals,” a.k.a. squid sex.” Michael R
Narwhals are one-of-a-kind sea creatures, with a long spiraling tusk that has earned them the nickname Unicorns of the Sea. For hundreds of years, sightings of these mammals have spawned tales of mermaids and sea monsters when sailors and explorers have encountered them. In reality, these aquatic beauties are related to bottlenose dolphins, belugas, harbor porpoises, and orcas. Their natural habitat is the Atlantic portion of the Arctic Ocean. They are also found in fewer numbers in the Greenland Sea, extending to the coast of Russia.
The narwhal is 13 to 16 feet in length and weighs between 2,200 and 3,500 pounds, living exclusively on a diet of fish and squid. They are often sighted swimming in groups of 15 to 20, but gatherings of hundreds or more have been reported. A notable quality of the Narwhal is its ability to perform incredibly deep dives for a marine mammal, going to at least 800 meters (2,400 feet) with many dives reaching 1,500 meters (4,500 feet).
Their diving skill aside, the most unique feature of the Narwhal is, of course, the tusk, which is actually one of its two upper teeth. After the first year of a male narwhal’s life, its left tooth grows outward, spirally. This long, single tooth projects from its upper jaw and can grow to be 7-10 feet long. Marine biologists disagree on the evolutionary purpose of the tusk, sighting mating appeal, a defensive weapon and a fish-sensing antenna as possible uses.
Usually humans spot narwhals on the ocean’s surface, but there is the possibility (albeit limited) of scuba diving with these amazing creatures. April is the only month where Arctic diving is realistically possible, as it’s the warmest month of the year there, when the raging cold reduces to a still-really-chilly dull roar. Of course you will need your dry suit as well as high-tech microfiber undergarments to keep you from turning into an ice cube in the approximately 28 degree water. And a cold-water regulator is a must, as your “regular” regulator will cease to function before you even get in the water.
Once you are ready, it’s time to find someone to take you there. Few people on this earth have the scuba know-how and the means to organize an undertaking like this on their own. A few companies offer expedition-like trips to the Arctic Circle and can, for a price, incorporate diving into the itinerary. Their role includes finding pods of narwhals and other whales to see, an important part of the equation when one is talking about 1000s of miles of open ocean where these animals live.
To date, few people, other than scientists, can say they have gone scuba diving with the Unicorn of the Sea. But increased availability of ice diving training, improved ice diving gear and an ever-growing body of knowledge about these creatures is improving the chance that you too can dive with these unusual aquatic wonders.
Nomadic in nature and notoriously bubble-shy, Manta Rays are undoubtedly one of the most appreciated underwater sightings once you finally find one. There are, however, a few places in the world that can almost guarantee a manta sighting on any given dive.
Yap, Micronesia – This tiny Pacific island just north of the equator houses a resident colony of manta rays, a rare living situation for the animals. Check out Yap Diver’s blog that highlights pics from “Manta Fest” including one dive trip accompanied by a pod of Orcas. As a bonus, visitors to the island also get a unique top side cultural experience that frequently includes grass skirts, loincloths, and the use of huge wheels of stone money for barter.
Kona, Hawaii – This manta experience is decidedly more manmade, but no less exciting. Dive operators and hotels light up the waters off the Kona Coast at night, attracting swarms of plankton that, in turn, attract the manta rays. Divers and snorkelers alike hover in the water column, watching the giants glide and swoop as they feed. Check out Kona Honu Diver’s page for a cool video of what the dive actually looks like.
Atlanta, Georgia – On this trip you have a 100% chance of seeing not one manta, but two. If you buy tickets to the aquarium, that is. Whether you agree with the idea of aquariums or not, you have to admit that this place really has it all when it comes to sea life. The two mantas swim in a six million gallon exhibit next to four whale sharks, a handful of hammerheads, and a ton of other fish. Rumor has it that one of the rays likes to do flips out of the water at the surface, a rare treat for people on the Behind the Scenes tours.
The Bond movie Thunderball was on late night TV yesterday. It’s got all the makings of a great Bond film: bad guys, women, nuclear warheads, women, extortion, women, and best of all lots of scuba diving. The flick is from 1965, when diving was much rarer and inaccessible than it is today, making the scuba scenes even more important to the success of the movie. But even today the movie industry uses scuba diving as a way to add action and skimpy bathing suits to spice up the screen. A few examples:
Sean Connery, Thunderball – 1960’s James Bond heads to The Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads. This film is chock full of kitschy scuba diving content including archaic dive gear and shots of sharks that were probably somebody’s pet. If you want to live out your Bond fantasies, you can still dive the Thunderball wreck in the Bahamas.
Hank Azaria, Along Came Polly - This movie was awful, except for a entertaining guest appearance by Hank Azaria as Claude, the smarmy French scuba diving teacher (you can shut it off after his scene is over.) If you have ever dove in a French-influenced place such as French Polynesia you can relate to the speedo-wearing, galoise-smoking, soap-deficient French divemasters out there who pray to the God Cousteau before they go to bed each night.
Jessica Alba, Into the Blue – Lots of diving, lots of skimpy bathing suits. Scuba sex still sells.
Owen Wilson & Bill Murray, Life Aquatic – This is an odd movie: either you love it or you hate it (we here at scuba-dive.org love it’s quirky, offbeat style.) It’s underwater-themed plot enables plenty of diving scenes and sea life shots. Wilson and Murray aren’t exactly sx symbols with scuba gear, but they hold their own.
Woody Harleson, After The Sunset – Jewel theft, the Bahamas, and lots of diving. What more could you want? Brings new meaning to Paradise Island.
Pierce Brosnan, Tomorrow Never Dies– 1990’s James Bond throws on the scuba gear yet again. This time the plot, surprising, includes: bad guys, women, nuclear warheads, women, and extortion. This gear is much more high-tech then last time, and is used more to compliment the plot rather than carry it along. To her credit Michelle Yeoh, the headstrong female lead, doesn’t just flop around helplessly in her gear. Rather, she makes diving look easy.
CubaGooding Jr, Men of Honor– Gooding plays Carl Brashear, the first African American US Navy Diver. The movie is intense, but you get enough insight into the origins of dive gear to really appreciate the gear you use now, no matter how many times your mask floods.
Sponge Bob, Square Pants – Don’t hate us for throwing this in. He lives under the Pacific Ocean in the town of “Bikini Bottom” for clam’s sake. He has to use scuba gear at some point. Did you know this is the most watched cable television show right now? Think of all of the kids (and, sadly adults) that think starfish talk.
”If only I could make money at scuba diving, then I could do it all the time!”
Divers across the globe lament time and time again as they pack up their gear to return home at the end of their dive trips. Actually, many jobs involve scuba beyond the obvious occupations: dive shop owner (too costly), dive instructor (too many mask flood drills), and dive master (too many foolish people in the sea). A few positions to consider:
Federal stimulus dollar recipient – An opportunity to recoup the tax dollars you “donated” to the economy! The Northwest Marine Conservation Initiative received $4.6 million in stimulus funds to recover most of the nets on the bottom of Puget Sound, and is using the funds to hire divers to remove the ensnaring debris. Make money, scuba dive and save the environment, all at the same time. Next you can conquer world hunger…
“Whatever you do, don’t push the red button” Tester – Thousands of new scuba gear products come out each year (hopefully) well tested by their manufacturer. Become a product tester and reap the rewards of free scuba stuff! Note: demand actual currency compensation for any product testing that involves neon neoprene or gear that combusts upon incorrect button selection.
Aquarium Marriage Proposal Delivery Person – You know those viral YouTube videos shot in aquariums where a scuba diver swims up to a couple at the tank window with a “Will you marry me?” sign? Yes, that can be you (holding the sign I mean, I can’t guarantee someone wants to marry you). Other scuba responsibilities include cleaning the fake rock and avoiding being eaten by the agitated hammerhead recently introduced to the tank.
GI Joe/Jane Diver – Fulfill your James Bond fantasies (tux and martinis not included) by doing underwater surveillance for the military. Job may include the opportunity to use the latest in scuba technology (fun) and the opportunity to clear mines (not so fun). Combine your hobbies for a blast of excitement!