On the morning of March 16, six Aqua Tutus divers comprised of Dan W., Dave C, David S., Jim D., Mark J., and Oliver E. arrived at McAbee, having been diverted from original plans to dive at Gerstle Cove in Salt Point due to less than ideal conditions on the Sonoma coast. Debbie D. was present as surface support for Jim and also graciously attended to anyone in the group. Surface conditions looked calm and several other dive groups were also conducting dives from McAbee.
Most of the group planned to go straight toward the buoy approximately 1,000 yards straight out from McAbee Beach. Oliver and David S. opted to take their DPVs to the Aquarium Wall. Fighting strong surges and underwater visibility in the range of 5 - 8 ft., each dive group made their way toward their objectives. The dives were roughly 60 - 80 minutes for each team, with water temperature ranging from 58 degrees F at the surface to a chilly 51 degrees F at 60 ft below surface. On the way to the Aquarium Wall on their DPVs, Oliver and David S. got separated multiple times and needed to surface to find each other, often separated by over 100 yards due to the currents and DPVs. Oliver was point for navigation, and found a discarded fishing rod en route. The pair made their way to a rocky reef that rivaled the Metridium Field in the number of anemones, and housed a pair of large ling cod and a sheepshead.
After the first dive, only Oliver had the tenacity to go back in for a second dive. He successfully made his way to the Aquarium Wall and the huge intake pipes for Monterey Aquarium. The rest of the group had lunch at the extremely busy El Torito restaurant, which had allowed our group to park on premise. Dan later reported that another group that dove the North Coast at Fort Ross the same day had only 2 - 3 ft visibility, making even the one-dive day feel like a successful trip.
Not pictured: Dave C. and Oliver E.
