Turned out to be a great day. The swells were a bit big in some sets, around 5 to 7 feet, but none of the kids got sick…all 70 of them! This is Kenny Kramer, he is the resident Life Guard and Forester at Crystal Cove. This lucky dog has been there for over 20 years...my dream job! They had a lot of equipment, as we were going to have 4 divers in the water, 2 with underwater communication masks, and the live video feed back up to the boat. We had a large TV on the boat, and this system of cables and equipment provided a live feed from the divers to the big TV so the kids could see what the divers were doing. It is a 2 way communication system, so that Nancy Caruso (the Marine Biologist on the kelp project) on the boat, could ask the divers questions while they were in the water.


There is a whistle buoy at the end of the Newport breakwater, and there were a lot of sea lions hanging out...the kids LOVED them! I had the mammal education station on the boat, which included these cute little guys!


Once we got to Crystal Cove, Capt’n Crunch dropped anchor. Some of the swells were pretty big, but we had come this far, might as well finish it! There is a red plankton bloom right now, so the water was a pretty chocolatey red! Here are the divers on the Coast Keeper boat getting in the water...oh, 53F water!


This is Kenny in the water with the video camera. He and a diver on the other team soon donned the full face mask with communication. I didn’t do any color correction on the water, because this shows that it was pretty murky!


I had the duty of standing on the swim step feeding both cable lines that were attached to the divers. I didn’t get to see the live feed, but could hear them. Visibility was about 0-5 feet, and there was a very strong surge pushing them around quite a bit (at least 8 feet or so in each direction). These guys have guts! I guess the kids faces were just amazing when they saw the kelp. There are about 60 plants now from 2 feet tall, all the way to the surface beginning to form a canopy. Quite a few of them asked “Is that the kelp we started on those tiles?” Yep! Very very cool!

The divers also showed them the marine life (that they could see) garibaldi, a Spanish shawl, lobster, gorgoninans, feather boa kelp, sea grass, sea urchins, anenomes...and a shark! One of the divers had put a plastic shark in his bc, it was bout 9 inches long, and so they held it up, at first some of the kids thought it was real!

The swells were coming in bigger and in closer sets, and the boat slipped anchor, so it was time to reel them in. I am on the swimstep, I had no idea where the divers were (couldn’t see bubbles) and trying to keep these cables from getting caught up in the props...but all turned out just great...

Only snafu was that Murphy hit us twice. Nancy went to play the video that she had recorded from the live feed, and nada...zilch...zip...oh well, Kenny has a tape in the recorder...but guess what...one of the cables had come loose, and he got zip, zilch, nada! Oh well!

The Electra Harbor Cruise operation out of Newport Beach donated the boat for the day, and a sub sandwich company donated five 6 foot subs, chips and drinks for the kids. On the way back to the harbor, they got to eat and have a great time. We had kids from 4 schools that have been involved in growing the kelp tiles. They really had a good time (so did I)...

Great story, Cynde. Sound almost like NE diving except how good your visibility was. Glad to hear your (kelp) baby's are doing good, I was concerned about the damage from some of those winter storms. Appears you did a good anchoring job.

Here's tonight's sunset.


Cynde, sorry about putting the sunset in your thread, but we're lost and wandering without Rusty.

thanks cecil...yeah, we just can't seem to compete with the NE vis and warm water temps i know, we just randomly post stuff anywhere since rusty's been gone...hellppp!

I enjoyed reading that Cynde, and I am pleased to hear the kelp beds are doing fine. Sure makes my life sound dull. A job well done there I reccon. Annie B.

Wonderful story Cynde, I needed that right now. (So much SARS news going on in Toronto...). Thank-you.

Kudos to you, Cynde and all that were involved in this venture...to include the kids. Great story and very heartwarming. Gives the kids some "hope" that they can actually make a difference in what happens to this planet...above it, on it and below it, as they have so wonderfully discovered. Congrats to all of you! Sorry to hear about the snafoo's tho...next time! Carole

Cynde,

Thanks for the story. I enjoyed reading it. Sounds like the kids had an excellent time. I'm glad none of them got sick. Not sure I wouldn't have.

Pat

Aquaman wishes he could have been along on that dive, it sounds like fun going along with kelp farmer cynde. Hope you are doing well, cannot wait to dive Catalina with you.

Aquaman

Thanks all for your nice comments! Pat, I used to live in Burke VA! Barry, Catalina for sure (when conditions are better!) Hope you are feeling better SOON!

One thing I forgot to mention is that there is a baby sea lion that has been coming out to the boat and hanging with the divers doing the research at the site. It was pretty funny, as the divers had been in the water about 10 minutes, and here he came flying (in the water) up, and got to the stern of the boat and then went under. The divers didn't see him because the vis was so bad, but he sure was cute. YOu could tell that he saw the boat (Nancy is at the site 2 or 3 days a week) and was like...yehaww! the divers are here!

Someone to play with in the water...and a hand out now and then would be a bonus for the little guy! CArole

Cydne,

I wrote a long winded response earlier today expressing my respect for those who take their time and give their effort to help young people enjoy the environment that so many of us take for granted. Thank you. Some day I hope many of us make the same effort and extend our experiences to those less fortunate to enjoy our little world. Well some how I errorred in sending the response. User interface problem.

Also wanted to say I once lived in LA, way back in the mid 80’s. Regret leaving LA and coming to VA. But we are always young at one part of our lives and don’t realize hat we have. I didn’t how much I enjoyed LA until I moved east. I didn’t dive while living in LA either. Now I don’t live anywhere near the coast and I dive. Go figure.

Well the words seem to be running together as it is late in DC and I’ve had a few too many glasses of wine and have one more daughter to put to bed.

Thanks for sharing

Pat

P.S. If my oldest daughter gets certified before July, I may be in Bonaire. The girls loved it last year and I can’t think of a better place for her to enjoy her first dives. I have a trip scheduled to Cozumel in June, without the family so a July trip this year may be difficult. I hope you enjoy your trip. I’m sure you will