Sandy Ego Diving Recommendations

The start of me as a serious scuba diver happened in La Jolla, in Southern California, where I lived and did science in 1995 (as an exchange student), and in 2002 to 2006 (as a post doc). Looking at these dates makes me realize what an old fart I already am, which is okay, the old farts are who keep civilization afloat generally. Also, looking back fills me with good vibes, while I have no plans to move back to California, I greatly enjoyed my time there, I matured as a scientist and as a person. I talked to very bright people at the Salk Institute during the day, partying with very fun folks in Pacific Beach on some weekends, and scuba dived on others. A magic time for me!

A friend asked me for diving recommendations for the area; this was the initial impetus for this blog post. I really enjoyed recalling the diving I had done a decade and a half ago. What’s there to see underwater:

• • The kelp. Kelp is a gigantic macroalgae, which grows ten or more meters long, and forms these light-flooded magic forests. Simply swimming below the canopy of the kelp is quite a stunning experience. It’s also home to a lot of fishes and invertebrates. The kelp in southern CA seems to fluctuate from year to year, and anthropogenic climate change is not in favor of a healthy kelp cover that far south, so I don’t know for sure how much kelp you will see this year. Point Loma and La Jolla cove always had great kelp when I was there.

• The canyons. As seen in this screenshot from Google Earth, there is a major submarine canyon going roughly east to west in front of the La Jolla coast. The La Jolla shores (southern) portion of the canyon is nice, but the northern, Scripps, branch of the canyon is spectacular. It’s rock walls are vertical, or more so (overhangs!), and the walls are covered with a rich invertebrate fauna. A friend of mine discovered two nudibranch species new to science there. Don’t miss this dive site.

• • Marine mammals: La Jolla is home to seals and sea lions, which might or might not pass by you when you dive. Please don’t harass them when they are resting on land. Underwater they are incredibly fast and nimble. The shot below was a real piece of luck, you can’t plan a swim-by like that.

• • Spider crabs: The kelp is home to these crazy huge “sheep crabs”, large, very unreal looking animals. An arthropod isn’t supposed to be that humongous. The carapace alone of these crabs is almost the size of a basketball, plus the span of the powerful legs. These are herbivores, I think, and they are harmless. But they are definitely an impressive sight. I remember seeing more of them during night dives than during the day.

Logistics

I have been gone for too long from San Diego/La Jolla to give up-to-date first hand logistics tips, but word from a friend is that especially San Diego Divers, and Ocean Enterprises are good dive shops. For some dives you need to arrange boat dives, the kelp in La Jolla and the La Jolla shores canyon dive can be done from shore. Parking can be a butt pain, so it’s best to dive early in the morning or during the week.