The rockpile is a dive site located just north of the main street beach in the seaside town of Laguna Beach, California. I dove with my son, Spencer, for the first time at this site on August 29, 2020. It was a beautiful Southern California morning, the air temperature was in the high 60's and the surface water temperature was reported by the lifeguards as 66-70 degrees. The skies were overcast when we started the dive at about 9am but the sunlight came through towards the end of the dive which lasted 54 minutes. A shallow dive site the deepest point of our dive was 20 feet.
Most of the dive sites in Laguna Beach have one thing in common - Stairs. We parked on Cliff Drive at Heisler Park, a popular cliffside municipal park overlooking the ocean. We suited up at the car made our way across the park and down the stairs. This dive site is highlighted by a rock that emerges out of the water about 200 yards from the shoreline, once in the water we kicked out to the rock. The rockpile is popular with surfers, so much so divers are not allowed to go into the surf at this location after 10am. Surfers favor this location because of the waves generated by the rock formations. The same waves can challenge the diver. At our shallow dive depth the wave surge was moving us around forcibly as well as stirring up particulate in the water. Bottom line - photography was challenging.
At the site we spotted numerous Panamic Christmas Tree worms. I think these are some of the prettiest things you can see on a local dive. And for second time I spotted the mystery nudibranch! This particular nudibranch has so far evaded sufficient identification so as to warrant a "research grade" classification. This particular nudibranch was tiny and the accompanying photographs are marginally acceptable - certainly not stellar. This site also features numerous large California Sheepshead whom I assume are well fed by divers. They are aggressive and act in a way that they seem to be demanding that you feed them, which I did not. So I paid. One pecked at my head, another at my hand and yet another at my camera. One of these perpetrators has been identified in the accompanying photographs. They seem to know that they are dwelling in a no-take marine park, a fact of which they take full advantage.
The dive done, we stopped and got a bagel in Laguna Beach. Everything bagel, toasted, with plain cream cheese, a slice of tomato and a dash of lemon pepper. Very good.
Spencer is a great dive partner but has terrible taste in bagels - Jalapeno Cheddar?
Diving the “Canyon” is a very different type of Southern California dive experience. To get to the dive site you can proceed to the parking lot adjacent to Kellogg Park located in the San Diego community of La Jolla. I have been to this site many times and on August 30, 2020, along with my son Spencer, we were back to do it again. It was another beautiful Southern California morning; the air temperature was in the high 60's and the surface water temperature was between 66-70 degrees. The skies were clear and sunny, and we started our 57-minute dive at about 9am. The canyon is a deep dive site and we proceeded on this trip down to a depth of 56 feet at our deepest.
This is a very popular spot for divers, especially for those going through any kind of training, class or certification. Today’s conditions showcased why, the ocean water was almost “lake like” calm, there was no surge or rip tide and the visibility was somewhere between 15 to 25 feet. There were many divers present and several classes in progress. The only real challenge to taking good photos is the sandy bottom which can be easily stirred up.
As my Son and I were suiting up in the park, we could overhear other divers talking about their “great” dive that they had just completed. One young lady was going on and on about the “seahorse” that she had seen. I have always wanted to spot a seahorse but have never been so lucky. I asked her about her sighting and she excitedly explained that the “seahorse was in 6 to 8 feet of water, all alone over a sandy bottom.” None of this description fit with my preconceived notion of where I might eventually spot a seahorse. She sheepishly explained that she wasn’t able to take a photograph of her sighting but hoped that she would be able to identify the specific species of seahorse when she got home and consulted her reference materials.
With this “excitement” in the air my Son and I proceeded to the shoreline. Another attribute of this dive spot that favors class instruction is that it is an entirely sandy bottom, there are no rocks, kelp or sea grass at all. While maybe good for classroom instruction, this attribute dampens the enthusiasm of many experienced divers from diving this site because it is “boring” – almost a moonscape. However, as the accompanying photos attest, this moonscape is full of life; rays, sea pens, nudibranchs, sea stars, sea pansies, anemones and many others.
As you travel over this moonscape on a heading of 2700 you are on your way to the La Jolla canyon that is located approximately 300 yards from the shoreline. I don’t personally know of any divers that have traveled over the edge of the canyon wall and found it to be boring. As you approach the canyon wall the water becomes dark, foreboding and still. The water is deeper, much deeper, and colder, much colder.
When we started our day my hope for this dive was that we would see striped nudibranchs and a California Sea Hare. We had seen both of these species on prior dives and on this trip, we were not disappointed – we had success on both counts. And as an added bonus we spotted a spectacularly beautiful corymorpha palma.
Now about those seahorses! No, we did not see a seahorse, but as we left the canyon and started back to the shoreline over the moonscape, we came across 5, five, pipefish. Each was alone over a sandy bottom. I am not sure what reference materials she is consulting about seahorses, but I can tell you that seeing five different pipefish on one dive is pretty darn cool.
