2022.8.6 | Scripps Canyon, La Jolla

I have not been to Scripps Canyon for a while. Today I joined Kelly and paid a visit. We dove twice there and had a great trip.

Kelly and I met before 7 am at Dana Landing. We learned that two other people going to the trip had canceled. It’s too late for us to cancel the trip entirely, so we decided to proceed with the original schedule.

We were surprised by how few boats were at the dock, especially in the middle of the summer. When we left the dock, an in-shore breeze had picked up. Kelly was concerned about the wind chop. He was right – the waves picked up as soon as we entered the open sea. The ride north to La Jolla was bumpy. But our boat was light, and getting to the dive sites was fast. We dropped the anchor and jumped into the water without much delay.

The visibility near the surface was poor, but the water turned much clearer below 50 ft. I didn’t notice a thermocline, and the water stayed cold throughout the depth. The anchor was on the sand, exactly where we expected. Following the contour of the ocean bottom, I found the canyon where the walls on both sides started. The wall had many crevices, and they were all filled with critters. There were a lot of nudibranchs, and many were huge. It was breathtaking. However, unlike those I frequently visit at La Jolla Shores, the walls at the Scripps Canyo were mostly vertical without a bottom. There was no place for me to place the camera. I gave up filming the critters and spent my time mostly cruising along the wall, enjoying the magnificence of the canyon. I also checked the crevices, hoping to find a swell shark, but had no luck.

Back to the boat, Kelly and I thought the condition was good and decided to stay. Kelly told me about a swell shark he saw, and I decided to look for it on the second dive.

I followed Kelly’s description in the second dive and immediately found a swell shark. However, this shark was deep in the crevice. All I could see was its tail. I continued my cruise. Shortly, I met Kelly. He signaled me with surprise on his face – he found not one but two sharks in the same crevice. Although the crevice was deep, there was a small flat area in front of it where I could put my camera down for filming. I enjoyed watching this pair of sharks.

I was on air in my second dive, and the time I could spend at the canyon was short. I was confident about finding the anchor on my way back. But I turned too soon and ran into another big crack on the ocean floor instead of a gradual sandy slope. I was confused and had to ascend without the anchor line. Luckily, there was no current, and I was not far from the boat.

Back to the boat, we were delighted to have two great dives into the canyon. On our way back, we ran into the downwind. The surface turned much flatter, and the ride was much smoother than we expected. With the help of the wind and a light boat, we got back to the dock fast. It was a great trip.