Long Beach to Catalina

[Drowned Rat]

So I took my inflatable to Catalina this week, great trip. First time seeing this area. The trip over turned pretty nasty but not unsafe. Swells were about 4 to 6 feet with a 20 knot wind. Whitecaps, but nothing breaking over the boat. The trip back was very nice, overcast, gentle swells and NO whitecaps! Anyway, on the way back we came across a very large pod of dolphins cruising the channel. We stayed with them for quite some time and they never showed any hint of slowing down. Here is the video I got of them. Really neat, made the trip for me. Has anyone else encountered these guys around this area?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv9p0UUPNxc

 

[sam60]

Re: Long Beach to Catalina

That is a very cool video!

I still can't get why people add audio to the video. The sound of what you experienced is always the coolest to me, even if all that is audible is the outboard.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Long Beach to Catalina

Yeah, thanks. I normally would leave the audio alone except there was a loud buzz the whole time that was really annoying. I think it was my RPM and the camera being mounted to the frame. Anyway...

 

[theteacher]

Re: Long Beach to Catalina

What size RIB is that?

 

[Peter_C]

Re: Long Beach to Catalina

I have been on dive boats out there, but never taken my own little boat...yet! I know other people who do take their SIB's out there though, like Jon who posted in your other thread.

Dolphins are always fun to experience. Those look like common dolphins. We often get the Risso's that are bigger than my boat. Of course right now the humpbacks are running.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Long Beach to Catalina

Peter C, thanks for identifying the species of dolphin, I was wondering about that. Didn't see any whales, but that would have been something. We did see a very large shark come very close to the boat on day 1. I'd say about 8 feet. Also, while spear fishing in Isthmus cove a 4 to 5' Leopard Shark swam right under me. That was a first for me but not too spooky. He seemed wholly uninterested in me.

Teach, it's a 14' SIB.

 

[Peter_C]

Re: Long Beach to Catalina

We did see a very large shark come very close to the boat on day 1. I'd say about 8 feet. Also, while spear fishing in Isthmus cove a 4 to 5' Leopard Shark swam right under me. That was a first for me but not too spooky. He seemed wholly uninterested in me.

What kind of shark was the first one? Pictures? Was it at the surface? Were you able to watch it for awhile or did it disappear? Juvenile Great Whites are known to hang out around that area. Depending on depth of water underneath and location it could have been a Blue or Mako too.

Leopards are too small to care about people. We see them sometimes diving around NorCal. Saw the fin of one sticking out of the water on Sunday.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Long Beach to Catalina

The big shark we saw about the midway point to the island. He appeared and disappeared too quickly to get a photo. Serves me right for not having a camera around my neck. He didn't quite break the surface but came very close. I know he wasn't a Leopard Shark, but I couldn't say what he was. Just glad I wasn't in the water with him. He was rather slender, so maybe a blue or mako? No pattern whatsoever that I could see and since he didn't surface I couldn't get a good idea of his color.

 

[CapeAnn]

Re: Long Beach to Catalina

Man oh man - sounds like a very good trip! I certainly miss being out there and seeing all the wildlife. In the past we've had cetaceans of all type show up. A lot of them are used to seeing boat traffic and it's always a plus when they swim alongside. We've seen Common, Bottlenose and Risso's. Some occasions blue whale - but only from a distance and they're so fast!

On a shark note we've seen Blue, Mako, evidence of Whites (bite marks on dead elephant seals) and once even a juvenile Tiger. Of course, this was all done while on diving expeditions. The Tiger was a aggressive little bastard and glad he was only a four footer! Leopards show up by the droves if you go during specific times to USC's protected little lagoon at Two Harbors. They're more than cool.

On a fun note - we often took wetsuits (no weightbelt), video cameras and such and found kelp rafts and took images of the pelagics that hang around them. Mola and their posse. There is nothing quite as much fun as deep water snorkeling Glad you had a great time.

 

[jondavies]

Re: Long Beach to Catalina

Cool report and video DR. I'm glad you had a great trip.

I took some guys out offshore to spearfish for yellowtail and dorado a couple of weeks ago and we came across a juvenile blue whale. The whale rolled on its side to look at us and you could see its white belly under the water (it looked turquoise). You never know what you're going to see out there.

Let me know next time you're in So Cal and perhaps we can make a trip together.

 

[Pack Rat]

Re: Long Beach to Catalina

Not to ask a stupid question but I know nothing of dolphins. Is it rare for them to ever be hit from a prop when they run with boats like this?

 

[theteacher]

Re: Long Beach to Catalina

They get hit, I just saw 1 with a fresh cut about a month ago, not more than 10 yards from me.

I didn't hit it, I was fishing off the swim platform on my hard boat when it surfaced and continued on it's way, very very slowly. My wife was about in tears.

 

[Glaspar_Fan]

Re: Long Beach to Catalina

I grew up in Long Beach and we've always had boats in the family. My earliest memories are on a boat and I'm almost 58 now. Needless to say I've made more crossings between LB and the Isthmus than I can count. Not in as small a boat as 14' (yet) but we did once do an OVERNIGHTER in a 16' Glaspar Citation 40+ years ago. Quite a memorable trip. First, my twin brother skied the whole way over. The pig! It was going to be my turn when he fell and he never fell. Then there were the sleeping accommodations. The seats folded down into "lounges" but there were only two of them and three of us. My dad took one and I got the short straw and had to sleep wedged between the seats. The most interesting part of the trip was on the way back. There was what seemed like an explosion and we shut down right away to survey the damage and figure out what happened. Turned out the outdrive hit a huge sun fish. Miraculously the boat wasn't damaged. We started it up and circled around to take a closer look at him. Must have been six feet across. Hard to tell if we did anything more than give him a headache - they're tough.

But there has always been a lot to see in the crossing. Over the decades there is less and less though. We always used to troll on the way over and back. We would count the number of Bonita we caught in each direction. Usually tossed them back. Any more though you count how many crossings before even catching a mackerel. Same with the flying fish. We always saw flying fish as we approached the island or cruised up and down the West End. Been a long time though since I've seen one.

As far as hitting a porpoise, that has got to be pretty rare. Everyone knows they're smart and they love to come up and play in the pressure wave ahead of the bow. I guess if you came up on one at 80 knots you might surprise him, but otherwise I think they have the experience to stay out of the way. Seals on the other hand, not so smart.

John