We left Huntington Harbor 6am Saturday morning and arrived at The Farnsworth Bank (located a few miles off the back side of the South East tip of Catalina) around 8am. For three of the four divers (including myself), this was the first dive at FB. The Bank is an underwater mountain whose peak rises from the ocean floor (about 250 feet deep) to within 60 feet of the ocean surface. It is notorious for dangerous currents that have killed several (I heard ten) divers, but the conditions were ideal that morning.
Words cannot communicate the beauty I experienced as we descended to 110 feet. The water was crystal clear. The kelp atop the bank was waving with the swell. As I neared the top, I saw forests of purple coral and fields of pink anemone. I saw abalone and huge rock scallops. Millions of juvenile perch hovered above the bank. As I approached 110, I thought to myself, "If I have to die, this is how I want to go," -- I realized it was probably the nitrogen talking -- I was definitely narc'ed -- and loving it.
We swam around the wall which is quite steep. We could see all the way to the bottom as clear as if we were suspended in air. I felt like I was flying. I saw a huge Calico Bass - at least 10 lbs if not 15. There was absolutely no silt on the reef. If I had to describe the bank in one word, it would be ``Pristine.'' We worked our way back up enjoying the scenery for a 30 minute dive. About five hours later, we did our second dive at the same spot. The water was a bit stirred up, but it was still an awesome dive.
Around 9pm that night, we did a night dive. As soon as we dropped, there was a legal lobster right next to me, so I grabbed at him, but missed. I signaled my buddy there were lobster nearby, so we started to search around the area. Within a minute, I found another which I grabbed. It was the largest lobster I had ever caught up to that time. Within 45 minutes, I had caught a total of 7 large lobster plus two shorts I released. One was so big, I had to use two hands to hold him. My buddy caught only one but it was her first legal lobster. She was very proud.
I may have just visited heaven.