How best to do this...

I have several photos from this weekend's dive trip to Santa Barbara Island aboard the Great Escape.
I was thinking of just doing one long post, but that might be too much for one post.
So the plan now is to do one post for each of the three dives.
But first, some pictures from before the dives.

We got to the boat a little past 8 Friday night. The boat was to leave the dock at 1:30 a.m. Saturday, getting us to the island around 7 a.m. with dives starting shortly after that.

The boat, the Great Escape, accommodates 32 people. There are some staterooms, which basically are a couple bunks behind a door. They are no more comfortable than the regular bunks, but you have a bit more room and privacy.

We did not get a stateroom though, they were all booked.

So we took our chances with the bunks, getting a middle spot at the back of the boat.

Good to know there is an escape hatch. Though I am not sure how anyone would actually fit through it.

This was our bunk. It was neither spacious nor comfortable.

There was another double bunk above us and a lower bunk, basically on the floor, below us.


There was a bench on either side of the boat where tanks waited for divers, 32 spots in all. It got a little tight in those areas when everyone was trying to get geared up all at the same time.

So after boarding Friday night, we left to get some dinner in Long Beach, then came back for a 10:45 briefing. After that we had a beer at a bar nearby.

Since it was Halloween, there were people in all sorts of costumes at a party in the restaurant. It was quite entertaining.

Then we went back to try to get to sleep.

It was not a restful night, but I managed to get a little sleep.

I was up early, one of the first ones up. I had taken some seasickness pills the night before and felt like they were wearing off a bit. So I headed up to deck to get some air.

I also got some pictures as we approached the island.

Santa Barbara Island from the bow of the boat.

That is part of Santa Barbara Island on the left and Sutil Island on the right and below.

The crew had put out some breads and English muffins to make toast. I had a little bit to eat and some tea so I was not diving on an empty stomach.

Manfriend was up soon after that.

Then it was time to dive.

More to come...