On this dive adventure, we travel to sunny San Diego to dive the famous Kelp Forest in La Jolla Cove. The Kelp Forest stretches along the southern coast of California. La Jolla Cove is one of the few places in the San Dieg... more »o area that features "clear" underwater visits year round. It's the perfect place for snorkeling and viewing ocean life. Visibility is about 30 feet. The cove is protected from fishing and kelp harvesting and is maintained as a marine sanctuary. In unprotected areas, the kelp is harvested to make vitamins. We also dive with giant Black Sea Bass, only native to that region in this cove. These giant Sea Bass range in size from 60 to 300 lbs, with the largest growing up to 500 lbs. While there, we offer a mini-tribute both to a fish and to a man. We interview long time native, Rod Watkins, NAUI instructor and owner of Scuba San Diego, who tells about a special friend of divers named "Blacky," a giant Sea Bass about 300 lbs in size, who would swim up to greet divers and allow them to pet him. Unfortunately, a ruthless diver with a spear gun killed him, even though Blacky was in the protected waters of La Jolla Cove. Our tribute is also to a very special man, Steve Irwin, the famous Crocodile Hunter who was loved the world over. Also, in San Diego, we encounter one of the area's largest concentrations of protected seals sleeping on the shoreline. As usual, Dive Travel fi rst takes you on a citywide tour of San Diego to show you some of the various attractions and the hospitality this southern California city has to offer divers and visitors.« less