aplysialover's Journal

Dived with Dannie. Photos and exploring only. Huge improvement in visibility compared with yesterday, but significantly colder. I don’t know how cold because I did not bring my computer!

Sadly, we found Sargassum horneri rosettes near the end of the pier near #12 at 40' depth. Got it confirmed by Dan Abbott. I am glad that found it, but it is so sad on top of everything else.

Did 2 dives today. Saw LeeAnn in the parking lot.
First was an urchin dive. Got caught in abandoned fishing line AGAIN!
Saw a little Red Octopus in 9' on the way in. Very cute!
Second dive was with Dannie. We were looking for new little critters to photograph and I was looking for signs of sea star wasting disease.
We saved some air to look in the shallows for more octopuses. Saw a baby cabezon and a Urechis hiding in the witch's hair seaweed.
Got plenty of fishing line on both dives.
The sea lions have moved way into the beach during the SIP. The big males are pretty territorial, but I'm going to miss them when they leave for the Channel Islands soon.

Breakwater
12:19 pm
90 min.
29’ max
20‘ ave.
52°
Solo urchin dive. Very calm water—I was able to get right into the cracks to work on urchins. Water started a murky 7’ vis, but as the tide came in and the water got colder, the vis improved greatly. It was 25-30’ on the way in. Would have been an excellent photography day. A ronquil came out and sat on a rock to wait for me to start hammering urchins!
On the swim in I was hooked by a fishing line in my fin again! It was impossible to get the hook out, I had to just cut the line and swim in dragging a couple of feet. Then when I surfaced, my BC at first was leaking. I had to swim over to the rocks to fix it so that I could climb up if I needed to.

Whitespotted Greenling seen in the witch's hair seaweed at about 15' depth