Greg Hoberg and I had wonderfully flat seas today (Nov 24). We made dives on sites that require very calm conditions to be safe and enjoyable. The first dive was WSW of Cypress Point on a pinnacle that comes close enough to the surface to cause breakers at low tide with a sizable swell running. We had been waiting for months to get calm enough conditions and the right tide to try this site. The pinnacle we anchored on was next to the shallow pinnacle (the visibility was good enough (40 ft or so) for us to see the adjacent very shallow pinnacle top). The top of our pinnacle was about 25 ft down and around 75 ft in diameter. The sides were nearly vertical with the surrounding bottom 70 to 80 ft. We saw several ling cod, several cabezon. lots of blue rockfish, black rockfish, black and yellow rockfish...Also, sadly, quite a number of spiny sea stars dying from wasting disease (but still lots of healthy looking ones too).
The pinnacles have great vertical walls. Here Greg is looking at a white metridium anemone.
I spotted this kelp crab climbing on a palm kelp. He was...crabby...about my close approach.
Greg getting a lingcod closeup.
For more pictures, please go to:
https://plus.google.com/photos/110159573286645489662/albums/5952120579619221969?authkey=CJT2ptqim_uIEg
On the way south to our next dive site we saw over 100 Risso's dolphins coming out of Carmel Bay. Really fun to see.
Our second dive site was new to us as well. We anchored inside a pair of large mansion sized rocks just offshore north of Hurricane Point. We again had nice 40 ft visibility.
Ideal calm seas let us run Greg's boat way down the coast to near Hurricane Point.
Greg getting a closeup.
Friendly lingcod.
Bull kelp grew behind the large rock.
For more pictures from this dive please go to:
https://plus.google.com/photos/110159573286645489662/albums/5952123350729592321?authkey=CJys4aDGx7LyogE
No comments:
Post a Comment