Back to Monterey, dives on Hopkins Deep and Shallow Reefs April 28, 2018

Yesterday afternoon Guy Foster and I made two dives with the Sanctuary on the deep and shallow reefs off Hopkins Marine Reserve.  We had 49 degree water temp, 15 to 20 ft of visibility on the deep (depths 70 to 90 ft) dive, 52 degree temp 20 to 25 ft of visibility on the shallow reef (40 to 28 ft).  During our first dive at Deep Hopkins Reef we were entertained by visits from Sea Lions while we were admiring the Mytridium Sea Anemones, aka Plumrose Anemones.  We were pretty chilled by the end of this deep dive thanks to our compressed wetsuits due to the depth.

              Guy with Plumrose Anemones

    A curious visitor

                                Kellet's Whelks and eggs

                                          Guy and a friend

Deep Hopkin's Reef is in a high boat traffic area so it was good we found the anchor for our ascent and safety stop.

Descending for our second dive, Hopkin's Shallow Reef is a mixture of boulders and sand, happily, with kelp!

                                 Guy with Kelp Rockfish

                                              Striped Sea Pearch

To see more pictures from these two dives please go to:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zBxjzfxbTSCXnOwM2

Revillagigedos Ray of Hope Expedition Wrap Up April 24, 2018

Andrea Marshall, the marine biologist known as "Queen of the Mantas" and organizer of this wonderful diving trip, a "Ray of Hope Expedition" http://www.queenofmantas.com/ray-of-hope-expeditions/ on the Southern Sport, gave the group an update on the Manta data collected on our trip as well as some photos from the trip.  The group succeeded in getting Manta ID photos for 21 distinct Manta individuals, these will all be submitted to Manta Matcher, http://www.mantamatcher.org/  .   Liheng Ma, a student well on his way to becoming a Marine Biologist, put together an excellent video from our trip, including a great encounter of a juvenile Whale Shark which I only got silohuette photos of and of dolphins which visited us a couple times but I never got photos of: 
https://www.facebook.com/100004089040288/videos/vb.100004089040288/1433424280137193/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab
Below are some select photos from our trip, for more, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/0O9F2cXsDBU3sQmJ3

 Here's a collage of Andrea's favorite photos from our trip.

Here's a group photo of our group, dockside after our return.  I'm second from the left, next to the captain, in the back row.

                             One of my Manta ID shots, two "eye brows" and a spot on its belly.

    Looking up at Roca Partida, a magnificent dive site with huge populations of fish.

Wahoo, a tremendous gamefish, first I've seen while diving, and a Black Jack, upper right, at Roca Partida.

                                          Magnificent Yellowfin Tuna, Roca Partida

                                  Beautiful Almaco Jack, aka Amberjack, Roca Partida

                      Giant Manta with Black Jacks and a Remora

Mantas are social creatures, they have the largest brains of any fish.  When you look in their eyes you can see that somebody is looking back.

                                Another Manta ID shot

Andrea's collection of Manta ID shots from the group

 

Ten foot Tiger Shark at Hidden, now Tiger, Gardens.  We saw one larger Tiger Shark on the trip but it was too distant to photograph.  To make a point, it was probably 12 ft long, 2 ft longer than this one, probably twice its total size.  They add tremendous girth beyond 10 ft.

       Green Moray with White Tipped Reef Sharks

                                          Juvenile Clarion Angelfish

    Dos Amigos.  Guineafowl Puffer and a Damselfish

                                Redtail Triggerfish

                                Juvenile Green Turtle, Tiger Gardens

              Can you see me?  Stone Scorpionfish, find his eye, almost exactly in the center of the photo.

    Octopus hunting while a Flag Cabrilla grouper waits to ambush anything it scares out of cover.

                                Sunset, the Revillagigedos Islands.  A great trip, great crew, great boat, great weather, great diving, great food, and a great group.

Two Final Dives at "Tres Amidas", San Benedicto Island April 9, 2018

Our final two dives on this "Ray of Hope" diving expedition to the Revillagigedos Islands were at the dive site called the "Three Sisters".  Great dives, we saw Mantas, Stingrays, White Tipped Reef Sharks, Scalloped Hammerheads (in the distance, no photos), lobsters, a Stone Scorpionfish, the usual jacks and reef fish, and an actively hunting octopus.

                                         The "Three Sisters" has rugged seascape.

                                 One of several spiny lobster I saw, out and about, surprisingly, on this dive.

                                Diamond Stingray, around 3 to 4 feet across.

                                          Christina with Diamond Stingray

                                          Beautiful, colorful, Redtail Filefish

                                          Can you see it?  Great camouflage!

    Stone Scorpionfish

                                Val shooting an octopus.

    I stayed with the octopus and it started hunting again.  There is a Flag Cabrilla grouper to the right ready to ambush anything the hunting octopus flushes into the open.  It's a rough neighborhood down there.

                                          A final Giant Manta visit as we prepare to wrap up our dive.

     Capitan Adelverto with San Benedicto Island in the background as we head back to Cabo San Lucas.

Immediately after finishing our second morning dive the Southern Sport departed on its 22 hour cruise back to Cabo San Lucas.  Great trip, great crew, great boat, great dive sites, great Mantas, great food, and a great group of divers.

For more from these dives please go to:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wlN1c091hjJNgCnt1