Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Two good dives at Erik's Pinnacle and Octopus Reef with Beachhopper II September 4, 2019

Last Saturday Guy and Tessa Foster and I went out for a couple of morning dives on Beachhopper II. Sea conditions were very calm with very little swell and only light breezes. Our first dive was at Erik's Pinnacle, surface visibility was around 15-20 ft, down 40 ft it opened up to 30 ft. Water temp was 54 degrees. I was very pleased than my still quite new and little used DUI Yukon suit kept me bone dry and warm. Erik's Pinnacle is wonderful dive site, the pinnacle itself is a good dive plus there are lots of large rock structures nearby to it. I was pleased to see some Giant Kelp once again growing on the pinnacle and there were no huge hordes of sea urchins, finally. I had problems with my extremely trusty D-2000 INON strobe, which is a well used 14 years old, so my pictures below are taken with natural light, to see more pictures from the dive, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LGaFCpR5imgo3axx8 I was worried that I may have flooded the strobe, but this wasn't the problem. I'm hoping cleaning the battery contacts and maybe fresh batteries (my rechargeable batteries are over a decade old, too..) will solve the issue.
Looking up Erik's Pinnacle. It's good to see it with some Giant Kelp again, at last. Below: First, more large rock structure at the site. Second, the water was much clearer and bluer when you got out deeper from the pinnacle. Third, either a Copper or Gopher Rockfish
Our second dive was on a site called "Octopus Reef" because of the multiple arms of rock which radiate out from near Lover's Point. Another enjoyable dive, it was really good to get back in the water again. Because I refuse to open my strobe or camera unless I am in a very securely dry place, the pictures on this dive are also natural light, below. To see more please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/uPJ4ifX2KKLbiBwT9
Guy positioning to photo a large sea anemone.