A Second Day of Diving at Monterey's Coast Guard Jetty Oct. 5, 2016

I squeezed in a morning dive at the Coast Guard Breakwater Wednesday morning before driving home to Healdsburg.  I had stopped by Backscatter after my dive on Tuesday and purchased a new optical viewfinder which makes it much easier to see my Canon T2i's through the lens view.  I was eager to try it out and I'm really pleased with it.  To see more from this dive please go to:  https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipP-gRSwbYfm8GjsMpSOSMgg5S8XdrUm2ca99plg

                               Here's my Nauticam undewater housing, Sola video light, INON TTL (red) Strobe, and at the left my new optical viewfinder.

                                           My new Nauticam Optical Viewfinder


I was surprised when I arrived at the Coast Guard Breakwater to find a large cruise ship, the Celebrity Infinity, anchored offshore.  It stops by a couple times a year.

The dive was very enjoyable, the swell was building so there was some surge, unlike the day before.  Water temp was a bit warmer 54 degrees.  Water clarity was only 6 - 10 ft initially but with the incoming tide and rising sun improved to nearly 20 ft near the end of the dive.

                                          A pair of Sea Hare sea slugs.

                                          A Black Eyed Goby on a Bat Star

                                          Juvenile Rockfish

                                          A male Striped Fin Ronquil, only the second ronquil I've seen and          
                                          photographed.

                                          Lingcod

                                          Wholly Sculpin

                                          Red Abalone

                                                  Brown Cup Coral about a half inch across.

                                          Leafy Hornmouth

                                                      Strawberry Anemone aka club anemone for the balls on the end of                                                         its tentacles.

                                          Hopkin's Rose Anemone, about 1 and a half inches long

                                          A colony of tunicates.

                                          Strawberry Anemones or Club Anemones

                                          A juvenile flounder or sole

A Dive at the Coast Guard Jetty with Octopus, new nudibranch (for me), and a new fish, too. Oct 3, 2016

I made a solo dive at the Monterey Coast Guard jetty on Tuesday.  I had 10 to 15 ft of visibility with almost no surge and 53 degrees.  I was shooting Macro with my 60 mm Canon lens in anticipation of limited visibility.  The jetty is a very good place for macro photograph and so it was on this dive with a patient juvenile common octopus, the largest Orange and White Clown nudibranchs I've ever seen, the first Chromodoris Macfarlandi nudibranch I've ever photoed, a really cool Wholly Sculpin and a new fish for me, a type of Ronquil, either a Bluebanded Ronquil or a Stripedfin Ronquil.  Lots of cool juvenile rockfish, a cooperative abalone, and a coonstripe shrimp all reminded me of the fun to be had with macro photography.  For more pictures from this dive please go to:  https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipMSXPCJqztbJkR9SyB0RBYzXaBFo35MIyygffkP

                                     Black Eyed Goby

                                      Juvenile Rockfish

                                     Juvenile Common Octopus

                            Bluebanded or Stripedfin Ronquil, the first time I've photoed this species.

                                Bluebanded or Stripedfin Ronquil

                                          Orange and White, aka Clown nudibranch, Catalina Triopha

                               The largest Clown Nudibranch I've seen to date.

                                          An abalone peaking from its hiding place.  It has to stay well hidden, lots                                               of sea otters around here!

                                Chromodoris macfarlandi  nudibranch.  Common name TBD.

                                Wholly Sculpin, one of the coolest small fish we have here.

                                          Juvenile Treefish (rockfish)

                                              Coonstripe Shrimp

Two Good Dives with the Sanctuary in Carmel Bay Saturday, Oct 1, 2016

Guy Foster and I went diving with the Sanctuary last Saturday.  The marine forecast had been up and down but we lucked out with only a small wave and moderate wave chop so the Sanctuary took us down to Carmel Bay in search of clearer water (significant plankton bloom has the surface in Monterey approaching brown in color).  We had an average of 20 ft to 25 ft of visibility and a bottom temperature of 51 degrees.  Our first dive was between "Fire Rock" a wash rock off Pescadero point so named for the bright colors of invertebrate life on it, and the Pescadero Point shore.  Our depths ranged from 55 ft to 77 ft on this dive.  The Giant Kelp is still much reduced from normal but is recovering from the sea urchin plague and the Palm Kelp on the bottom is also starting to come back though there are still many urchins (and more and more sea stars, thankfully).  One diver reported seeing a juvenile sunflower star about 8 inches across though I still haven't seen one for about 3 years.  Lots of nudibranchs, lots of chestnut cowries, several red rock crabs, and decent numbers of rock fish on this dive.  Below are some photos from this dive, you can see more at:  https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipMTo2XU9uRMV2PnkYkeVo7bHvZ7GWBI1Y6YTJIh

                                     Olive Rockfish

                                         Hudson's Dorid Nudibranch (shot with my Tokina 10-17 mm fisheye wide angle so not bad, but I can't match macro lens closeups)

                                      San Diego Dorid Nudibranch

                                          Sheep Crab

                                Chestnut Cowry, 1/3 up from bottom and 1/3 in from right

                                         Guy taking a shot of a cowry

                                          Red Rock Crab
 
Our second dive was in an average of 46 ft of water between Fire Rock and the large rocks in the middle of the mouth to Still Water Cove.  The area had large scattered rocks with rich invertebrate life, we were entertained by a confident Cabezon at the end of the dive.  For more pictures from this dive please go to:  https://photos.google.com/album/AF1QipNUCAdhIQeNr4pdkY4fbtknp0eKhDddmsZYgAFB

                                          Anemone with Kelp Rockfish

                                         Amorous Red Rock Crabs with a Blood Star

                                         Guy getting a shot of Red Rock Crabs

                                                San Diego Dorid

                                          Hudson's Dorid Nudibranch

                                          A feeding Sea Cucumber

                                          Guy getting a Kelp Rockfish photo.

                                          Cabezon with Guy

                                          Cabezon frequently remind me of Dominar Rygel XVI of Farscape.