Dives with Sanctuary at Erik's Pinnacle and Monterey Aquarium Intake Pipes 4-15-2017

Guy Foster and I took advantage of acceptable diving conditions to make a couple dives with the Sanctuary dive boat out of Monterey yesterday.  The previous day was quite windy with small craft advisories but the wind had calmed down overnight.  There was a six foot swell running so Sanctuary's Captain Mitch choose discretion as the better part of valor to avoid a rough ride down to Carmel Bay.  We first dived Erik's Pinnacle with visibility of about 15 ft.  We did see a Cabezon and a Ling Cod and, unfortunately, lots of sea urchins and zero giant kelp on the pinnacle and the usually dense kelp canopy covered adjacent Chase Reef.  I was hoping this would be a year of recovery for kelp and doubtless it has been set back by winter storms as well as continued hordes of sea urchins...

Guy just got a new UW camera setup based on a Sony camera, Nauticam housing, a go pro video camera, and dual strobes.  It's good it got a chance to try it out, in two weeks he'll be using it diving with me in Fiji on the Nai'a (http://www.naia.com.fj/).

Lots of sea urchins, no kelp.

I spotted this well camouflaged Cabezon perched on the rock before I startled it, so I was able to give Guy his first chance at photoing a Cabezon.  You see it, right?

I've zoomed in so you can easily see the Cabezon now, right?

You can see the Cabezon's eye just above the black sea urchin, the end of his tail is 1/3 in from the left of the picture, 1/4 up.  He is of course, easier to see when illuminated by my strobe in this picture.

                                         Guy with his first Cabezon photo attempt.

The Cabezon had enough of our strobe flashes.

                                        Ling Cod

Guy maneuvers for a ling cod shot.

Our second dive was on the Monterey Aquarium's intake pipes.  Guy and I enjoyed exploring them and the filter structure at the intake.  On the deeper, 50 ft part of this dive the water visibility was about 25 ft but it was also several degrees colder,  a chilly 48.

                                      Guy works on taking a sea anemone close-up

                                      Guy at the Aquarium's intake pipe.

                   Guy approaches the water filter structure on the end of the Aquarium's intake pipes.

For more pictures from our two dives please go to:  https://goo.gl/photos/a8KkNaTUTsZGp1gU8