Two Good Dives with Beachhopper II, Shale Island and VT3 May 18, 2024

Sea conditions were pretty calm deep inside Monterey Bay where we dived. Skies were overcast. The two sites were excellent though visibility was maybe ten feet at Shale Island and only a bit better, maybe 15 ft, at VT3. Below: Guy showing off our visibility, or lack thereof, at Shale Island

I've dived the Shale Island dive site several times and kept hearing about the Fringeheads to be found there. Finally, on this dive, I finally found a Fringehead, but rather than the much larger Sarcastic Fringehead I'd been expecting (they are known for their aggressiveness and can grow to 12 inches in length) it was a Yellowfin Fringehead about the size of my pinkie finger, about 2 inches long. Sure wish I'd been shooting with my 60 mm macro instead of my 10-17 mm Tokina. Below:

Below: A well camouflaged sculpin

Sea Anemone, below:

Below: A Gopher Rockfish with the incredibly rich and varied invertebrate life that is all over the Shale Island site

Below: Large Decorator Crab

Below: Yellow Edged Cadlina Nudibranch

Below: Bluebanded Ronquils, common at this site

For more pictures from Shale Island: https://photos.app.goo.gl/D7HNFreuEqTYeTBA6 Our second dive was on a new site, for me, called VT3. It has a small pinnacle with Metridium Anemones and a cool old abandoned pipeline from the defunct canaries of Cannery Row. Below: Pinnacle with Metridium, aka Plumerose Anemones

Below: Guy photographing a long salp chain

The old cannery pipeline provides a convenient navigation aid as well as being a great subject itself, below:

Below: Deborah led me to a beautiful Opalescent Nudibranch, together with some Leopard, aka San Diego, Dorids

I also saw several Dendoronutus, aka Rainbow, Nudibranchs, feeding on their prey, tube anemones. Below:

To see more photos from this dive, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/PjXGFC53f8fqAf7T7