Mount Chetron and VT3 with Beachhopper II. Post retirement dive #893 , 894 August 16, 2024

I went out on Beachhopper II for two dives yesterday, Guy had to cancel because he needed to get his neck seal replaced on his drysuit before our September 6-12 dive trip to God's Pocket in British Columbia. The water temperature was a warmer than usual 56 degrees there was a heavy surface plankton bloom so it was very dark below. Visibility was only 15 ft. This site has excellent fish population. Several of the divers enjoyed an encounter with a Wolf Eel but I missed it....Below are some of my photos from the dive, to see more, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/1yYMwTTTYyu84veJ6 A Kelp Rockfish with White Metridium (Plumrose Anemone) that are common on the site, below:

Below: Copper Rockish with a Tube Anemone

A beautiful Sand-Rose Anemone, below:

Tube Anemones, below:

Treefish, a type of rockfish, have amazing red lips. Below:

Carol pointed out a large Cabezon, my favorite local diving subject, on the ledge above the Treefish I was photographing. Below:

There were also several Lingcod and a number of Blue Rockfish on this site. Below:

My computer warned me that I was down to 4 minutes of non decompression dive (I spent most of the dive at 75-81 ft) so I headed up the anchor line for my 3 minute safety stop. Our next dive was at VT3. It's a bit shallower, around 45-50 ft, visibility was limited again, about 15 ft. Below are some photos from this dive. A few more are at: https://photos.app.goo.gl/6EhdqX8b7VNBJfiB6 Below: A Copper Rockfish face followed by a Rainbow Nudibranch

Below: A Spiny Sand Star followed by a Gopher Rockfish

Tube Anemones are the favorite prey of Rainbow Nudibranchs. Below:

Below: I saw an amorous pair of Gopher or possibly Copper, Rockfish. In the photo below the one on the left has shifted to his or her dark phase of color.

In a couple of weeks Donna and I will start our drive up to Oregon and Washington, visiting friends along the way. She'll fly home, I'll drive on to Port Hardy at the north end of Vancouver Island for6. pickup and transfer to God's Pocket on September 6, don't know if I'll get out for any more local dives before then.

Monterey Shootout, Six Dives with Beachhopper II August 1, 2 August 1-3, 2025

I made four dives on Friday, August 1 and two dives the morning of Saturday August 2 with Beachhopper, joined by Guy Foster. Below will first be the six photographs I submitted to the competition, alas, but unsurprisingly unsuccessfully. I submitted three photos in the Intermediate Traditional Macro category, no cropping, only color and other adjustments that apply to the entire photograph. I also submitted three photographs in the Intermediate Unlimited Macro category. Our dive sites on the two days included Mr Ed (and Ed Anderson was on the trip with us), Shale Island, Metridium Mountain, and the former urchin control area (the name slips my memory..). After the six photos I submitted for the contest are some other favorites from these dives, to see them all, go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/K8sLRgESysKrud8UA Here's the three photos I entered into the Intermediate Macro Traditional category: I can never not photo a cooperative Cabezon:

The same is just about true for Lingcod as well:

Below are my three entrees to the Intermediate Macro Unlimited Category: A flatfish: flounder, sole, sand dab...

A really cool flat worm...not cool enough, evidently:

The beautiful face of a juvenile rockfish...

I had to hurridly edit and select my six photos and immediately depart for the Backscatter Social at their shop to submit, so below are some others I like nearly as well but, I don't think my outcome would have been any better. The judges really select by asking the question: "Would you like this picture blown up and mounted in your living room?" I understand the choices they made for awards, they were awesome. A beautiful small white sea anemone (I'm writing this blog at our Pacific Grove home and my sea life books are in Healdsburg). Below:

I kind of wish I'd chosen this Treefish Rockfish, maybe cropped down to just its face with those red lips, instead of submitting two lingcods...Below:

I was shooting macro, unusually for me, on all six dives. I usually shoot fish, with macro, it seems I usually shoot fish faces. Here's a Blue Rockfish face, below:

A couple of different sculpins, below:

I did photo a few nudibranchs. Below is a Monterey Dorid with a Blood Star:

Below: A San Diego Dorid (aka Leopard Nudibranch) with a Black Eyed Goby:

Last, but not least, a Kelp Rockfish unable to hide his scepticism of my choice:

I enjoyed the six dives, I ended up a tired puppy. It was fun seeing lots of the usual suspects at Backscatter's social and at the photo talks by Erin "Go Ask Erin:Artificial Intelligence for Good and Evil" and Mike Bartick of Black Water Photography fame.