A good dive at Pescadero Point and fun with anchovy gorging Humpbacks at Cypress Point - above and below the water.

Greg Hoberg and I had two very good dives today.  The first was Pescadero Point, 25 ft visibility, 54 degree temperature.  Pescadero Point has very rich life and did not disappoint.  After our Pescadero Point dive we cruised out to Cypress Point and saw a large number of Humbacks feasting on millions of anchovies forced up to the surface and against the rocks just offshore and into the kelp beds.  The humpbacks were surface lunge feeding which is always awesome to watch.  After watching awhile we carefully picked a point at Cypress Point to anchor the boat and hang out and hope a humpback would come past.  One did, twice.  We were also entertained by dive bombing sea lions that were also feasting on anchovies.

 A beautifully colored lingcod.

 This Giant Green Anemone is eating a sea urchin.  At the left inner margin of the anemone's arms you can see a tiny juvenile painted greenling hiding for safety.

 A really cool camouflaged crab on the orange encrusting sponge.

 Greg cruises the top of a mini wall with a sitting black rockfish.

 Greg getting a cabezon picture.

 The cabezon finally lost patience with us.

If you look closely you can actually see this is a pair of crabs.  The second, smaller crab is upside down grasping the larger red rock crab.

To see more pictures from our Pescadero Point dive please go to:
https://plus.google.com/photos/110159573286645489662/albums/6181593376352621009?authkey=CPqQrYPGru3Mew

 A surface lunge feeding humpback off Cypress Point.

Greg captured this great picture of a Humpback lunge feeding.  Check out the barnacles on his throat.

 Anchovies under Greg's boat after I splashed.

 We had a very convenient pinnacle to hang out on and watch the action come by.

 Looking toward the surface up our anchor line, surrounded by anchovies.

 We had lots of dive bombing visits from the sea lions joining the humpbacks in the anchovy massacre.

 Greg with a sea lion.

 Greg with another sea lion.

The humpback came by twice before the anchovies moved away from our pinnacle.  I managed to get one photo where you can see him.  Really cool.

To see more pictures from our Cypress Point fun with Humpbacks and dive please go to:
https://plus.google.com/photos/110159573286645489662/albums/6181592323038925249?authkey=COGehvGHpoC5nQE

Two dives at Cypress Point and the wreck of the SS Flavel August 5, 2015

Greg Hoberg and I had a second day of diving on Wednesday, Aug 5.  We had very calm seas.  On our trip down the coast we saw Humpback Whale blows about a mile ahead, south of Cypress Point.  Suddenly we had a huge Humpback completely clear the water for a full breach extremely close to our cruising boat.  It really woke us up!  We dived two different wash rocks at Cypress Point in order to take advantage of the calm seas to dive sites you normally can't safely nor enjoyably, dive.  We had 20 to sometimes 30 ft of visibility and 54 degree water.  On our first dive at our favorite Cypress Point wash rock, we saw several large lingcod.  On our second dive we found a shipwreck (we knew two were in the general area).  I think it was the SS Flavel which hit the rocks and was destroyed in 1923.

 Stubby Rose Anemone

 We frequently see California Sheepshead at this site.  Someday I'll get a good picture of these shy fish.

 Just left of center in the foreground is a Mosshead Warbonnet curled up in a pocket.  This is only the second one of these I've seen.  Glad Greg spotted it.

 We saw several nice sized lingcod on our first dive, this one is eyeing Greg.

 Greg found this red rock crab which is conveniently positioned next to a pretty white spotted rose anemone.

 The plague of sea urchins which resulted from the sea star wasting disease epidemic have really mowed down the giant kelp and bull kelp and are now working on the palm kelp.

 In the foreground to the left of center is the first wreckage of the SS Flavel that I spotted.

 This is looking down the length of the SS Flavel wreck, all thickly covered in coralline algae and kelp.

 More of the wreck.

 Greg with the wreck.

 Greg swimming over the wreck.

 Greg hovering above the highest part of the shipwreck.

 Greg found this brass mechanism on the wreck.  The part was manufactured by "Metropolitan".

 Greg with more of the wreck.

 Greg above a long spar on the wreck.  I think it was part of a crane on the ship used to load and off load its cargo of lumber.

 A look to the south from the wash rock we anchored next to.  We swam around 100 yards south past the wash rock then turned west and found the wreck just where the 10 to 15 foot rocky shallows dropped off to deeper water,

A large lingcod.

To see more pictures from these dives please go to:
https://plus.google.com/photos/110159573286645489662/albums/6180281588257181841?authkey=CO3ixNf6n77O3AE

Surface interval fun with dolphins and a dive at a near shore wash rock at Cypress Point, August 4, 2015

Greg Hoberg and I enjoyed exceptionally calm seas on Tuesday, August 4.  After our first dive with a friendly Harbor Seal south of Pt. Lobos we spent our surface interval offshore with hundreds of dolphin and several Humpbacks.  We enjoyed having the dolphin swim over to us to ride our bow wave.

 Here come the dolphins!

 Dolphins love to play in the bow wave of boats.

 It takes smooth, windless conditions to get pictures through the surface at speed like this.

For more pictures from our cruising with dolphins please go to:

https://plus.google.com/photos/110159573286645489662/albums/6180022152001299009?authkey=CJej5aLHn9C8iAE

Our second dive of the day was at a near shore washrock at Cypress Point.  We wanted to take advantage of the exceptionally calm seas to dive sites we normally couldn't.  We had 20 ft visibility and 54 degree water (Monterey Bay still has exceptionally warm 62 degree surface temperatures).

 Kelp Rockfish

 On our first dive we were followed by a Harbor Seal, on this dive, by a nice sized lingcod.

 Giant Green Anemone a a plague of sea urchins.  The sea urchins have devoured the kelp which does have the advantage that we can take Greg's boat to areas that are normally impenetrable.

 Black and Yellow Rockfisn

Giant Green Anemone and juvenile sea star.
For more pictures from this dive please go to:
https://plus.google.com/photos/110159573286645489662/albums/6180022374255229345?authkey=CIjh8sf7iMOkXw

Two good dives today and fun with a Harbor Seal and great surface action with dolphins, Humpbacks, and a Mola Mola 8-4-2015

Greg Hoberg and I hit exceptionally calm seas and used the conditions to dive places we wouldn't normally dive and also cruised offshore with hundreds of dolphin of four different species, numerous Humpback Whales and thousands of Sooty Sherewaters.  We also saw a Mola Mola.  Water temperature was 54 degrees on the first dive (near normal despite 62 degree warm water in Monterey Bay).  Our visibility was typical for this time of year, around 20 ft.
Here's the buoy report for how incredibly flat it was (and is for today's trip, too).

Below are some photos from this trip.  To see more please go to:
https://plus.google.com/photos/110159573286645489662/albums/6179380452506450993?authkey=CNSprNTar5-R9AE

 We dives a 'wash rock" South of Pt. Lobos.  Wash rocks are so named because normally the continual Pacific swells constantly break over them.  You can only dive sites like this with exceptionally flat seas.  You see Giant Green Anemones like this only in normally turbulent water sites.

 We had a friendly, curious, harbor seal continually visiting us on this dive.

Greg with our friendly harbor seal.

 I decided this harbor seal should be named "Bennie".  Why you ask?

 Because Bennie kept playing with my fins..My fins are jet fins so.....B B B b Bennie and the Jets!

 We were also dive bombed by a sea lion.

 Another healthy, beautiful spiny sea star, hurrah!
 Greg with our new friend.  He was also interested in Greg's fins but not like my jets!

 Greg with a beautifully colored Kelp Greenling.

Bennie says good bye as we get into the boat.