Two Very Good Dives on the Pinnacles July 9,10, 2024

Greg Hoberg and I finally caught two calm days to get out with his boat for some diving. We ended up diving the Pinnacles both days, we enjoyed 20 to 40 ft of visibility with lots of rockfish of several different species, were buzzed by sea lions, and, on the second day, enjoyed encounters with several different Lingcod and a few were exceptionally patient with us. Below are some photos from our dive on July 9th, to see more, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/SKC6g7PrEshjGnEg8 We saw hundreds of Blue Rockfish and a great variety of others including Olive Rockfish, Gopher Rockfish, Treefish (rockfish), and China Rockfish. Below: Treefish

It's great to dive in a Giant Kelp Forest again! Below:

Below: Copper Rockfish

Below: Gopher Rockfish

A Below: China Rockfish

Below: Another Treefish (rockfish)

Below: Obligatory beautiful Sea Anemone in foreground, others in background

There's still too many sea urchins. In some places there are only a few so there's a kelp forest, right nearby are small urchin barrens. Below is a kelp holdfast that has been assaulted by sea urchins so no kelp remains.

We were repeated buzzed by speeding sea lions. I finally managed to get my camera to focus and shoot a photo of one, below:

The next day, July 10, we crossed Carmel Bay to see if the kelp forest at Mono-lobo had recovered, sadly, it had not, it had about 5%, maybe, of its normal forest. So we toured much of Carmel Bay and were sorry to see very very little kelp at several other favorite sites, so we went back to the Pinnacles, whose kelp forest is maybe 40% of normal (pre sea star wasting disease in 2014, pre urchin plague that followed the demise of its top predator, the Sunflower Star, which, tragically, is now locally extinct). Below are some photos from this dive, to see more, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fqyrvsBxfJKX91996 As we dropped down to the anchor we were wrapped in a huge school of Blue Rockfish, below:

We saw several Lingcod on this dive and a few of them were patient enough for us to take our time taking pictures of them. Below:

Below: Greg getting pictures of a nice sized Lingcod

Below: Female Kelp Greenling, they tend to be shy so I'm pleased I got this picture

Below: Gopher Rockfish with a Brown Rock Crab

Below: Looking up through the Giant Kelp Forest

Another cool Lingcod, below:

Below: Several shots of Gopher Rockfish and China Rockfish

Below: Olive Rockfish

It's nice to be able to hang next to Giant Kelp and have Blue Rockfish for company for your safety stop!

Two Very Good Dives with Beachhopper II on Aumentos and Shale Island June 29, 2024

A very good outing with Guy Foster. Our first dive was a bit inside Point Pinos, off Chase Reef, at an excellent site called Aumentos. Visibility was decent, about 20 ft, water temperature chilly, about 49 F. Had a couple nice encounters with a Cabezon, always one of my favorite local subjects. Below are some pictures from the dive, to see more, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jfPGeTWy6N6KazDF7

Below, large rock structure typical of Aumentos with a Gopher Rockfish:

Below: Guy taking photos

Above: Striped Seaperch Below: Large Masking Crab

Below: The star of the dive, a Cabezon.

Our second dive was back inside the Bay off Del Monte Beach on a site called Shale Island, renowned for rich invertebrate life, a large navy style ship's anchor, and Yelowfin Fringeheads. I had a cool encounter with a large sculpin, a Coralline Sculpin, I believe, and a cooperative male (that's almost an oxymoron, like responsible MAGA Republican) Kelp Greenling, and an uncommon (for me at least) type of nudibranch. Below are some photos from the dive, to see more, please go to: https://photos.app.goo.gl/VjUmmzRD9HDFoGFK6 Below: Beachhopper II's anchor, which is always a very welcome sight at the end of a dive so that you can surface at the boat. Frequently the anchor line is adorned wit a flashing strobe or two making it much easier to find your way back to it. Since you make a 3 minute safety stop at 20-15 ft on the way back up its really a comfort to hand off the anchor line.

Below: A Fish Eating Urchina sea anemone

Below: White Sea Cucumbers with Scaleside Piddock Boring (they like to dig into the soft shale rock, not a reflection on their personalities) clams (the tubes you see), a sampling of the site's rich invertebrate life

Below: Wart-Neck Piddock Boring Clams in foreground, in background, the typically shy Bluebanded Ronquil common on this site.

Below: A more cooperative Bluebanded Ronquil

Next I had a nice interaction with (I'm pretty sure) a Coralline Sculpin, about 5-6 inches long. The encounter even included Candy-Striped Shrimp. Below:

Guy hunting for Timmie, the Yellowfin Fringehead (he got some nice shots of him!), below:

Below: Blue Rockfish

Below: What kind of Nudibranch is this one (white slug above the Wart-Necked Boring Piddock Clam)? I saw several of this species on this dive. Frequently nudibranchs of one particular type become momentarily common at the same time and then disappear again for awhile.

Below: Interesting grouping of sea anemones

Below: An unusually patient, cooperative, male Kelp Greenling

Below: a beautiful isolated white sea anemone

Two very good dives and, amazingly, I actually stayed dry in my drysuit, again!!!!