And I thought 2020 was a bad year for diving

[MaxBottomtime]

Other than dock dives, I have only made five dives this year. All five have been within two miles of the marina. This is the lowest number of dives I've made in the first four months of any year since I got certified in 1989.

This morning the wind was relatively calm and the swells were less than two feet. Merry and I headed around Rocky Point with hopes for our first good dives of 2021. We dropped anchor next to Hawthorne Reef. Merry said she could see down the chain quite a ways. As we descended the water became darker and dirtier. By the time we reached the reef, visibility was barely three feet. We spent an hour hardly moving more than ten feet from the anchor. Fortunately, we each had our macro lenses. With flat seas and a cool water temperature of 54°, I expected much better conditions.

Paraconcavus pacificus, Pacific barnacle

Pseudoceros luteus

Ancula gibbosa

Hermissenda opalescens

Orienthella trilineata

Triopha catalinae

Polycera atra

Austraeolis stearnsi

Antiopella barbarensis

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Golf Ball Reef photos;

Merry sat out the next dive while I explored Golf Ball Reef. Visibility was much nicer here. I had a good five feet of vis. I did find a pair of Thordisa rubescens, my first sighting of these nudibranchs in a couple of years.

Schuchertinia milleri, hedgehog hydroid

Loxorhynchus grandis, Sheep crab

Paguristes sp.
Undescribed hermit crab

Cephaloscyllium ventriosum, Swell shark egg case

Sebastes mystinus, Juvenile Blue Rockfish

Sebastes semicinctus, Half-banded rockfish juvenile

Sebastes miniatus, juvenile Vermilion rockfish

Polycera atra eggs

Berthella californica

Felimida macfarlandi

Acanthodoris hudsoni

Thordisa rubescens

 

[Kensei]

Yeah, it's been brutally bad this year in SoCal. Headed to Cabo Pulmo tomorrow.

 

[Searcaigh]

Might be bad but you're finding some nice nudis