Conditions are still bad, or is it just a fluke?

We left King Harbor this morning in search of better conditions than yesterday. There were also reports of more Orcas heading our way. We didn't find either, but minutes after exiting the harbor we found six Gray whales diving in less than 90 feet off Malaga Cove.







We saw four more at Pt. Vicente before checking out our own places to dive. Most sites had strong currents due to the new moon and large tidal swings. We ended up diving the sewer pipes off White Point. This would be an interesting place to dive on a better day. Blue-ring topsnails and Tritonia festiva were everywhere. The strong surge and blowing sand kept us cowering behind the pipe most of the time.






I found one of these worms earlier this month at Marineland. I have not identified it yet.



The world's smallest metridium anemone.

We wanted to make a kelp dive on our way home. Neptune Cove looked like Catalina. Blacksmiths and sardines swirled below the boat, and we could see twenty feet down the kelp. Once we hit the reef it was a different story. Strong surge knocked us around the entire dive. I spent more than five minutes between taking some pictures while waiting for the surge to subside.







Extreme close up of a Sunflower star.

Hang in there, Baby.

Love the juvenile Abalone shots! Very cool series.

How far are the sewer pipes off White Point in comparison to the outer reef?

What's in the second Neptune's shot? Purple translucent algae over top a juvenile sea star?


Merry Christmas Phil & Merry!

Maripelta rotata. I usually find them on deep wrecks, but this was in fifty feet. The pipes are straight out from the Lifeguard tower.

Google Maps

Where do you typically find fringeheads; depth and structure? I have yet to see one and I want to get a picture of one sometime next year.
Thanks

They can be found in nearly every turban snail shell at Vet's in 35-60 feet.

Thanks, those are some great photos.

White Point Pipes

MaxBottomtime:

Maripelta rotata. I usually find them on deep wrecks, but this was in fifty feet. The pipes are straight out from the Lifeguard tower.

Google Maps

Click to expand...

Interesting... I only see M. rotata on very deep dives (> 150 ft) off Catalina, at least in the region from Two Harbors to the East End.

I found another recently on the Hermosa Artificial reef in 80 feet. I see them on wrecks below 100 feet, but it really surprised me to see any that shallow. In each case, there was only one rotate blade. I've seen Diaulula sandiegensis eating them on the Ace1 wreck, but nowhere else.