A few from Memorial Day w/e (images)

Over Memorial Day weekend, we took the Popeye Maru out to dive Santa Monica Bay. A red tide was in full bloom, staining the water the color of coffee. We decided to make a run to the northern part of the Bay, to the wreck of the Star of Scotand, in hopes of finding better conditions. Passing LAX, going North, we noticed that the brown color of the wake changed to a promising blue/green.

I dropped on the wreck first, to check the conditions; it was cold (~50 degrees), with marginal visibility (~10 feet). Not a great day for wide-angle photography, but nice for macro. We did two dives on Saturday and went back on Sunday to try again. Alas, the brown water had creeped further north and vis was about half of what it had been on Saturday. We did one dive and call it a weekend.


Here are a few pics from our dives:


Acorn barnacle




Angel shark




Facelina stearnsi nudibranch & tube worm




Strawberry anemones




Rock scallop and Spanish Shawl (can you see the scallop's eyes?)




Keyhole limpet (looks like an eye!)




More about the Star of Scotland wreck:

Star of Scotland

Great pics Jim, thanks for sharing. Nice detail on the barnacle.

btw, for some reason Angel sharks have been sighted all over the place lately! I think June is mating & feeding month.

yes, I saw the eyes. The scallop obviously saw you and quickly closed up!

I hope to dive the star of scotland sometime. I'm in marina del rey, you can bring me along any time!

Scott

Very nice all around, but that acorn barnacle is particularly a beauty!