Babakina Festiva

[2ndjetty]

Hey all. Babakina Festivas are a bit rare so I figured I'd share some photos from last night's dive up in Malibu. BRENT D IMAGERY: Babakina Festiva !

Ok, now back to stocking the list and rarely posting :- )

 

[FrankPro1]

Awesome find! What macro lens are you using?

 

[merxlin]

Very Nice! Thanks for sharing.

 

[ligersandtions]

Way cool! Mind sharing where in Malibu you were diving? I'm heading up there this weekend as well....hoping to have more than the typical Malibu 6" (six inches) of vis this weekend

 

[2ndjetty]

Thanks everyone. I was using the Dyron UCL67 macro wet lens on my Ikelite s90 housing. We were at Harrison's reef, which was a fantastic dive with the clear water and full moon! Conditions in Malibu are epic right now if you catch high tide or the deeper reefs.

 

[Craig Hoover]

....hoping to have more than the typical Malibu 6" (six inches) of vis

Malibu is great in the winter! The vis is only poor in the summer when the tourists are out.

Harrison's now has a kelp canopy over the deeper pinnacles off the seawall in 45 feet of water. The canopy has been missing since sometime in the 90's according to an old timer who dived here from ~80 to 95. The canopy adds a new dimension to this site for those of us in the younger generation. Combine the canopy with maybe 800 x 800 yards of rocky substrate and relief averaging 10 feet.

The canopy may limit the light entering this reef. This may lead to less phytoplankton buildup in the water here. The extensive size and height of the reef when combined with kelp may prevent currents from sweeping through and bringing phytoplankton from other areas. There is also less detritus buildup on rocks than over sand, perhaps due to the large population of invertebrates that consume it. Less detritus means less fine sediment to be stirred up by surge or fins. The end result is better vis on this reef than smaller exposed reefs throughout the area.

This reef is good for nudis and they can be found in depths of 20-50 feet. A couple other interesting nudis found were Aldisa sanguinea, Aeolidella oliviae and Acanthodoris hudsoni. Babakina takes the cake though. Awesome find Brent!!!