lamarpaulski
Contributor
Blustery day but ocean wasn't too bad on trip over to Avalon. Rain here and there. I met very some nice divers/snorkelers who hailed from Nebraska but were living in S Cal...pretty excited to be diving kelp. The conditions were a little weird with milky and variable viz 30-50 ft. The surface was choppy and a very strong current was running towards the harbor so that the kelp was practically horizontal. The water was COLD...much colder than just a week and a half ago...today I got a 55F on my computer. My 5mm wasn't really cutting it and for the first time in a while I was pretty uncomfortable. I saw and videoed a small school of sardines and noticed what looked like a small Bonita ?mingling with them. I had a cormorant swim right up to my mask...actually startled me and the darn thing looked like he was thinking about taking a nip. Checked out Sue Jac and the schools of Blackfish that hung out over it. Then I came back shallow. I had hoped to really really search for Cardinalfish as I have struck out for last two months. I spent most of my air sticking my head in various crevices bothering lobsters, octopuses, abs, morays, hornsharks, a big Sheephead and thousands more Blacksmiths but no Cardinalfishes. At about 500 PSI i caught a glimpse of something way way back in a mini cave then lost sight of it. Had to go. During S I saw several sea lions ripping through the park...obviously making life tough for the fish.
On the second dive I returned to same Cardinalfish spot and was finally able to spot and video a solo Cardinalfish...biggest one yet but very skittish and all by itself. As always it was between 18-14 feet in depth. The Cardinalfish remained in the far recesses of the mini cavern and moved skittishly through the narrow gaps in rocks so i only managed about 10 seconds of decent video and only that much because my go pro is on an extendable pole.. I marked the main cavern entrance (see purple float) and then ascended and videoed the nearby breakwater...noting i was almost exactly between the flagpole and marker light on the mole/breakwater. I also noted a smaller light-colored rectangular rock in the breakwater adjacent to cardinalfish location. I have always seen these beautiful fish in the company of others but no longer - perhaps the colony is down to the sole survivor.
Spectacular sunset on trip back with broken clouds and geography and spots of rain all being bathed in the reds of the sunset.
note white rectangular rock Marker...
On the second dive I returned to same Cardinalfish spot and was finally able to spot and video a solo Cardinalfish...biggest one yet but very skittish and all by itself. As always it was between 18-14 feet in depth. The Cardinalfish remained in the far recesses of the mini cavern and moved skittishly through the narrow gaps in rocks so i only managed about 10 seconds of decent video and only that much because my go pro is on an extendable pole.. I marked the main cavern entrance (see purple float) and then ascended and videoed the nearby breakwater...noting i was almost exactly between the flagpole and marker light on the mole/breakwater. I also noted a smaller light-colored rectangular rock in the breakwater adjacent to cardinalfish location. I have always seen these beautiful fish in the company of others but no longer - perhaps the colony is down to the sole survivor.
Spectacular sunset on trip back with broken clouds and geography and spots of rain all being bathed in the reds of the sunset.
note white rectangular rock Marker...