What a day!
Beautiful PNW day complete with summer rain... which is almost identical to fall, winter and spring rain but different because it falls only during the summer.
Air temp was a balmy 54F which is a far cry from the bone chilling 54F of mid-winter.
We chose a secret divesite and taking a bearing upon the Space Needle descended into a pleasant surprise... the water was warm! Wonderfully warm! My stinger said that it was 54F near the surface and at 90+fsw it was a comfortable 54F.
Here in the semi-tropical warmth so uncharacteristic of Puget Sound (usual water temp is 47F) we locate a Giant Pacific Octopus at 93 fsw brooding masses of hanging eggs under a log. She was medium sized and probably weighed 65lbs or so. Standing guard on either side of her lair were two large ling cod. Neither were inclined to move as we approach and I had to push one out of the way with my lighthead to get a better look at the octopus. This unusual behaviour I attributed to the equally unusual water temperature.
After the dive we were treated to more gentle PNW summer rain and a pleasant 54F afternoon.
Beautiful PNW day complete with summer rain... which is almost identical to fall, winter and spring rain but different because it falls only during the summer.
Air temp was a balmy 54F which is a far cry from the bone chilling 54F of mid-winter.
We chose a secret divesite and taking a bearing upon the Space Needle descended into a pleasant surprise... the water was warm! Wonderfully warm! My stinger said that it was 54F near the surface and at 90+fsw it was a comfortable 54F.
Here in the semi-tropical warmth so uncharacteristic of Puget Sound (usual water temp is 47F) we locate a Giant Pacific Octopus at 93 fsw brooding masses of hanging eggs under a log. She was medium sized and probably weighed 65lbs or so. Standing guard on either side of her lair were two large ling cod. Neither were inclined to move as we approach and I had to push one out of the way with my lighthead to get a better look at the octopus. This unusual behaviour I attributed to the equally unusual water temperature.
After the dive we were treated to more gentle PNW summer rain and a pleasant 54F afternoon.
