Visibility was about
40 feet, which is great for Southern California. I was diving solo as I
usually do when boat diving unless a friend is on board. On the first
dive, I narrowly missed the chance to get pictures or video of my first
ever GSB (Giant Sea Bass) sighting.
I was fortunate to have
several other "big animal" encounters, such as this Bat Ray shown in the
video below and on the Home page.
The second dive was
at a site called
Coral Gardens
I really love the
large field of Spiny Brittle Stars I see every time I do this
dive. It presents a real splash of color on the rocky sea floor.
I also spent a few minutes with a good sized Two Spot Octopus
before he went into his hole.
Spiny Brittle Star
Smooth Brittle Star
(This guy started crawling towards me when I
pointed my light at him.)
The third dive was
at back at another section of
The Channels
Sometimes I just like to
plant myself in the kelp and watch it sway back and forth in the surge.
(I always take seasick medicine before diving) Large schools of
Blacksmith were feeding, and I had a few "Mexican standoffs" with the of
resident Garibaldi guarding their egg patches.
Blacksmith
Garibaldi staring me down
Thick kelp overhead blocks out the sunlight
(Its nice to see thick kelp coverage again)
time: 58 minutes
max depth: 50 ft
temp: 60 degrees
waves: minimal
vis: 50 feet
current: moderate surge
