3/26/2006 - Great Dive In Not So Great Conditions

I took a group out to the main reef at Marineland this morning. The waves were big off the point, so we all made the long surface swim. One of the divers got a little seasick and tired, so I towed her most of the way. It was the first time Shanon and Merry, my new friends from DiveVets got to experience the main reef. Merry will dive it any time with me, but Shanon may wait until it's flat enough to enter from the point. We found a lot of nudibranchs, sponges, hydroids, sea cucumbers, octopus and a large lobster. The season ended last Wednesday, so they can come out of hiding now. The water temp was still a brisk 50F, but not too bad to call the dive. Our dive plan was to drop down on the main reef and slowly make our way back to the cove, stopping to look occasionally. There was so much to see, and being the girls' first time here, they were excited to see the amazing amount of life. I tried in vain to keep five divers together and give the "let's move along" sign. We spent so much time there that Jeff, Merry and Shanon surfaced there and had to make the long surface swim back. Ted and I had our cameras, so we continued pointing out nudis to each other. We swam around my favorite wall, but there were only a handful of Triopha catalinae nudis there. I usually see dozens. We then headed back toward the cove. I surfaced halfway there and caught up with the rest of the group. I towed Shanon a bit more, even though she mentioned the many reasons she was going to kill me.

She was sore from a furniture accident last week, falling in the surf during entry and the cold water. She was only teasing about killing me.

Cuthona divae laying eggs next to a hydroid, their main food source. Pretty smart. Make sure the young 'uns get fed.

A Pair of smiling scallops.

It must be Spring. Love is in the air, or water. Painted Greenlings getting cozy.

A very thick Grey Moon sponge, Spheciospongia confoederata taking over a Golden Gorgonian.

California Sea Cucumber, Parastichopus californicus

Hydroid. My friend Merry spotted it, but when she tried to show it to me, she couldn't find it. She forgot that being a filter feeder, it retracts.

Tritonia festiva on a red sea fan. I find them on deeper wrecks, but this was the first one I've found at Marineland.

Yellow dorids, Acanthodoris lutea mating.

Hermissenda crassicornis, the most common nudi at Marineland.

Hudson's dorid, Acanthodoris hudsoni

San Diego dorid, Diaulula sandiegensis

Doriopsilla albopunctata

Archidoris montereyensis

Orange Puffball sponge

Triopha catalinae

Archidoris montereyensis