12/24/2006 - Never Trust The Swell Models

There were rough seas predicted for today along the Palos Verdes peninsula. Ross and Beth-O, Elaine, Merry and I enjoyed an almost perfect day on the water today. The only swells we found were nearshore at Pt. Vicente, although Elaine and I had a great, if somewhat boring dive in the shallows there.
We began our day at Hawthorne Reef. The visibility on the bottom was at least fifteen feet. If I had set my camera correctly I could prove it. I shot 144 images today and nearly all were out of focus. The wide angle shots were OK, but I missed several nice nudibranch and worm shots. Elaine thought I was shooting close-ups of bare rocks. :)
Elaine and Ross saw a large Giant Sea bass several times. I found a rock. At least we had fun.
We then headed over to the pinnacles near Pt. Vicente Fishing Access. The vis here was very nice, about 20 feet. We didn't find much until I went a little deeper. I found two Hopkin's Rose nudis munching away. We stopped by Bill's Bait Barge in the outer harbor. The new residents have taken a liking to their new digs. They seem well fed.

I came home with a card full of bad pictures. Merry added to her shell collection. Elaine went home without her weight bag, but Ross and Beth will be having lobster for dinner tonight.