4/6/2008 - Malibu Barbie...I Mean Red Dorid

With the one foot of vis reported around Palos Verdes the past few days Merry and I decided to head north. We looked at Long Wharf first. It was iffy, but we decided to come back here if Malibu was out. As we approached the north side of town the waves flattened out in spots. We decided to try Nicholas Canyon. I'm glad we did.
We had an easy entry, despite the 3-4 feet surf and headed out toward the kelp. Along the way we met Sandy the Lifeguard and a small pod of dolphin. Sandy is also a marine biologist and gave us a fascinating talk about flatworms after the dive.
We dropped into five feet of vis and scouted the rocky reef for critters. Among the crabs, lobsters and sponges were a few rockfish, including a pregnant Brown rockfish. I had my camera set for macro, so I got a great shot of its tail. :(
Merry found a Rostanga pulchra, Red dorid. I had only seen one other one, so this made the dive special. Many rocks were covered with yellow lightbulb tunicates. I had only seen them in white and pink before.
On our way in we came across a Horn shark and lobster that each swam in front of us for a closer look.
The water was warmer than expected at 54F.

Spanish Shawl

San Diego dorid

Red dorid

Lightbulb tunicates