12/28/2008 - Wash That Mud Right Outta My Beach

On Thursday the waves at Marineland were overhead and the water was a muddy mess. Boulders the size of small cars were moved from the week before and the outlook for diving this week was bleak. Thirty six hours later the ocean was calm and visibility was close to twenty feet.
Merry and I planned to shoot stills and video of a Mantis shrimp we found last week. We headed to the area we thought it might be and dropped. Before we reached the bottom Merry was already pointing at our first photo op, a large flatworm, Pseudoceros luteus. We then headed in the general direction of the Mantis shrimp and I was lucky to spot his den nearby. We didn't get any great shots, but at least we found it. Not bad for swimming 1/4 mile on the surface to find a six inch animal out in the sand.
After feeding Abby we headed back in for a nervous exit. The surf zone, which was gravel and sand for the past few months was now filled with basketball sized rocks. We made it out without getting killed. The ocean was flat, visibility was 15-20 feet and water temperature was 54F.