1/1/2009 - Ringing In The New Year Underwater

A large gathering at Marineland this morning to bring in the New Year on a good note. The visibility was down a bit from my last five dives, but still good enough to find a six inch mantis shrimp in the sand.
We dropped down and Merry began shooting video while I went over to the reef to look for photo subjects. Actually, it was mostly to stay out of her way. :)
As I arrived at the reef I immediately found the flatworm, Pseudoceros luteus that we saw last Sunday. After a few minutes I went back to the mantis shrimp for my turn. She wouldn't come out of her den, but she did allow me to get close enough to take a few pictures.
We headed back toward the cove, stopping along the way to see the large batray that makes the edge of the reef his home, a Spanish Shawl nudibranch laying eggs and then we fed Abby before coming in.
It was cold and foggy all morning, but finally began to burn off just as we were leaving. Water temperature was 55F and visibility in most places was about twelve feet.