A nice swim through the forest

[spt29970]

... complete with a honor guard of Garabaldi



and a rare glimpse of a fish so nice they named it twice: Mola Mola

 

[paradicio]

Wow, a Mola Mola sighting! That's a very rare treat indeed! Great shots, thanks for sharing!

 

[spt29970]

Yes, it is only the third time I have seen them in the Channel Islands.

 

[Larry C]

Very nice. Love the kelp sunburst with the Garibaldis!

 

[Jimbo1946]

The Garibaldis swimming through the kelp in the sunlight looks almost surreal. Very nice!

 

[Teamcasa]

Nice shots and thanks for posting them. Where were they taken?

 

[spt29970]

They were taken off of Anacapa Island last weekend. I dove on the Spectre and we went to Cathedral cove, the Wheel, and the Pelican Preserve. The Mola Mola was spotted while I was doing my safety stop on the 4th dive of the day. I was shutting down my camera, when I saw it in the distance. I had the presence of mind to turn the camera back on and fire off a few quick frames. It just goes to show that your dive day isn't over until you are back on the boat. This was the first time I had dove in the Pelican Preserve since it is only open for two months a year.

 

[Species_snob]

Wow! Great shots.

Rodrigo

 

[TSandM]

Beautiful pictures! The kelp one brought back great memories. (I haven't had the good fortune to see a mola mola yet.)

 

[Bound]

Thanks for sharing.