Weeks ago in January, some of our LowCal (San Diego) homies planned a NudiFest boat trip to some of the local Nudi haunts. That trip was canceled due to poor weather. It was shortly re-scheduled to Saturday 2/23. Cool, more LowCal Nudi's... I'm pretty stoked!
For weeks I've been looking forward to the trip. After diving locally on Thursday 2/21 (and having very poor conditions) several of the San Diego locals who planned the trip backed out, anticipating poor weather for 2/23. I learned of this on Friday morning.
Having already booked a hotel and taken half a day off on Friday, this was very disturbing news. I wanted to dive. I already had the camera set up. I was already packed. I was pretty hot about this. So I called what has slowly become my fav SoCal boat (the Spectre) and begged Capt'n Ted to get Claudette and I on for Saturday.
Ted called me back late Friday morning, saying we got the last two spaces. About 45 minutes later I received an eMail stating that the San Diego boat was now officially canceled (for the second time in 30 days.)
You always, always have to have a back up plan. The Spectre comes through again!
So we drove up and met in Ventura on Friday evening to make our own Nudi-mania trip. When we arrived, it was very windy and cold. The prediction was for a clear morning and afternoon, with weather and swells getting very nasty by late Saturday afternoon / early evening. The Spectre had already canceled its Sunday trip, and Cap't Ted said it was likely we'd only get in 3 dives and not 4 on Saturday.
After settling in for the night, we woke to clear skies and very little wind. Some nasty swells, but nothing the Spectre can't handle. At the time of the 7:00 AM departure, as we're pulling out of the slip, Cap't Ted said again to all aboard over the boat's PA, "the weather is moving in quickly. To get in three full dives and possibly a fourth, we need to get everyone in quickly on the first dive. Its important everyone be ready to go by the time we anchor. I'm not pressuring anyone, but you have about an hour-and-a-half to get ready..."
This is going to be a good day.
Dive #1 - The Garden Spot
Our first dive was at a place called "The Garden Spot" - Chica and I have dived this many times before. There are at least 38 divers on this very large boat, and the boat was booked by two shops - that means most of these divers are students or new divers. The Garden Spot is shallow, sandy and very easy access.
There is nothing remarkable about this site, usually. However on Saturday it was loaded with Navanax. Both kinds - the "normal" ones (the dark ones with the blue spots) and what I call the Chocolate ones (the light ones with the green spots.) Several small Sandys (Diaululua sandiegensis.) Even the 'nax were small - it was clear early on that this was going to be one of those days where its all Baby Nudis... like those Tiny 'Toon characters - where your fav cartoon characters are all small and round... so were nearly all of the Nudis at this spot and the others during the day.
There was this wacky abundance of Coffee Bean shells on this first dive. Claudette kept seeing them. She'd see one, then another, then two together... I finally saw a huge one. She brought over one on a mussle shell that I was able to get a really good shot of. They're so pretty.
After an hour of scooting past circles of students kneeling in the sand, and shooting one Nax and Sandy after another, we returned to the boat. Once again the first ones off and the last ones back on. Conditions were a little surgey, and the viz wasn't great, but with all tiny Nudis I was very glad I had on the 105 mm lens.
.
.
.
Dive #2 - Rat Rock
After dive one, Ted fired up the Spectre and we ran down the entire length of Anacapa to the far West end and we went around the corner to the back side. We looked and looked, but the wind was just smacking us in the face, so after several stops in many of the more popular sites, the boat made a "U" turn and came back around to the front.
As we came back around we literally stopped at the western tip of Anacapa, and pulled in right next to the island. The site, called Rat Rock is a site I've never been to. I've dived Anacapa a zillion times... never been here. COOL! We drop the anchors and the gates are open.
We plunge and drop to about 55 feet and start to scoot west along the island and some of the scattered structure that is in the sand a bit out from the island. The descent was so clear, and in mid-water there was this brilliant blue sheen on everything from the sun that was still peeking through the gathering clouds. I was a little sad I didn't put on the Wide Angle. But only for a moment.
This was THE Nudi dive of the day. Unreal. We saw 15 species on this dive alone (21 species on the day) including one I've never seen or shot before. The thing is, they were all TINY. I'm talking half-a-rice-kernel small. We were close to the edge of the island so the surge was pretty wicked on this dive. Trying to shoot stuff that small with everything flying around was challenging.
Funny thing - we kept seeing Black Dorid eggs, but never saw the Nudi. Their eggs are very distinctive - they're short (1/2" to 1") white ribbons about 1/8" wide. They don't spiral like other Dorid eggs. All these Black Dorid eggs, but no Black Dorids. Very strange.
We were again the last ones back. Just gasping and amazed. What a great, great dive. So many species, such excellent topography and a Captain committed to putting his boat on a diveable site. I'll never forget this second dive.
.
.
.
Dive #3 - Goldfish Bowl
After Rat Rock it was time for Lunch. On the Spectre that means one thing: BBQ TriTip!!! So tender with this crunchy rind... OMG. Its so good.
OK - so food is in, time to find another site. The wind is picking up and the surge is really getting stronger. Ted puts us into a place called "Goldfish Bowl." A cool site, as there is great topography and lots and lots of fish.
I'm feelin' it, so I'm keeping on the 105mm lens. Good thing I did, as this was more Nudi mania!
After more tiny tunes, including an impossibly small Trophia maculata (moustach Nudi) on a kelp leaf, we ran into more and more Black Dorid eggs. But something happened this time - we started to see Black Dorids.
They were everywhere. All on this wacky black/green fuzz. I'm sure Claudette or Dr. Bill will come and and tell you more about the fuzz, but suffice it to say, this was the stuff they were chewin' and laying eggs on.
In one shot I captured 7 of the guys... with a 105mm lens. Unreal. With my 60mm I would have captured 15 or more. They were so thick on this stuff, just mowing down the fuzz. I was able to get some good shots despite the crazy surge and one of my Strobe mounts failing the previous dive (OY... I need to be kinder to my stuff...)
At the end of the dive, at the far end of the site with the surge raging, 'dette saw something teeny that captured her attention as it flapped by in all that green fuzz. It was an impossibly small Nudi just flapping around. I tried to get some shot of it as it flew by. I grabbed three grainy shots and then my battery died in the cam.
When I was going through the shots today, I realized I've never seen this little guy before - and I can't ID it from the books I have. Three different people have sent over their opinions on it. I'm going to send these bigfoot shots to a couple of authorities in Monday morning and hopefully get consensus. Whatever it is, its another new one for me!
We were the last ones out again, and with the weather turning nasty very fast there was going to be no fourth dive. We hauled our selves back onto the boat, took down the gear and looked at pics on the way back in.
-------
So there it is. A San Diego Nudi trip canceled twice, an emergency call to the Spectre less than 24 hours before departure and Chica and I had our own Nudi trip.
Thanks Claudette for being flexible and for being patient as I get thrown around trying to get these shots. I couldn't do this stuff without you. You are the Apex Buddy!
Some shots below. Full gallery here on Dive Matrix: Linky
Enjoy.
---
Ken
=========================================
Muh Muh Muh My Cuthona! (I love these guys...) Next to an egg patch, laying eggs. Nice spot, Chica. For a shot of another Cuthona we saw, click on this link: Linkola
Anacapa Blend! Lots of Coffee Bean Shells on these dives.
Here is the giant on the mussel shell. Check out the eyespot down below his downward facing feeler things, and look at that wacky snout. These guys are so funny.
A pair o' Nax in the house! Choco on top, and normal on the bottom.
A juicy Janolis from dive two. I saw this right after the drop, and was shooting it. After I was done, Claudette pointed to the Hilton's below. I mean, I'm surprised I didn't elbow crush Hilty... it was right there and I was focused on getting the Janolis shot. Memo to self: Survey the whole scene before you start shooting...
This is the small Hilton's I almost smashed when I was shooting the Janolis.
As we were Nudi Peeping, we ran across this bright red fish. Those of you who know me know I'm not a photo-shop guy. And those of you who dive SoCal can tell the colors of that red algae is true. This fish really was this red. I don't know what it was (maybe a Kelp fish?) but he was stunning.
.
.
.
.
Part two is next: Linkage
* The Tiny Toons Gallery
* Fed Ex Gallery
* Just a few Black Dorids!
.
.
.
.
.
For weeks I've been looking forward to the trip. After diving locally on Thursday 2/21 (and having very poor conditions) several of the San Diego locals who planned the trip backed out, anticipating poor weather for 2/23. I learned of this on Friday morning.
Having already booked a hotel and taken half a day off on Friday, this was very disturbing news. I wanted to dive. I already had the camera set up. I was already packed. I was pretty hot about this. So I called what has slowly become my fav SoCal boat (the Spectre) and begged Capt'n Ted to get Claudette and I on for Saturday.
Ted called me back late Friday morning, saying we got the last two spaces. About 45 minutes later I received an eMail stating that the San Diego boat was now officially canceled (for the second time in 30 days.)
You always, always have to have a back up plan. The Spectre comes through again!
So we drove up and met in Ventura on Friday evening to make our own Nudi-mania trip. When we arrived, it was very windy and cold. The prediction was for a clear morning and afternoon, with weather and swells getting very nasty by late Saturday afternoon / early evening. The Spectre had already canceled its Sunday trip, and Cap't Ted said it was likely we'd only get in 3 dives and not 4 on Saturday.
After settling in for the night, we woke to clear skies and very little wind. Some nasty swells, but nothing the Spectre can't handle. At the time of the 7:00 AM departure, as we're pulling out of the slip, Cap't Ted said again to all aboard over the boat's PA, "the weather is moving in quickly. To get in three full dives and possibly a fourth, we need to get everyone in quickly on the first dive. Its important everyone be ready to go by the time we anchor. I'm not pressuring anyone, but you have about an hour-and-a-half to get ready..."
This is going to be a good day.
Dive #1 - The Garden Spot
Our first dive was at a place called "The Garden Spot" - Chica and I have dived this many times before. There are at least 38 divers on this very large boat, and the boat was booked by two shops - that means most of these divers are students or new divers. The Garden Spot is shallow, sandy and very easy access.
There is nothing remarkable about this site, usually. However on Saturday it was loaded with Navanax. Both kinds - the "normal" ones (the dark ones with the blue spots) and what I call the Chocolate ones (the light ones with the green spots.) Several small Sandys (Diaululua sandiegensis.) Even the 'nax were small - it was clear early on that this was going to be one of those days where its all Baby Nudis... like those Tiny 'Toon characters - where your fav cartoon characters are all small and round... so were nearly all of the Nudis at this spot and the others during the day.
There was this wacky abundance of Coffee Bean shells on this first dive. Claudette kept seeing them. She'd see one, then another, then two together... I finally saw a huge one. She brought over one on a mussle shell that I was able to get a really good shot of. They're so pretty.
After an hour of scooting past circles of students kneeling in the sand, and shooting one Nax and Sandy after another, we returned to the boat. Once again the first ones off and the last ones back on. Conditions were a little surgey, and the viz wasn't great, but with all tiny Nudis I was very glad I had on the 105 mm lens.
.
.
.
Dive #2 - Rat Rock
After dive one, Ted fired up the Spectre and we ran down the entire length of Anacapa to the far West end and we went around the corner to the back side. We looked and looked, but the wind was just smacking us in the face, so after several stops in many of the more popular sites, the boat made a "U" turn and came back around to the front.
As we came back around we literally stopped at the western tip of Anacapa, and pulled in right next to the island. The site, called Rat Rock is a site I've never been to. I've dived Anacapa a zillion times... never been here. COOL! We drop the anchors and the gates are open.
We plunge and drop to about 55 feet and start to scoot west along the island and some of the scattered structure that is in the sand a bit out from the island. The descent was so clear, and in mid-water there was this brilliant blue sheen on everything from the sun that was still peeking through the gathering clouds. I was a little sad I didn't put on the Wide Angle. But only for a moment.
This was THE Nudi dive of the day. Unreal. We saw 15 species on this dive alone (21 species on the day) including one I've never seen or shot before. The thing is, they were all TINY. I'm talking half-a-rice-kernel small. We were close to the edge of the island so the surge was pretty wicked on this dive. Trying to shoot stuff that small with everything flying around was challenging.
Funny thing - we kept seeing Black Dorid eggs, but never saw the Nudi. Their eggs are very distinctive - they're short (1/2" to 1") white ribbons about 1/8" wide. They don't spiral like other Dorid eggs. All these Black Dorid eggs, but no Black Dorids. Very strange.
We were again the last ones back. Just gasping and amazed. What a great, great dive. So many species, such excellent topography and a Captain committed to putting his boat on a diveable site. I'll never forget this second dive.
.
.
.
Dive #3 - Goldfish Bowl
After Rat Rock it was time for Lunch. On the Spectre that means one thing: BBQ TriTip!!! So tender with this crunchy rind... OMG. Its so good.
OK - so food is in, time to find another site. The wind is picking up and the surge is really getting stronger. Ted puts us into a place called "Goldfish Bowl." A cool site, as there is great topography and lots and lots of fish.
I'm feelin' it, so I'm keeping on the 105mm lens. Good thing I did, as this was more Nudi mania!
After more tiny tunes, including an impossibly small Trophia maculata (moustach Nudi) on a kelp leaf, we ran into more and more Black Dorid eggs. But something happened this time - we started to see Black Dorids.
They were everywhere. All on this wacky black/green fuzz. I'm sure Claudette or Dr. Bill will come and and tell you more about the fuzz, but suffice it to say, this was the stuff they were chewin' and laying eggs on.
In one shot I captured 7 of the guys... with a 105mm lens. Unreal. With my 60mm I would have captured 15 or more. They were so thick on this stuff, just mowing down the fuzz. I was able to get some good shots despite the crazy surge and one of my Strobe mounts failing the previous dive (OY... I need to be kinder to my stuff...)
At the end of the dive, at the far end of the site with the surge raging, 'dette saw something teeny that captured her attention as it flapped by in all that green fuzz. It was an impossibly small Nudi just flapping around. I tried to get some shot of it as it flew by. I grabbed three grainy shots and then my battery died in the cam.
When I was going through the shots today, I realized I've never seen this little guy before - and I can't ID it from the books I have. Three different people have sent over their opinions on it. I'm going to send these bigfoot shots to a couple of authorities in Monday morning and hopefully get consensus. Whatever it is, its another new one for me!
We were the last ones out again, and with the weather turning nasty very fast there was going to be no fourth dive. We hauled our selves back onto the boat, took down the gear and looked at pics on the way back in.
-------
So there it is. A San Diego Nudi trip canceled twice, an emergency call to the Spectre less than 24 hours before departure and Chica and I had our own Nudi trip.
Thanks Claudette for being flexible and for being patient as I get thrown around trying to get these shots. I couldn't do this stuff without you. You are the Apex Buddy!
Some shots below. Full gallery here on Dive Matrix: Linky
Enjoy.
---
Ken
=========================================
Muh Muh Muh My Cuthona! (I love these guys...) Next to an egg patch, laying eggs. Nice spot, Chica. For a shot of another Cuthona we saw, click on this link: Linkola
Anacapa Blend! Lots of Coffee Bean Shells on these dives.
Here is the giant on the mussel shell. Check out the eyespot down below his downward facing feeler things, and look at that wacky snout. These guys are so funny.
A pair o' Nax in the house! Choco on top, and normal on the bottom.
A juicy Janolis from dive two. I saw this right after the drop, and was shooting it. After I was done, Claudette pointed to the Hilton's below. I mean, I'm surprised I didn't elbow crush Hilty... it was right there and I was focused on getting the Janolis shot. Memo to self: Survey the whole scene before you start shooting...
This is the small Hilton's I almost smashed when I was shooting the Janolis.
As we were Nudi Peeping, we ran across this bright red fish. Those of you who know me know I'm not a photo-shop guy. And those of you who dive SoCal can tell the colors of that red algae is true. This fish really was this red. I don't know what it was (maybe a Kelp fish?) but he was stunning.
.
.
.
.
Part two is next: Linkage
* The Tiny Toons Gallery
* Fed Ex Gallery
* Just a few Black Dorids!
.
.
.
.
.
