Another surprise or two at the Little Reef, and no surprises on the Avalon

[MaxBottomtime]

We returned to Little Reef near Pt. Vicente hoping to find a needle in a haystack. The tiny nudibranch I found last week, Noumeaella rubrofasciata was not to be found, but I did find a Polycera hedgpethi. I have never found one on a reef before. I've seen them in the sand at Vet's and under the Morro Bay T-Pier but was surprised to see one today. Of course, Kevin Lee found a larger one.
Visibility was quite nice for the unexpected bumpy surface conditions. We should have made two dives here, but I thought it had been a long time since we dived the Avalon wreck. Maybe there would be a hidden gem to find.
It was not to be. We found hundreds of Spanish Shawls and not much else. The next time I suggest the Avalon Merry may smack me with her Pokey Stick.

 

[fnfalman]

Ah, vicarious diving through Phil and Merry!!!

 

[drbill]

Always great to see your phtos, Phil (as well as Merry's and Kevin's). I did my first dive back here at home after nearly three weeks in Palau yesterday and could barely see a thing!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Maybe your mask was fogging in the warm water.

​

 

[descent]

Ah, vicarious diving through Phil and Merry!!!

No kidding, huh? Lucky us!

I have been wondering what the beautiful porous blue substrate is.

Is it coral? It doesn't look like neoprene.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Fingertip of a dry glove.

 

[TSandM]

Is that a Nanaimo dorid on your glove?

LOVE the first photo. The distribution of light is fabulous.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Polycera hedgpethi. We called this place Little Reef because it is a small area we wanted to explore but didn't expect much. I never thought we would return but we came back again and now plan to look around again next weekend.