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Really nice report, MissyP. Good "you-are-there" details like temp and light quality, animal behavior observations, neat "octopus-being-invisible" photo. Thanks. It was a pleasure to read!MissyP:
And here he is now! Great report!MissyP:suddenly it got dark & I realized a school of fish had surrounded me.. which only meant one thing- another encounter with a giant sea bassSure enough, within 30 seconds I was being checked out face to face by a bass... which seemed to be moving in slow motion.. Reached out and slid my hand along its tail as it swam by, which didn't seem to bother it in the least
She saw another BSB today, as well as the biggest, fattest halibut ever. She had a pipefish curl around her finger and also saw several Horn sharks. She was talking to a couple divers after the dive and one asked what her name is. When she told them, they said,"So! You're the famous Missy!" Now that Marineland is shut off from divers for awhile, I'll allow her to be in the spotlight.California Diver:
California Diver:
MaxBottomtime:She saw another BSB today, as well as the biggest, fattest halibut ever. She had a pipefish curl around her finger and also saw several Horn sharks. She was talking to a couple divers after the dive and one asked what her name is. When she told them, they said,"So! You're the famous Missy!" Now that Marineland is shut off from divers for awhile, I'll allow her to be in the spotlight.
BTW, she said the water in the shallows had only a little chop and was blue!
You summed up today's dive report pretty well! Did 2 dives out of Vallecitos, both 62 ft max depth (the thermocline is killing me!), 86 min & 83 min respectively. Waves were 1-2 ft with no power behind them whatsoever, shallows were very blue & clear, and vis at depth was 30-35 ft. There was a 3-4 ft surge in shallows, but sometimes it's fun to put your arms out and pretend you're Superman.. (it makes your buddy laugh too!) Moon snails, dendronotus irises, cali sea slugs, navanax, cali arminas, guitarfish, rays of all types, pipefish (loved when the baby curled itself around my finger!!) and lizardfish were out in full force today. Not to mention that mega-sized halibut (remember Missy, 'fish are friends- not food!'). The temp in shallows was a toasty 65, at depth Suunto lied to me again and said it was 55 (I say more like 50- Brrrrr!!! I need to borrow Terry's gloves & undergarments I guess). Discovered that when you hit the canyon and turn south instead of north (to vallecitos point), there is a sandy wash full of vegetation- which means full of life! Baby horn sharks were everywhere in there, snuggled under downed kelp or just snoozing in plain view... along with sea hares, sarcastic fringeheads, navanax, nudis/dorids, and more eggs than I've ever seen in one area (the attached pic is a size comparison of one baby vs my hand). During the swim in on dive 1 a giant bass paid a visit to us- in 22 ft (I don't usually see them that shallow). Definitely one of the larger bass I've been seeing recently- was wondering "was that a bass or a Volkswagon??" Tried juggling 3 rocks to impress a big guitarfish in the shallows, but it didn't seem very interested...and dozed off. Guess I should work on my act a little more :06: Coming in from dive 2, a purple striped jelly floated alongside us during the surface swim...Nice day to dive- sunny skies, blue water, life everywhere!
MissyP:
California Diver:
