Went to the bridge for the first diving of the New Year today. I did not bag yesterday because of a hangover from New Years Eve, I drove to LBTS early knowing that wind conditions would make diving marginal; upon arrival decided it was doable but would not be enjoyable so I skipped it. Today arrived at about 0645 for a 0743 high tide. It was not crowded, plenty of parking available even on the southside facing the beach. Entered the water at 0720, sea temp was 77F, visibility was 45ft. Did a REEF fish survey, 67 species in 60 minutes. I am unsure I can do justice to @PBcatfish mermaid sighting today but I definitely have one in the "strange creature" category for sure. Observed a Lesser Electric Ray, recorded in the REEF database approximately 1 in 300 surveys that was the "cool" sighting. The "strange" sighting was the Peanut Worm (phylum Sipuncula, exact species unknown to me). Not sure, but I think this animal would normally be buried in the sand during the day, since it was an early morning dive think it got caught out in the sunlight in an unfavorable spot for burying itself. I hope to follow up tomorrow with various stats from REEF about number of surveys at BHB, and species recorded tomorrow. Respectively, Lesser Electric Ray (still), Peanut Worm (still), Lesser Electric Ray (vid), Peanut Worm (vid), and Hairy Blenny Pair (vid)
