FrankPro1
Contributor
Another month long dry spell paired with the incessant awesomeness of MaxBottomtime's dive reports has nearly driven me insane these last few weeks. My sanity finally returned today at Marineland's 120 reef. I scoped conditions yesterday and the 120 reef looked stunning. Garibaldi could easily be seen cruising the reefs from atop the cliff through the dark blue waters. Water movement was minimal and the cove entry had only small ankle breakers. This morning brought less then stellar conditions but it was still inviting enough to dive. The 120 reef doesn't usually host any unusual critters but the abundance of the normal cast of characters makes up for its lack of uniqueness. Every reef is covered in feather duster worms, tunicates, nudibranchs and sponges of every color. Garabaldi males guarding their nests are especially prevalent this time of year. In todays 15ft+ visibility, mulitple nests could be seen from almost any point on the reef. Charlie found a large octopus which was extremely playful and inquisitive. He slowly moved from underneath his den, out towards us and seemed to nonchalantly examine us. After a couple minutes he calmly swam underneath me and out of sight. A few minutes later we found another octopus but this individual was extremely shy and was not about to come out and play. Other marine life highlights included a large Copper rockfish, a grouping of San Diego dorids and a sea lion. My 2nd strobe finally kicked the bucket this dive so photography was a bit difficult with the moderate suspended particles prevalent in the water column. Charlie and I started our shore diving experiences at Marineland's 120 reef, it felt great to return to our roots. Here is what turned out:
I don't want to think what google searches you had to do to find that pic though
