Honeymoon Phase is Over

[MaxBottomtime]

What looked to be a promising weekend of diving got off to a lousy start this morning. The swell models were wrong, thankfully. This morning's prediction was three to five feet swells. These were the surface conditions at Honeymoon Cove.

The water looked green and dirty, but I hoped it was just the surface layer. It wasn't. When we first dived this reef two weeks ago we had the best visibility I have ever seen on a near shore reef off Palos Verdes. Today looked like we had our first heavy rain in springtime. Visibility was a cloudy twelve feet, and most of the animals seemed to be in hiding. We searched for the moray eel Margaret Webb found last week but came up empty.

 

[koozemani]

Great pics

 

[blue steal]

Guess I won't be diving honeymoon tomorrow, bummer. Was hoping VIS would be good as topside weather is great and the seas are glassy.

 

[tracydr]

Those are pretty! What's the pink one and how big is it?

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Those are pretty! What's the pink one and how big is it?

Hopkin's Rose nudibranchs, Okenia rosacea. The two tailing are about 3/4", and the single one is about 1/8". They laid several egg rings next to their favorite food, Eurystomella bilabiata, the little wine goblet looking things.

 

[TSandM]

I'd be thrilled to pieces with a dive that found two Hopkin's roses, as I've never seen one! Beautiful photographs, as always . . . I do so enjoy your threads.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Until we began diving this reef a few weeks ago I had only seen multiple Roses at Shaw's Cove in Laguna Beach. There are a couple dozen on the same wall there.