Monterey conditions. (let's keep it going )

[sea_otter]

Looked like baby lobster.

Pelagic red crabs, supposedly brought north thanks to El Niño weather patterns this year. Been around on and off since summer.

 

[elgoog]

For some reason there was a bunch of carcasses in the sand off the kelp area. Almost looked like baby lobster.

Pelagic red crab aka tuna crabs - a ton of them had washed ashore and close to the shore mid-December. I've seen them seasonally but never this late in the year; I assume they died off because of water temp or something. The dives I saw them on, they were EVERYWHERE - the seagulls were having an all-you-can-eat buffet and our entries and exits were, uh, crunchy.

 

[sea_otter]

The dives I saw them on, they were EVERYWHERE - the seagulls were having an all-you-can-eat buffet and our entries and exits were, uh, crunchy.

And the bird poop on elgoog's truck had a distinct reddish tinge to it.

 

[uspap]

Thanks. I knew somebody could clarify what they were if I posted the picture. I have never seen them before. Wish there had been some that were alive.

 

[KevinG58]

Shot these at safety stop at Hopkins Deep last month.

Thanks. I knew somebody could clarify what they were if I posted the picture. I have never seen them before. Wish there had been some that were alive.

 

[lexvil]

There have been quite a few waves of them over the past year

Not all of them die on shore

 

[Chavodel8en]

Its a shame they aren't edible. Last dive I did at Breakwater there were huge piles of them on the beach and they actually smelled pretty appetizing. They look like crawdads - anyone could pick them up by the bushel, but Ive been told they aren't edible.

 

[elgoog]

Braille dive at the Breakwater this morning, 3-5ft visibility only once we got out to 45ft. Staying close to the sand and rocks meant I saw a lot more rainbow nudis and 2 of the largest Kellet's whelks I've seen (both were at least 4-5in long, I've usually seen in them in the 2-3in range).

Practically all the kelp in the cove got uprooted by the storm last weekend and a huge pile of bull kelp was washed ashore right where the entry is. It was kinda sad looking underwater; there were huge truck-tire sized gouges in the sand where the kelp roots were.

With the water almost reaching the steps in the morning, it was pick your poison for the entry - tangling up in the bull kelp strands or trying to go around it and hoping you remembered where the rocks are. I attempted the latter, did not pick a good route and ended up cracking my knee pretty hard :/

Photos were taken about 2hr after my dive and the tide had gone out quite a bit making things a little easier. They don't quite do justice to just how much kelp there was.

 

[JellyMan777]

Date: 1/28
Site: The Barge (via Breakwater/San Carlos Beach)
Depth: 61fsw
Temp: 54deg
Vis: 10-15ft
Comment: Extremely limited visibility due to the churn from the storms. Better vis at depth, but not by much.

 

[Rob Wilks]

Dove south monastery this AM. Thought the swell would have steered me away, but only saw a bit of a bump. So, I paddled the kayak out. Topside was cold, though clear skies. Ended out the day in shorts and a tshirt. Almost felt like spring.
First 10fsw. was a murky green/brown, below that, vis opened up to 25-30ft. to 60fsw. Temp was 54. Had a bit of surge. Buoys reported 8ft. 15sec. earlier. They now read 7ft. 13sec. and supposed to keep decreasing. Very surprised to have it as good as it was. May go again in the morning
Safe diving