Happy New Year, everyone.
I took my Zombie Killer Banjo (really) to a party last night & jammed 'til 9PM, on the dot, then headed down to the breakwater to greet the new year underwater. I rendezvoused with RaftingTigger, and two other friends whose scubaboard handles I forget, and found two other small groups there with the same idea.
Bottom time: 82 minutes
Max depth: 43 feet
Water temperature: 55.8 to 57.2F
Visibility: awesome, limited only by the sand we kicked up
Surface conditions: dead flat water, full moon, tide peaked about an hour before we entered
We surface kicked out to the 7 then started our dive. The resident harbor seal was nowhere to be seen. (Apparently hasn't been seen for a while, per post-dive discussion.
) There were Sea Nettles, but not dense enough to be an issue. My buddy fed some kelp to an Abalone & spotted a nice shark egg case. I shot clips of the jellies, anemones, crabs and whatever fish I could get close to. A diver parked next me said he saw a healthy Sunflower Star about 10-12 inches in diameter!!!!
With the clear water and full moon it was hard to gauge our depth visually...the surface seemed so close, regardless of what my computer and depth gauge said. We encountered the other dive groups during the course of our dive, with one fellow taking his regulator out of his mouth to wish me a Happy New Year.
As we returned into shallower water we were greeted by lots and lots of smaller fish free swimming and hugging the rocks and kelp.
Back on the surface we enjoyed a big thermos of hot water for hot chocolate, brownies, and other goodies donated by the Beach Hopper.
The drive home was relatively un-eventful with just a few speeders and weavers & I was in bed by 3:45 am.
I feel like a Zombie today...
