Salps, Surge and Surf: Long Point Marineland 8.19.10 Report

[FrankPro1]

Another Beautiful day of Long Point diving. Today's dive plan was again a search for the Lady of the Garden and with MaxBottomtime's directions she was easily found. Conditions have slightly deteriorated since Tuesday but Long Point was still calm enough for an entry/exit. We dropped down and quickly found Ted's Pinnacle in all its glory. I've encountered some larger Pinnacles at Neptune's Cove but Ted's Pinnacle has such a high diversity of life, that it takes my top spot for Palos Verdes reef structure. Thick blankets of various colored anemones, Treefish & Rockfish of all shapes and sizes, several species of nudibranchs and even a few big boy Sheephead call Ted's pinnacle home. There was so much to see and photograph that we spent our whole dive hanging out there. Its been almost eight months since we've seen the Lady of the Garden and she now sports an even more heavy coat of invertebrate life. Since Tuesday's dive visibility has dropped to 10-15ft and temperatures rose to 54 at depth. There was a ripping current pulling us out to the deep which Charlie took advantage of by letting it propel him around the pinnacle, while I struggled to stay hovering in one spot and take shots. A large Pegea confoederata Salp was pulled to Ted's pinnacle by the current and was quickly attacked by various fish. As we surfaced conditions had gotten a bit worse, which made our exit more challenging but with the proper timing everything went well. Here are some highlights:
Short Video of the Salp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ccMPnY0GQg "Watch in HD"

 

[TSandM]

Oh, the matching Hermissenda picture is priceless!

 

[Ben_ca]

+1 Lynne....

The Salp buffet is pretty neat also

 

[fnfalman]

Salp...that's what those things are called!!!

 

[stakanak]

Super cool!

 

[stakanak]

Awesome pics!
Haven't found the Lady yet, though I haven't looked too hard.
One question Frank-do you always exit the south beach or is there another exit near the point?

 

[FrankPro1]

Awesome pics!
Haven't found the Lady yet, though I haven't looked too hard.
One question Frank-do you always exit the south beach or is there another exit near the point?

There are two entries which I know of at the point, both can be used as exits as well. You have to really be careful when you enter/exit at the point. Even the smallest amount of swell or surge can be tricky to manage. There is a steep drop off in depth right off the point which makes the force of the breaking waves very strong. Pair this with a boulder ridden shore and you have the most difficult entry on the peninsula. I'm off to work right now, but I'll dig up some photo's of the two entries which I use later today.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

That is such a great shot. I love to find nudis in shells. Also, congrats on #100. Did you dive topless?
I'm heading there now for dive #1500, which will also be #350 at Marineland.
[youtubehq]8ccMPnY0GQg[/youtubehq]

 

[Rainer]

Wonderful photos!

 

[FrankPro1]

@Bottomtime: Topless? without a hood? Also, I'm slightly behind Charlie in dives, so no 100 yet. He's been doing quite a bit of solo explorations recently. If conditions hold out I'll be there soon enough.

@Rainer, Ben and the Borg Queen: Thanks for the kind words.

@fnfalman: Yep that's what they are called. I find it interesting that their a type of colonial salp. Each compartment which forms the chain is a separate entity.

@stakanak: Here is a pic of the one the entries. I'll see if I can find a photo of the one I used this week.
Photo's provided thanks to MaxBottomtime
Lee's Rock entry

Lee's Rock at Low tide