The Pasley April 06 Dive Report Thread

[Mo2vation]

We had enough HID's to go around, so we must have blinded every ray in the surf zone as we head-butted our way into the frisky surf and out to our descent point. 21W + 18W + 10W = 49W of blaze...

Watts? Are you sure that isn't XXX Lumen/cm², Lumen/ft², Lumen/m², Lux, Phot, Nox, or Meter Candle's, you metric freak?

The viz improved to nice black water as we slipped over the edge to see Hermissenda nudibranchs everywhere on the bits of kelp and debris. Nudibranch eggs decorated dozens of kelp fronds and eel grass strands. They are tiny here, just 3-cm midgets compared to the 10-cm Mighty Hulk-issendas thundering over Marineland right now....

For the rest of us still waving an American flag, that would be 1.18" midgets and 3.94" (can we round it up to an even 4 inches, you Euro? ) mighty Hulk-issendas.

But very fun to find. Ken found the Tiniest gray Dendronotus nudi.. a new one for me.

Yeah. I rule. He was about 3/4" long.

BEST FIND OF THE DIVE:
A red octopus, out in the open, frozen statue-still, clutching a 4-inch yellow rock crab. ....

Somebody hit her with a 4-pound hammer. She's back.

We kept finding and sharing cool discoveries all around. There is NOTHING like HIDs and good teamwork to bring out the fun of a life-rich night dive. We surge-surfed our way past more rays, pipefish, occassional sand dollars, and crabs, finally surfacing from about 12 fsw, parachuting upwards in that magical levitation trick. THAT is soooo much fun!...

Yes, folks. You did read 12 fsw and not 3.66666 meters.... I know. I'm shocked too. Maybe she really is back, has renounced her Euro status and has come back to her SoCal roots....



Too much Reef Check and you slowly become metricized. I was thinking of hooking on to this program in Summer... I dunno know. After two meetings she's all Euro. Next she'll sell her glorious Element for some wacky mini bus, start diving a 15 litre tank and convert her SPG to Bar.... gad. I conceed you a DIN valve. That is your only concession.

Resist, 'Chica.

---
Ken

 

[divinman]

Date: 04/11/2006
Dive Location: La Jolla Shores/ The Draw and detritus area
Buddy(ies): Tyler, Craig and Jen
Time: 19:37
Bottom Time: 58 minutes
Max Depth: 66ft
Vis: 5-15
Wave height: 2-4
Temp at depth: 56f
Surface Temp: 61f
Gas mix: Air

Image gallery: http://www.scubapost.net/forums/Scorpionfish/041106/

Met with Tyler, Craig and Jen for a night dive at La Jolla. The plan was to see if we could locate some Lion nudibranchs. The sea was mostly calm as we walked out and only moderately larger when we returned. In between we say D. Frondosus, T. maculata, Armina, California sea slugs, gobs of Hermissenda, trilineata....but alas no Lions. Big red octopus and little tiny ones. Spot-wrist hermits, purple globe crabs, armed box crabs, yellow cancer and hemphils....all the crabs were out tonight. On the swim in we saw the usual flat fish as well as lots of various sized thornbacks.

Nice night for a dive.

Terry

 

[HBDiveGirl]

...
Met with Tyler, Craig and Jen for a night dive at La Jolla. The plan was to see if we could locate some Lion nudibranchs. The sea was mostly calm as we walked out and only moderately larger when we returned. In between we say D. Frondosus, T. maculata, Armina, California sea slugs, gobs of Hermissenda, trilineata....but alas no Lions.
...
Terry

Now I see why you would want to find them... Ken and I spent almost 10 minutes in rapt attention in Redondo canyon tonight, watching Melibe lionina feed on creatures living on the seaweed, then feed on larvae in the water column, and then finally "leap" from the end of the seaweed strand and swim elegantly away into the inky waters. Wow, Oh Wow!!!! What an amazing animal! Still photos do not do justice to the translucent scintillescence of this nudibranch.

I've been looking for them for years, and it was great to finally see one tonight.
Red tipped dorids and herds of Hermissenda rounded out the cast of nudibranchs on this great dive. More info in a bit.
Thanks for posting your terrific photos, Terry .

Claudette

 

[Mo2vation]

Date: 04/11/2006
Dive Location: Vets Park ('tween second stairs and pier)
Buddy(ies): Spot
Time: 7:20-ish...
Bottom Time: 86 minutes
Max Depth: 71 FSW
Vis: 15 - 20
Wave height: Waves? More like ripples.
Temp at depth: 53f
Surface Temp: whatever... I'm in a drysuit
Gas mix: Air


'Dett can tell you much better than I can how much this dive rocked. I've dived Vets more than a few times, and this was one of the best dives ever. Just stupid with life, a walk in entry and exit through ankle slappers and many, many surprises.

One of the best surprises was to find Dazedone's fin. Yes, we FOUND HIS FIN!!! He, Spot and I lost it about 3 weeks ago on a surf exit. Well, last night we stumbled across it at 71 feet. It had been claimed by the sea, an octo moved in and it has become part of the reef, so we left it. Its now Carin Reef

So much to see. Zillions of Octos, neighborhoods of wacky Vet's variant Hermessinda ("Fakeyssinda"), some other cool mystery Dorid, an ocean of crabs, plates of shrimp, a Huge Cusk eel (and lots of small ones), pages of flatfish, a HUGE tube anemone, some horn sharks, miles of snails, pipefish galore, sea jellies and the star of our show, a Lion Nudibranch (I got video of this little guy free swimming... too cool.) Some pics below. I was using Jaye's little Sony P&S... my Ike will be back this week. Of all nights to not have my nice cam... I was dying for my Nikon. Oh well.

Such an amazing night. After 86 minutes of BT (130's rule), I had to pee so badly... I was charging out of the surf. Of course, Vet's is locked up. I run up the stairs, I undress in nothing flat, hop in the truck and bolt to a nearby coffee shop as they're closing, run in, order a couple of hot chocolates and a piece of cake (without breaking stride) and run into the restroom.

Yeah - they love me there...

I'll throw it to Coldilocks for the wrap up.

---
Ken

 

[HBDiveGirl]

Date: 04/11/2006
Dive Location: Vets Park ('tween second stairs and pier)
...
'Dett can tell you much better than I can how much this dive rocked.
...
---
Ken

Ya kidding me??? Pictures AND words ("..plates of shrimp... pages of flatfish..")
You're a double threat, Kenetic!

Perhaps just a different take on what WAS a terrific dive on a gorgeous night.
Nine people on the invite list... and Ken and I show up. PEOPLE!!! COME ON!!! Heartland folk are still waiting for "diving season" to begin... Ours never ends!

Springtime hit with a soft thump as the sun eased behind clouds to set in privacy, leaving us in soft, warm twilight. Lovely. Glassy ocean, no wind, 15 cm (6 inch)ripples tickling the shore. Me, toasty in my drysuit with my new dry gloves (wooo-hooo! My very own BGDs!!! My locks may still be cold, but my hands are WARM, baby!)

Ken, (sporting all his own gear for a change,) thankfully had Jay's little P&S while the real cam's in transit. I had to borrow a back-up light, as I'd left mine in his car at the Wrinkles dive 3 days earlier, and he, not recognizing it, had photo'd it and was preparing to eBay it... What I get for leaving gear behind :14: . (Kenwood: I gotta Photon-Torpedo I'll swap ya' for that OxyCheq back-up on your counter at home... we can leave PayPal outta this one! PM me... )

The entire world of the Redondo canyon is starting its seasonal change. The bottom is less silty, there is MORE life, and increasing variety. Three kinds of nudis: Hermissenda crassicornis (EVERYwhere in the 40 to 60fsw zone), Red Tipped Dorids (Acanthodoris rhodoceras) and that amazing Lion's mane!! Juvenile fish abound, and the place is just SILLY with red octopus. The tiny ones look like that incredible blown-glass image that Terry posted last week: translucent and crystalline-delicate. A current was sweeping the canyon walls, and the tiniest octo's were motating by releasing the kelp/debris, being swept along for a few inches (several centimeters!) and then parachuting back down to re-grab kelp. Beautiful.

Dave's fin was a mind-blowing find! Not only 65 feet deeper than its last known location, but also about 100 yards up the beach and 100 yards out to sea. I carried it around for awhile, hoping the octopus would give up and move on... but no Way! We left it in possession of 8 strong arms and countless suction cups. Nice crib, Octavius!

I allowed many crabs to pinch test the dry-gloves, until I was emphatically reminded that these large-sized gloves were just "on-loan" until my size-Meds arrive later in the week. 1 hour and 26 minutes of dexterity and tactile sensitivity in 55F water... Gotta love it... and I do. Better diving through damn-smart technology.

The Blueness did provide an interesting backdrop for the star of the evening: The Melibe leonina, Lion's Mane nudibranch. The flat, paddle-shaped cerrata were threaded with obvious vascular structures, and they scintillated with star-like specks of reflective blue-green. The whole animal is Crazy-Translucent, including the infamous bulbous oral-hood. It's edged with tiny-tiny cilia, and opens and closes to sweep food into the mouth. (It reminded me of a Venus Fly Trap in its shape.) We watched as it used the hood to slurp tiny animals off the seaweed it was crawling on, and then as it reared up and swept the water column. Our dive-lights quickly attracted clouds of tiny white pelagics, (larval invertebrates and fish,) and the little Lion gulped and gulped. Then, when it reached the tip of the seaweed strand, it leaped off into open water and flip-flop-swam away, after starring in its own video captured by Kenjisawa, Bigfoot-style. Very cool!!!

We climbed easily out of the pool after an hour and a half of OMG-Look-At-This fun... Wow! Quality AND Quantity... I'll take it!

It was easier to enjoy the chocolate cake, as I could actually feel the fork in my still-warm hands. We ran the Swimming Lion video clip over and over in amazement and laughter.

Thank you, Ken, for an excellent dive and pictures. Absolutely excellent!!

hbDryGlove'Chica (woo-hoo!)

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Way to go HBLionHuntress! I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to show you Mr. Leo on every dive we've made together there. You'll have to show them to me next time.

 

[HBDiveGirl]

Way to go HBLionHuntress! I've been trying, unsuccessfully, to show you Mr. Leo on every dive we've made together there. You'll have to show them to me next time.

I know, Phil...How many times have we talked about these unique little inverts?? Dozens, at least. I know you've been looking everytime, too.

Ken's sharp eyes and 21W flamethrower found this one. Now that I know what to look for, maybe we'll find more... Once is NOT enough! The dark olive green translucence was a surprising color to me. Now I know. It's still thrilling to realize I've finally seen one.

Claudette

P.S. This is about where Terry should chime in and tell me how very frequently he sees them in LJC, and ask why the heck I'm not down there diving with them. Good Question!!! Right after Rec TriOx is done in May and I have more weekend time to myself... I'm there Save a few M. leoninas for me, please.

 

[divinman]

Any time Claudette. Back out tomorrow looking for them.

Terry

 

[HBDiveGirl]

Any time Claudette. Back out tomorrow looking for them.

Terry

Happy Hunting, Terry!

Ken and I are going looking again in the Redondo Canyon tomorrow night. Talk about seeking a needle in a haystack... Good luck

Claudette

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Date: April 13, 2006
Dive Location: Marineland
Buddy(ies): HBDiveChicaBabeDetteSpotLionHuntressColdilocksGirl
Time: 3:33
Bottom Time: 1:09
Max Depth: 62'
Vis: 0-10'
Wave height: 2+
Temp at depth: 48FFFFFFFFFFFFriggin' degrees!!!!!
Comments: Claudette joined me for a little afternoon delight at Marineland. The water looked a little dirty, but entry at the point was possible, so in we went. Halfway through the dive I decided to check my computer because it felt a little chilly. 48 degrees chilly to be exact. It was so cold, my expert navigational skills went on vacation to warmer waters. We found a broken bow roller from a boat...twice! We also found a couple of egg-laying Cuthona divae nudis, Hopkin's Rose, two Tritonia festivas, Cadlina limbaughorums and a large Dendronotus iris. We just had to watch it swim. We did manage to put it back next to a couple of tube anemones, so it will have dinner soon.
We made it back to the cove, where we were delighted to find warm Sunlight at the surface. It was a bit on the cold side, but the best way to spend an afternoon.