The Pasley "HURRY HOME" February '07 Dive Reports

[HBDiveGirl]

OMG, Ken!! The Sealions!!!

I know you saw a lot, but you couldn't see what was going on behind you and to each side of you.

The puppies were going nutz over your strobes!!!
You have GOT to have toof' marks on the strobe housings, because sealions were nipping and rubbing and nibbling at them most of the dive.

When you first felt the jostling, you looked irritated. (We laughed so hard later because it turns out you thought it was ME messing with you :11: )

You kept trying to ignore it until you finally realized that you were gettin' no respect ... but NOT from me.... From the little hoodlums. They wanted you to play and they wanted you to share your cool toys...NOW!!!

One tried to nibble off a diffuser, others tried to gnaw the strobes, and one cutie kept rubbing her whiskers on it like a happy house cat.

It was just too funny for words. Everything else was fair game, too, from your fins to your drysuit pocket flaps to your SPG.

And when we began our return to the boat, they went into hyperdrive, cutting us off and screeching in front of us until we turned back and played with them some more. I learned a lot from UpsideDown Boy! It's easier to spin if I just stay upside down most of the time. The dear silly creatures seemed delighted that I could be trained and finally learned how to behave properly underwater. I mean, what kind of moron would be quietly horizontal underwater???!!?! How BORING is that!!!!
(I had to stop a few times, because my stomach wanted out of the spin cycle.)

Thanks for the great day of diving, Ken, and the fun report and the Wonderful photographs. More Safaris!!! More Safaris!!!!

hb'ChicaRat

 

[SparticleBrane]

Great shots, Ken.
How hard would it be to catch that one sealion and get the stuff from around his neck?

 

[radinator]

How hard would it be to catch that one sealion and get the stuff from around his neck?

After the first grab I think it would be very difficult to both hold the sea lion and cut the line with your remaining arm.

 

[orangelion03]

Gob-smacking outstanding Ken!

Dette...think we can get the Reef Check guys to do a survey near the doggies next Saturday?

Let's go diving now...everybody's learning how...come on safari with me...

 

[divekim]

Date: 2-25-07
Dive Location:Crescent Bay
Buddy(ies):Robert
Time: 9:44AM
Bottom Time:48min.
Max Depth:28 fsw
Vis:20 ft
Wave height:1-2 ft
Temp at depth:57
Surface Temp:?
Tide information:low
Gas mix:air
Comments:We headed out on the left side of Crescent Bay since it was low tide we didn't get too deep. We headed towards Shaws we were going to look for our cave but the tide was too low to get back there & the surge kicked up towards the end of the dive. We saw some Lobsters but they were too far in a crevice to get. We also saw a really but fish in another crevice but couldn't get a good look at it cause a Garibaldi was in the way & wouldn't move. I think it was either a Black rock or a Bocaccio, it was dark blue with two stripes from top to bottom near the tail & it was around 18 to 22 in.

John

So you saw a lot of critters on Sunday but they were all hiding except the Garibaldi who wanted to know what you were looking at because after all there were no critters out in the open.

Good to see you got a dive in before the Reef Check. How did the leg hold up for ya?

Kim

 

[JMdiver]

Thanks for asking & it held up pretty good. But it really wasn't tested it was an easy in easy out, the kind I like.

John

 

[Mo2vation]

Your replies lift me up. I only post my stuff here - its just SoCal to SoCal, and the things your guys, my neighbors and dive buddies say and write to me about the shots I post here for us mean the world to me. Thanks again.

:10:

Hey Spart: I see that Sea Lion with the monofiliment necklace every time we dive this spot. Not sure what can really be done - I mean chasing him down would be impossible, and the insuing Nantucket Sleigh Ride should you get your hands on the line would be pretty scary.


Here are a couple of others from that same trip.
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Fatty Fed Ex

Little Sandy Butt...

SeaLion Angel! No Photoshop colors... just white balance. This one surprised me, and I just love it.

Another shot of the herd

The "Species Number Six Mystery Nudi" that Dette is convinced isn't a Yellow Edged Cadlina

Screeeeeeeeeech!!!!!!!

Doggie Play. Soft on the focus, but I like the playing. I need to shoot more of these guys engaging with each other - its fun when they play with us, but the real show goes on when they play with each other. I also want to get more shots of them moving quickly through the water, as it ripples and crumples their skin (like doggie on the right) and its kind of surreal to see. Its just tough to smoothly follow a speeding fur bullet through the water, fighting the resistance of two strobes sticking out 3' on a side!

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---
Ken

 

[HBDiveGirl]

SeaLion Angel! No Photoshop colors... just white balance. This one surprised me, and I just love it.

What a photograph! Memorable combo of silhouette and sunlit fur. Beautiful.

The "Species Number Six Mystery Nudi" that Dette is convinced isn't a Yellow Edged Cadlina

haha! That's 'cause a Cadlina luteomarginata is called a Yellow-edged Cadlina, with a "...translucent white dorsum edged by a yellow line...." "Named for the yellow rim around the margin." (Behrens and Hermosillo, E. Pacific Nudibranchs. p.79. 2005) There's a theme here...lemmie think about it.... uh.. the Yellow Line!! And this slugly little he/she/it was emphatically lacking in yellowness.

White to my eye; White to your camera and flash; In fact....White!

Could there be a Cadlina albomarginata? Morphologically, it's a perfect match for C. luteomarginata, same rhinophores, tubercles, posterior extension of the foot from beneath the dorsum. Just no yellow line.

Wonderful storied images, Ken. Thank you. You gather beauty and spirit and bring it back to share.

Claudette

 

[Mo2vation]

haha! That's 'cause a Cadlina luteomarginata is called a yellow-edged Cadlina, with a "...translucent white dorsum edged by a yellow line...." "Named for the yellow rim around the margin." (Behrens and Hermosillo, E. Pacific Nudibranchs. p.79. 2005)

There's a theme here...lemmie think about it.... uh.. the Yellow Line!! And this slugly little he/she/it was emphatically lacking in yellowness.

White to my eye; White to your camera and flash; In fact....White!

Whatever HBWiseCrackingGurl - in the thousands of Nudis we've seen and photographed, are you telling me we've never seen one (or two, or a zillion) that were just a little left of center, or reflected the light in such a way as to raise an eyebrow?

Unless I receive more convincing evidence that this isn't the Nudi it appears to be (color from my poor photo isn't enough, BTW) I'm rolling with only FIVE species on Dive one last Sat.

Quoting the book to me. Pluh-eeeese. You're too much.

Smartass...

:10:

---
Ken


Confirmed Yellow Edged Cadlina

Mystery Nudi (this is also a YEC... despite your blubbering)

 

[LLKZ16]

Date: 3/2/07
Dive Location: OML 120 Reef
Buddy(ies): Jimmy – The Bagman
Time: 9:37 pm.
Bottom Time: 55 min
Max Depth: 48 fsw
Vis: 10 feet Max
Wave height: 1 feet
Temp at depth: 51F Brrrrr…
Surface Temp: 56F

I met up with I met up with Jimmy this morning at OML to find the whole coast line has been fenced off. I can’t believe they actually have a barrier from the cove to the point. To enter the point, you have to make your way down the slope and to the right skirting the fence till you get close enough to the point where you will have to either cut the orange plastic fence or, go over it. To enter the cove, one of the guys cut an area out of the fence so we can have access to walk down the paved road to Cobble Beach.

Today was beautiful. The sun was shining and the water looked glassy and calm. We decided to try the 120 reef and then make our way into the HUGE kelp forest area. It’s amazing to see how the kelp is growing so well in the cove. It’s a much different picture as compared to last year.

Entry at Cobble beach was a piece of cake. We kicked out and dropped down past the rock point. The visibility was not as good as the top side conditions made it out to be. Max visibility was about 10 feet. We made our way out to the end of the reef and worked our way back to the kelp forest. Before we reached the kelp forest, we came across the biggest Halibut I have ever seen. As we go to about 20 – 25 feet we were about 50 minutes into the dive and we both had about 1400psi left (We both started with fills at 3,000psi). I figured that we would just hang out in the kelp and have a relaxing tour. This was not to be. As soon as we entered the kelp, we were immediately molested by a cute Harbor Seal. Being bombarded by a seal is both fun and disturbing. After all, this is a wild animal. For some reason, this guy had NO FEAR of us. He kept trying to hug our legs or fins. He especially liked the white tips on Jimmy’s black Atomic fins. At one point, he actually went in Jimmy’s lap when he turned around to see what was behind him. We surfaced in the kelp to talk about the seal but the seal kept coming after us. We began to work our way back across the rock point to Cobble Beach and he finally left us alone about 50 yards from the beach. I think he was just looking for a little love. Over all, this was an amazing experience.

Most of my pictures today turned out super crappy for some reason. Below are some highlights from the dive:

Fence Across OML

Brittle Star

Orange Sponge

Tube Anemone

Clu Tipped Anemone

Short Spined Star

HUGE Halibut

Halibut Face

Kelp (With Backscatter)

Harbor Seal In Kelp Forest (Lots of Backscatter)

When Harbor Seals Attack......lol

Later Dude