Unbelievable conditions off Palos Verdes today

[MaxBottomtime]

Merry and I just returned from a lengthy trip to Arizona. Reports from the past few days have been less than enthusiastic as far as visibility in the Santa Monica Bay goes. We needed a refresher course after a month out of the water so we decided to make a quick run to Golf Ball Reef. Blue water extended down to the sand with better than thirty feet visibility. Water was unseasonably warm at 61°.

A sea lion buzzed us for a few minutes while Merry closely studied five octopus. I'm out of practice with my camera so my photos were not what I had hoped for. Still, it was good to see that our dive gear still worked.

Baptodoris mimetica

Berthella californica

Pseudopusula californiana

Rathbunella hypoplecta, Bluebanded Ronquil

Phimochirus californiensis, California Hermit Crab

Botryocladia pseudodichotoma, sea grapes

Unidentified nudibranch

 

[dead dog]

All of your photos are unbelievable, just fantastic! Thank you.

 

[SuperSeaMonkey]

What kind of camera, housing and strobes are you using? Awesome photos and finds.

 

[aquacat8]

Oh those are beautiful! Sometimes I miss California diving!

 

[undrwater]

That's horrible, Phil, you should be ashamed of yourself! Kidding of course.

Do you feel camera skills atrophy so quickly?

I certainly can't tell the difference.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

What kind of camera, housing and strobes are you using? Awesome photos and finds.

Nikon D3X in a Subal housing with Ikelite DS160 strobes.

That's horrible, Phil, you should be ashamed of yourself! Kidding of course.

Do you feel camera skills atrophy so quickly?

I certainly can't tell the difference.

I'm a little concerned. I managed to get in two dives before returning to Phoenix. I hope to be home next week. We have a trip to God's Pocket next month so I have to make sure my dive gear and camera still work.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Is the water in Santa Monica not as bad as they say it is? It's gotten to the point where I don't even want to go in the water in many places, based upon the water reports. Buy that does not seem to be stopping you!

Amazing photos, as always. Thanks for sharing them with us.

No octopus photos? That's one critter that I always had trouble getting a technically good picture of. I need to do some videos of them changing colors so people will understand when I tell them how amazing they are and why I won't eat them.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

There are some great spots in the bay, but you have to hit it right. Vis can be bad or great, but usually bad.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Wow, they are all good but that third one is just plain incredible! Even if it was only the little blue-banded gobi it would have been good! I could never get one to sit still long enough to get a good shot. The colors and detail on the octopi are the best I've ever seen.

 

[drbill]

The water temps out here on Catalina have been unseasonably warm as well, but 61° F is downright toasty for the mainland!