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MaxBottomtime

Contributor
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
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Location
Torrance, CA
# of dives
2500 - 4999
We've had horrible visibility for weeks off Palos Verdes. The ocean has been relatively calm but plankton has clouded the water. Merry and I were going diving today no matter what. Expecting another low visibility dive, we each had our 105mm lenses on our cameras.

We left King Harbor at 7:30. Winds were light but coming from the direction we needed to go. Swells were two to three feet but manageable. We arrived at Halfway Reef just as the swells and wind began picking up a bit. Merry said she couldn't see down the chain much as I dropped anchor. I clipped my camera off and set it into the water where it instantly floated toward the stern. Great! We have current to deal with as well. Merry got in first as I stood by in case I needed to tow her back to the boat. She made it to the bow unassisted.

We dropped into dirty 53° water but much to our surprise, it cleared up around fifteen feet and the water was filled with juvenile pyrosomes. We stopped to snap a few photos before heading down to the reef. When we got there we were greeted by twenty-five feet of visibility. It was the best dive we've had all year. Nudibranchs, sponges, and tunicates dotted the reef, as well as dozens of pyrosomes that ventured too deep. Merry even found a lone squid egg capsule in the sand.

While making our safety stop we could feel the boat yanking on the anchor chain. We knew it was getting rough on the surface. By the time we got back onboard, the swells were over four feet. I had hoped to make a second dive but thought better of it.

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After cleaning the boat and putting everything away, I decided to make a dock dive. Merry found some Bubble snails yesterday and I hoped to get a few photos. Visibility was three feet in some spots, less in others. I was down for an hour and a half but never found any of the bubbly guys. I did find a few flatworms while exploring the silty bottom.

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I was on the PC-815 yesterday in San Diego (more details in a blog post tomorrow) and the visibility was unbelievable -- especially given the location of the wreck. Below is a preview. The surface conditions weren't great later in the afternoon but the vis was amazing.

For some reason, I could only upload a low res version of the photo but you will get the idea.

pc815.jpg
 
Similar at Vets. Surface viz isn't good but gets really good down deep. People are also seeing pyrosomes. I'll be diving there tomorrow morning.

Update:
Saw probably hundreds of pyrosomes floating the water column. Excellent viz below 35 ft. Thermocline is wicked and very distinct. Above 35 ft. about 62... below 35 ft. about 53. Like hitting a sauna on the ascent. Monument is packed with crab.
 
IMG_0194.JPG IMG_0186.JPG IMG_0190.JPG IMG_0173.JPG IMG_0176.JPG I dove Malaga cove yesterday and although the near shore reefs were murky green, the outer reefs had about 20-25ft. viz. Saw lots of juvenile pyrosomes as you mentioned above as well as horn sharks and an angel shark.
 
Wonderful photos--thank you and kudos to you and Merry for these treats! Glad the viz cleared so you could share them.

I have to sort out my drysuit for the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.
 
Awesome shots as always!

We dived on the Olympic wreck on Sunday. I didn't have high expectations, and half our dive was untangling our anchor tangled up in the reef and another anchor wrapped all over the place, but conditions were exceptional. Easily 30-40 ft at depth, no current, lots of life. Not much debris, so we after freeing the anchor we explored a bit before we ran out of bottom time. Conditions under water were much better than on the surface, as everyone on the boat was feeling queasy, it was too rough to launch our new ROV, so we called it quits after the one dive
 
Meanwhile in Germany. Can't see my own body while diving.
Went head first into the silt yesterday, because I didn't see it coming.

I would attach a photo, but its just black..

Great photos of the nudis!
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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