Kicking at Lobos

Photo by Robert Lee

On Saturday, I dove at Lobos with Cynthia and Clinton. Clinton wanted to shoot some non-slug macro subjects (wanted to get shots of some very common stuff, which he didn’t have good ID-type pics of). Based on the very ugly water in the cove and the very blue-looking water outside, it looked like further out would be best. So we headed to Granite Point, my current favorite site. When we got into the water, it was a very low tide, but I was hopeful that it would come up before we had to get out. We swam out pretty far on the surface, until I got sick of swimming and suggested we descend there. The kelp is really coming in; but I managed to get myself hopelessly entangled only once, and Clinton freed me from the kelp monster’s grip.

Photo by Clinton Bauder

When we dropped, we were at the end of Middle Reef. The water was really blue, but there was a lot of particulate in the water, so the viz wasn’t exceptional. We headed out to Granite Point Wall, and then swam north a couple of minutes from where we hit it. Then Clinton found something he wanted to take pictures of, so we hung out in that area for a while. I saw mostly the usual stuff for out there. It seemed like there were a lot of sea cucumbers (of various types) around. After we hung out there for a while, I was getting cold, so I suggested we move a little. We headed around the corner of the wall and across the rubble to the next patch of reef. Then we found another spot to hang around. I found two Limacias on that patch, one really tiny, but otherwise nothing too exciting. Eventually we turned the dive and headed back along the path we came. When we got to Middle Reef, I took us along the west side, as usual. I paused by the warbonnet and saw his head poking out of his hole. I also stopped by the wolf eels' den, but they weren't there. Instead I found a rockfish staring back out at me. I hope they haven't permanently relocated :( Not far from there, the viz got pretty crappy, so we headed to the sand channel and ascended after Cynthia shot a bag.

Photo by Robert Lee

As we swam in, Clinton was poking around looking in the kelp, and found some cute little fishies. First he found a manacled sculpin, which immediately decided it wanted to be Clinton's pet and live on his glove. Not very convenient for getting a picture :P Eventually he gave up, and then he found a little kelp clingfish sucking on a piece of kelp. He wouldn't hold still for a picture, so I grabbed a piece of kelp and kept trying to corral him on the kelp, but it just wasn't really working. He was a frisky fish too -- at one point he attached himself to a strobe, and another time to Beto's bag (which was near us on the surface). Eventually we gave up, and swam the rest of the way in. When we got back to the ramp, I was relieved to see that the tide had indeed come in, and it was a pleasant depth on the ramp for exiting. 70 feet, 79 minutes, 46 degrees

Photo by Clinton Bauder

Clinton and I were planning a second dive, and Rob ended up tagging along (after first claiming he was too cold, who ever thought he'd be the one saying that!?!). We decided to go to the Hole in the Wall-ish area. We swam out a while, and when we dropped, we were about 100 ft from Hole in the Wall. Once again the water was super blue, and it seemed to have cleared up a little. We swam around behind the Hole in the Wall and hung out there for the whole dive. I didn't see anything too exciting. Rob kept trying to get me to take pictures, so I spent most of the dive being frustrated as I tried to focus on big nudibranchs in the surge :P I eventually gave up and gave the beast back to him. I spent some time on the top of the reef, looking in a crack that runs along it. Then I spent sometime untangling myself from the kelp up there, before returning to the side with the boys. Clinton and Rob each took a turn harassing an uncooperative cabezon (who fled Clinton, only to end up right next to Rob). There were also a bunch of kelp stalks with egg bundles on them. They were really neat, you could see the little fish eyeballs in them. After they finished taking pictures of those, I called the dive on cold (which Rob tells me is an unacceptable reason to call a dive... pffftt). We swam back in to the worm patch and ascended there. 72 feet, 68 minutes, 46 degrees