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Short report/pictures from this w/e's dives at Buchannan's/The Barge (So Cal) +





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Posted by jlyle on July 24, 2005 at 17:18:56:

Today, Seniorweeb, SeniorAweeb, and I went back to Buchannan's Reef. Visibility on the suface was poor; the anchor line disappeared from view less than five feet down. A very strong current was running to the West, so Scott put out a granny line. I did the back-roll entry thingy and quickly grabbed the granny line to avoid being swept away. Scott handed down my camera and I pulled myself up to the bow before descending down the anchor line to the rocky reef, some sixty feet below.

Bummer! The strong current was stirring up sediment on the reef and visibility was not good (I'm getting tired of these conditions!). At least the water temps were up a little from last week, into the mid fifties. I poked around and took some macro shots, but it wasn't an "excellent" dive.

Back on board, we agreed to pull anchor and motor back around to Redondo Beach to the wreck of the "barge." Here, too, surface-water was dirty, but on the flat sandy bottom, visibility opened up nicely to 20+ feet; the barge loomed darkly on the periphery. I spotted a nice crab walking around and stopped to take some pictures. I spent the majority of the short bottom time on the side of the wreck, looking for nudibranchs. I was rewarded with a new find, a tiny Diaphorodoris lirulatocauda. On top of the wreck was a very nice Hermissenda and a Simnia snail on a red gorgonian. Now that's more like it! Water was fifty degrees, but I'll trade cold for good vis. any day. The safety stop was actually warm with my computer reading 61 degrees!

Here are a few of the pictures from the dives for you to enjoy:


Flabellina trilineata nudibranch feeding.


When visibility is low, you can always photograph the anemones. Club-tipped Anemone (Corynactus californica)


Blue-ring Top Snail (Calliostoma annulatum) and Corynactis


I love nudibranchs!. Peltodoris nobilis


Brown rock crab (Cancer antennarius)?


Another commensal scaleworm on a nudibranch (Doriopsilla albopunctata)


Tube-dwelling anemone (Pachycerainthus fimbiatus). Not very colorful, but I like the lighting in this picture.


Simnia (Delonovola aequalis) This is So Cal's equivalent to Cozumels's Flamingo Tongue!




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