Santana winds have been blowing for the past few days. Normally that is great news for south facing beaches in Southern California. We headed for the south side of Palos Verdes this morning but the wind was blowing hard off Marineland. We turned around and found slightly calmer conditions at Honeymoon Cove.

I decided to finally check out the area we call Merry's Reef. It's similar to the rocky reef off Resort Point but there were more nudibranchs and anemones here. Merry found two White Spotted Rose anemones, Urticina lofotensis. I have never seen them near the mainland. They are common in the Channel Islands and Farnsworth Bank.

By the end of the dive the surface was calm and visibility had greatly improved. The water was 63°, about ten degrees warmer than we're used to here. Tomorrow is predicted to be nicer, so we'll try again.

Octocoral, Alcyonium rudyi

Christmas Tree worm

California scorpionfish, Scorpaena guttata

Yellowfin fringehead, Neoclinus stephensae

Polycera tricolor

Cuthona divae

San Diego dorids on a sponge

Flabellina trilineata trying to outrun a Mexichromis porterae

Cadlina limbaughorum

Cadlina luteomarginata

Triopha catalinae