The only good thing to come from this terrible year of dive conditions is the savings from the high cost of marine fuel. During better conditions we were filling our gas tanks every other month. Today was our first visit to the fuel dock this year. We couldn't have picked a better morning for it.

The ocean was the flattest we've seen it along the south side of Palos Verdes in a long time. We stopped along the way to dive at White Point Rock. It was dark and gloomy on the reef. A brown algae was choking nearly every invertebrate. Sponges and gorgonians were dead underneath the hairy invader.

There were a lot of fish still here but not nearly as many nudibranchs as we had found in previous dives.

Yellow zoanthids, Parazoanthus lucificum

Austraeolis stearnsi

Triopha catalinae

Aegires albopunctatus

After fueling up the ocean showed its usual face to us. We bounced our way back toward Redondo Beach, pausing for a dive at Golf Ball Reef.

Yellowfin fringehead, Neoclinus stephensae

Protula sp

Nudi nursery

Pseudoceros montereyensis

Cadlina limbaughorum

Cadlina flavomaculata

Acanthodoris hudsoni

Berthella californica

A tiny Caprella californica joined us for our safety stop.

• Re: Fuel Economy Chris 20:51:17 07/17/16 (0)