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Palos Verdes conditions for Week Two, 2017





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Posted by Max Bottomtime on January 08, 2017 at 20:22:37:

Last year we had great conditions for the first few days of the year followed by one of the worst years in a long time. Swell models are calling for increased surf over the next few days so Merry and I squeezed in two more dives while we could.

The ocean surface was glassy again at Kevin's Reef and Golf Ball Reef. Visibility was still marginal but with the cooler water, life on the reefs is beginning to return. At Golf Ball Reef the kelp is getting thick and the upper fronds are hosting life not seen for more than a year.

Highlights from Kevin's Reef;
 photo Kevins Reef 1_zpsfpvjkiwd.jpg

 photo Kevins Reef 2_zpskzmq3jmi.jpg
Nudibranchs seem to enjoy the small concrete gnomes who guard the reef

 photo Kevins Reef 3_zpsqxpkql2q.jpg

 photo Kevins Reef 5_zpssuhlvcip.jpg

 photo Kevins Reef 8_zpsvex6bvm6.jpg

 photo Kevins Reef 10_zpstn1eudti.jpg

Another good sign is the amount of mating and egg laying going on.
 photo Kevins Reef 6_zpskn9knpgy.jpg

 photo Kevins Reef 12_zpstfyown87.jpg

 photo Kevins Reef 13_zpskt4jn8lv.jpg

 photo Kevins Reef 7_zpselns4g2q.jpg

We planned to avoid diving Golf Ball Reef for a few months but with kelp at the surface we couldn't wait. It is not the robust reef it was two years ago but we've found more animals in the past week than we saw all of 2016.
 photo GBR 2_zpsodizokpn.jpg

 photo GBR 4_zpsvylqim6c.jpg

 photo GBR 5_zpsighhie7q.jpg
I found two sets of egg ribbons from Thordisa rubescens on a rock in an area we had not found the large nudis before.

 photo GBR 8_zpsxdo4vtu5.jpg

 photo GBR 3_zpsmqgqvzix.jpg

 photo GBR 1_zpsw90ffbcx.jpg

 photo GBR 9_zpsaurzqrz9.jpg

 photo GBR 11_zpsroyufsoq.jpg
Corambe pacifica

I spotted a simnia snail, Delonovolva aequalis fighting the surge to stay attached to a one inch red gorgonian.
 photo GBR 6_zps5lzgk1km.jpg

 photo GBR 7_zpsa14hewru.jpg



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