I'm not referring to COVID-19, but Mother Nature's lockdown. While impatiently waiting for the ocean and winds to calm down, Merry and I have been making dock dives in our marina. Visibility has been worse than usual. With a thick, silty bottom, all it takes is looking at the silt wrong and a cloud is created. Yesterday, Merry made a dive in two feet of visibility but came up smiling.

I knew she must have found something interesting, but it was better than that. She found a Stiliger fuscovittatus, a nudibranch that neither of had ever seen nor even heard of. I wanted to jump in the water with her camera and try for a shot or two but she said the visibility was not good enough. After much discussion, it was decided that if we went home and put my camera together I would stand a better chance with the incoming tide. Did I mention the silty bottom? The water movement of the tide actually made things worse. I found the red algae the nudibranch was on but couldn't find the nudi.

We returned to the marina this morning to find better visibility. It was close to three feet. Not only was the nudibranch not where Merry left it but the red algae was mostly gone. Things disappear fast under our boat. I've dropped many tools that were never to be seen again. I made the best of a bad situation but was still jealous of Merry.