With visibility lacking around Palos Verdes lately, Merry Passage and I headed back up into Santa Monica Bay this morning. We dived the five-mile outfall pipe off El Segundo, commonly called the Big Pipe or a more colorful name. Our hopes were raised as we were surrounded by blue water at the surface. The visibility dropped as fast as we did. At the edge of the rocks buttressing the pipe, visibility was about ten feet. We never moved more than thirty feet from our anchor. We didn't need to.

One of my favorite nudibranchs, Limacia mcdonaldi makes a great photo subject. They are tiny with bright orange highlights on a white body. I typically find them on about one out of every one hundred dives. I sometimes find two or three on a dive, but more often than not, only a single nudi. There were over a hundred in the small patch of rocks we covered today. I couldn't believe my eyes. There were five on one fist-size rock alone. There were also more juvenile Calick rockfish than I had seen in one area. I wish my photos were better. Merry says we have to go back in a couple of days.

Limacia mcdonaldi

Acanthodoris lutea

Sebastes dalli, Calico Rockfish juvenile

Paracyathus stearnsi, Brown Cup Coral