Story and Photos © Elaine Jobin, may not be reproduced in part or whole without advanced written permission. The days are growing shorter and the air and water temperatures are dropping. On this Saturday after Thanksgiving, Ross O. Scott, Penny, Claudette, and myself went out to burn off some seasonally related calories and to escape the world for a day.We got an early morning start and made our first stop the the wreck of the FS Loop.

Visibility was 10 feet or so. With reels tied, we made our circles around the site. For whatever reason, the FS Loop tends to support a large population of nudibranchs. We also found a blenny in one of the small holes. After finding one we noticed that there was actually a large blenny colony present here as well..

The find that created the most excitement was made by Claudette. A flashlight shining through a swell shark egg revealed a baby swell shark swimming inside. Ross captured the sight with his digital camera. In my photo, scanned from slide film, the strobe overpowered the backlighting necessary to see the egg contents.

Next, we went up the coast to Hawthorn's reef.

Visibility at Hawthorn's was a bit better. We saw lingcod and swell sharks. Claudette and Penny spotted a Giant Black Sea Bass. I made a long swim about the reef still trying to figure out its landmarks and layout. As hard as I try, it is confusing, but maybe one day I'll figure it out.

We stopped at a local wreck for our last dive. Visibility here was only about 5 feet and the afternoon sun was fading. There was enough silt covered structure remaining to keep us entertained through the less than inviting conditions.

Back on the boat, the sun was setting and we ended our day on the ocean in winters early darkness.

Our grand finale topside shore dive was at the cheep and flaming hot taco spot in San Pedro - Spiros.

Until next time.......