Cove 2, Friday June 1st, Report & Pics

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 10:30 pm

Sounder and I did two dives today at Cove 2. We missed Pogiguy, and I had to bail before the afternoon dive because of a leaky valve and a "wet" burbling reg. Both equipment issues are fixed, but missed a 3rd dive.

The pictures are here

We had another of our low tides today. Viz was 5' at best because of the tide. If you came after 2 you probably had 5' more viz than we did. Notice the muck in the shallows...

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Critters were out in force, though you had to get close to see them. The decorated warbonnetts and friends were out, and there were a couple of them in the end of the piling where you often find them. Here is another "critterwatcher" who seemed to be watching this Leopard Dorid.
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The Decorated Warbonnet is hard to get a shot of, but I managed a couple, including one that shows his buddy hiding out up high as well.
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Most of the larger Rockfish had distended fat bellies... no doubt they've been eating well.
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The Nudi's were out in force, including several large, fat Clown Nudibranchs, Alabasters, a Shaggy Mouse, Opalescent, Tritona festiva, and an absolutely gorgeous Janolus fuscus that looked like a dahlia ball.

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Some of you have mentioned the egg yolk jellies being "eaten" or at least tangled in the Plumose. We found several, including one whose bell was twice the size of my head!
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This Gunnel was out and about until I started taking his picture! His coloring has that same "salmony" coloring that I see on the Decorated Warbonnetts here.
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Great dive, lots of fun taking pics, although I must admit I'm getting carried away. I dumped a TON of pics, but still had more than 130 from the two dives that I wanted... that's going to have to stop! I suppose as I get more pics that I like I will get LOTS pickier about what I keep, as I have observed with others on this board.

Great day... thanks Doug,

-Tom Nic

Zen Diver · Post by **Zen Diver** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 8:17 am

Absolutely beautiful shots Tom, very impressive.

-Valerie

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 8:21 am

Yeah, eventually you'll decide you have enjoy leopard nudi pics to last a lifetime... until then, fire away!

$\:D/$

It was a great day and I enjoyed simply being under water. I think I've experienced the "mental click" some people talk about when movements and actions become instinctual and second-nature instead of purposeful and intentional.

I'd lost my dive log

and am in the process of collecting data from various sources to try to salvage some sort of accurate representation of my diving history - so far in the past 12 months, I've become part of the club that Grateful Diver said I would... as he described it, the "what do you mean you only did 150 dives last year, you wimp" club. If my theory is correct (which I'll know is/isn't correct soon), I believe I'm nearing dive 200 very soon... or just might have had it yesterday.

Losing your log is the pits. ](*,)

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 9:03 am

Zen Diver 2 wrote:Absolutely beautiful shots Tom, very impressive.
-Valerie

Thanks Val!

Sounder wrote:Yeah, eventually you'll decide you have enjoy leopard nudi pics to last a lifetime... until then, fire away! $\:D/$
](*,)

Gonna run outa hard drive space sooner or later!

Sounder wrote:It was a great day and I enjoyed simply being under water. I think I've experienced the "mental click" some people talk about when movements and actions become instinctual and second-nature instead of purposeful and intentional. ](*,)

I, on the other hand, was fumbling, stumbling, clearing my leaking mask, stirring up the bottom, etc. etc. ](*,) It felt like it was a "two steps back" day, though I certainly enjoyed the dives. Perhaps I should let Doug take pictures and I can critter spot on some upcoming dives. Doug patiently hovers 5' off the bottom, lighting up the world with his 35 watt HID, (It's amazing in the muck, I can only imagine what it will be like on good viz days!) waiting for me to finish snapping a shot or 3 then lighting up the next critter for me to move over to. I hardly even have to look! (He's even learning to not fry the poor little critters retinas with his light!) $\:D/$

That reminds me diving with Bassman and him swimming around me in circles while I'm taking pics, or of my dives with Sparky at the Hood last weekend where I am concentrating on a photo subject and look up to find Sparky hovering vertical in the water column with his eyes closed "snoring" into his regulator waiting for me.

Ah, the joys of diving with a photographer.

Seriously guys, just kick my butt if I'm taking too long...

Sasquatch · Post by **Sasquatch** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:26 am

Nice shots, Tom! Thanks for sharing.

I like your new avatar Valerie! Can I borrow your octopus for a photo op like that?

Dave

GillyWeed · Post by **GillyWeed** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 8:25 am

Great shots Tom (as always).. I was actually at cove 2 on Saturday and the vis wasnt' too bad (for cove 2).. Low tide makes it hard to get in and fin'd up for me.. I saw some of the plumose trying to 'eat' and egg yoke too.. I helped the egg yoke jelly escape.. Is that bad?

spatman · Post by **spatman** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 10:21 am

wow! those are fantastic pictures. i'm really looking forward to diving up there soon...

keep up the good work!

coachrenz · Post by **coachrenz** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 12:04 pm

I don't think that brown is full, at least not of food. She looks "ripe" to me. "Ripe" is the official word for when a fish is ready to lay her eggs.

We saw tons of ripe things at Keystone this weekend. Must be that time of the year, everything seems to be in an amorous mood.

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 12:14 pm

coachrenz wrote:I don't think that brown is full, at least not of food. She looks "ripe" to me. "Ripe" is the official word for when a fish is ready to lay her eggs.

We saw tons of ripe things at Keystone this weekend. Must be that time of the year, everything seems to be in an amorous mood.

Very cool! I wouldn't have known the difference... thanks.

I need to look up how Rockfish do this whole egg and reproduction thing... and I've got the perfect book to do it in, Milton Love's very thick Rockfish book!

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 12:36 pm

Tom Nic wrote:
coachrenz wrote:I don't think that brown is full, at least not of food. She looks "ripe" to me. "Ripe" is the official word for when a fish is ready to lay her eggs.

We saw tons of ripe things at Keystone this weekend. Must be that time of the year, everything seems to be in an amorous mood.
Very cool! I wouldn't have known the difference... thanks. I need to look up how Rockfish do this whole egg and reproduction thing... and I've got the perfect book to do it in, Milton Love's very thick Rockfish book!

Tom.....Tom.....Tom.....

Definitely pregnant.....but not with eggs. Rockfish are live-bearers.

- John

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 1:08 pm

John Rawlings wrote:
Tom Nic wrote:
coachrenz wrote:I don't think that brown is full, at least not of food. She looks "ripe" to me. "Ripe" is the official word for when a fish is ready to lay her eggs.

We saw tons of ripe things at Keystone this weekend. Must be that time of the year, everything seems to be in an amorous mood.
Very cool! I wouldn't have known the difference... thanks. I need to look up how Rockfish do this whole egg and reproduction thing... and I've got the perfect book to do it in, Milton Love's very thick Rockfish book!
Tom.....Tom.....Tom.....

Definitely pregnant.....but not with eggs. Rockfish are live-bearers.

- John

SEE, I TOLD you I needed to do some reading and look up!

:rr: