Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Tell us your tale of coming nose-to-nose with a 6 gill [--this big--], or about your vacation to turquoise warm waters. Share your adventures here!
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LCF
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Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by LCF »

Betty Bastai and I had been trying to put together a day to dive for . . . well, months, actually. We finally came up with a day that worked for both of us, and nobody had any gear issues or health issues or any of the other things that have kept us from actually diving together. And it was a GORGEOUS day at the Edmonds Underwater Park, clear and sunny and ridiculously cold. The latter even meant parking spaces at 10 am, which was nice. (The thermometer in my car said it was 26 degrees when I pulled in. Even sunshine isn't enough to pull sane Seattlites out of their houses at that temperature.)

I was sort of hoping that viz would be good, since we haven't had any recent rain OR wind, and I wasn't disappointed. We had at least 20 to 30 feet of mint-green water to look for critters in, and oh, my, the critters! It was a veritable festival of nudibranchs. Although we saw nothing particularly rare (although Betty is sure she saw a Nanaimo dorid in a pipe, which I've never seen at Edmonds) we found ALL of the common species. Those big pipes that Bruce and friends installed several years ago at the beginning of Jetty Way have become covered in sponges and hydroids, and are clearly great grazing ground for a variety of slugs, and of course, the silty bottom is home to alabaster nudis and Tritonias. Betty and I were in seventh heaven, snapping photos like paparazzi.

The truly peculiar thing about this trip to Edmonds is that, in an aggregate of 2 1/4 hours in the water, we saw not ONE cabezon. We did, however, encounter several ling cod guarding eggs. One, in particular, was the most aggressive ling I've ever met. He had a HUGE collection of eggs, and his "territory" was at least 50 feet in diameter. He made me nervous, swimming right up my stomach while I was trying to take a picture of a clown nudi on the pipe, and when I turned around, Betty was writhing like a swimming anemone, trying to bat him away from her. He was about 3 feet long, so a fairly impressive, toothy and thorough aggravated animal!

There was so much to see and take pictures of that we did 66 minutes in the water, and only got to the end of the last pipe segment!

Image

I'm discussing speciation on that one :)

Image

Aeolida papillosa

Image

Betty

The second dive, we decided to get in on the other side of the jetty and hit one of the other lines. I'm here to tell you that, if you do that, do the surface swim all the way out to the buoys, or maybe even a bit further. We finally picked up one of the east-west lines, but there was NO structure on it. Nonetheless, we followed the principle of my dear friend Ben, and looked at what WAS there . . . which was a whole bunch of alabaster nudis, tritonias, a pile of vertebrae from maybe a big ling cod, and at the end, two hermit crabs I had never seen before.

Image

My first thought was, "That's a tarantula!"

Despite our intention to keep the second dive short, we ended up doing another full hour in the 45 degree water. We were both VERY ready for a stop at the Starbucks at the top of the hill!

I don't dive Edmonds very often, and when I do, I often think I ought to go there more frequently. When the visibility is good, there is an awful lot to see there. :burntchef:
"Sometimes, when your world is going sideways, the second best thing to everything working out right, is knowing you are loved..." ljjames
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Scubie Doo
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by Scubie Doo »

Well done on that shaggy mouse!
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LCF
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by LCF »

Thank you! I'm very pleased with that one, because it came out like that on purpose :)
"Sometimes, when your world is going sideways, the second best thing to everything working out right, is knowing you are loved..." ljjames
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Dusty2
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by Dusty2 »

I like the Heath's that's a nicely composed well lighted shot. Good one!
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Jan K
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by Jan K »

Good job, Lynne. Getting better every dive :supz:
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Mateo1147
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by Mateo1147 »

I did see you two across the parking lot when you came out of the water after your first dive. Chris and I were just about to splash so in we went. If you wanted to see Cabies then the milky way trail is the place. Every third or fourth milk crate had a Cabie on eggs and they were pissed! I went toe to toe with one and almost lost! This was my best dive at EUP and also my longest to date..... 84 minutes. Thank you Argon!
BTW, very nice photo's Lynn.
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mpenders
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by mpenders »

Very nice!
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by deep diver »

I agree, the fuzzy mouse is a real nice shot!
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Scubie Doo
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by Scubie Doo »

LCF wrote:Thank you! I'm very pleased with that one, because it came out like that on purpose :)
The negative space in the upper right really makes it pop. The front at the rhinophores is in focus. Nice depth in this photo. Personally, I treat the rhinophores like fish eyes. If they are in focus, very pleasing to the eye. And last but not least, wonderful lighting with little to no backscatter. Finally, you did it on purpose! :-D
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LCF
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by LCF »

I had a very frustrating time with a golden dirona -- it had long, slender rhinopores, and I got them in focus, but the darned things are the exact same color as the animal's body, and I just could NOT get them to stand out. I tried all kinds of angles and lighting changes, and nothing worked. Nudi pictures just don't have the same impact if you can't see the "horns". :)
"Sometimes, when your world is going sideways, the second best thing to everything working out right, is knowing you are loved..." ljjames
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by Scubie Doo »

Yeah, those are very tough. I remember Penders getting a nice shot at Sund Rock last year. Perhaps a snoot maybe be able to bring out some depth?
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by sekhmet »

Wow Lynne love that shaggy mouse. Me thinks your crab is a Pagutus hirsutiusculus, hairy hermit crab, according to Greg's book. Conspicuous white band on the end of the propodus of the walking legs which you can see in your picture and older crabs are the olive brown color. I think anyway..... Looks beautiful! I need to get back to Edmonds, it's been a long time!
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by lundysd »

the shaggy shot is stellar :)
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LCF
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by LCF »

High praise from my master!

Sekhmet, that's what Greg said . . . I missed the white spots on the legs, when I was trying to figure out what he was.
"Sometimes, when your world is going sideways, the second best thing to everything working out right, is knowing you are loved..." ljjames
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by Tubesnout23 »

Mateo1147 wrote:I did see you two across the parking lot when you came out of the water after your first dive. Chris and I were just about to splash so in we went. If you wanted to see Cabies then the milky way trail is the place. Every third or fourth milk crate had a Cabie on eggs and they were pissed! I went toe to toe with one and almost lost! This was my best dive at EUP and also my longest to date..... 84 minutes. Thank you Argon!
BTW, very nice photo's Lynn.
I guess you must have a pee valve...Thanks for the tip! Next time I dive at Edmonds I know where to go to take pictures of a cabezon.
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Re: Wacky nudifest at Edmonds

Post by Tubesnout23 »

Thanks for the picture Lynne! Great Shaggy Mouse portrait! It's hard to make an interesting picture out of such an inconspicuous creature that sometimes it's hard to see because it blends so well with its surroundings. I will always remember those Edmonds lingcod especially the one that kept encircle me like a shark. It was indeed a wacky nudifest down there and I had a great time diving with you! :)

Despite the colder water it was not too bad diving with my right buttock and leg wet because I had forgotten to close the first zip of the dry suit all the way down! Aaarrgh!
Attachments
The shark-lingcod
The shark-lingcod
Lynne and one of the numerous White Lined Dirona
Lynne and one of the numerous White Lined Dirona
Lynne in the water column
Lynne in the water column
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