No photo, but I have to share!

[LCF]

So today was open water dives at Cove 2. It was hard to see the fantastic visibility and use it to keep track of students . . . but at the end, when the DMC and I went back in to fetch the float, we had license from our boss to do a fun dive. So we headed for the Honey Bear, because we'd been told there was a big octo under it, and there was; we found a GORGEOUS huge golden Dirona under one of the pilings, and a couple of nice alabasters. Then we turned back, and swam around the pilings I like to swim under, when something caught my eye . . . it looked for all the world like a sea snake, but we don't have sea snakes here. Suddenly I realized what I was seeing -- it was a QUILLFISH! Seven years of diving here, and I had never seen one. We watched it for about five minutes, and got quite close to it. I have never wanted a camera in my hands so desperately!

I can't find an image to import, but here's a pretty good one you can look at:

I don't get to see something entirely new to me very often any more, so this made our 15 minute dive one of my recent best!

[mpenders]

Cool beans!

Cardiver, Scubie and I literally stumbled across one of these back in April at Redondo. It was a first for all of us, and we didn't have any idea what it was. We didn't have much opportunity to take pictures of it before it bolted - I would too, with three sets of strobes firing at will.

http://www.nwdiveclub.com/viewtopic.php ... sh#p210669


It never fails - having no camera available seems to always guarantee a you'll find something cool.

[Dusty2]

Cool beans!

it never fails - having no camera available seems to always guarantee a you'll find something cool.

Diving without a camera are you crazy!
Yep! That's why I won't dive without one! Kinda like there is never a cop around whenever you want one.

[Jan K]

Cooperative Quillfish ! Yes, I feel your pain. No camera to record it. Well, at least you saw it, I still did not see an adult Lumpsucker, Saw two baby Lumpies today. With a fisheye lens on my camera, didn't do me any good.
So Quillfish sighting, you are lucky one !

[oldsalt]

Lynne: In over a half-century of Puget Sound diving, I have yet to see a quillfish in the wild. Good observing.
-Curt

[Greg Jensen]

My wife saw one on a night dive in Bremerton a couple weeks ago, in just 15 ft of water. The only time I've ever seen one (actually two of them) was a day dive at Scenic Beach over 30 years ago.

[Grateful Diver]

I've seen two in my lifetime ... one at Cove 2 several years back with Valerie ... I got pics, but was very new to photography at the time so they ain't very good.



The second time was last year in Cove 3 ... on the second dive of an OW class. I don't carry a camera on those, but I did point it out to my students, and told them later that they're not likely to see another one anytime soon ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[cardiver]

Here's a close up from Redondo a few months ago.......

[LCF]

Thank you all so much for sharing the excitement, and sharing your pictures. It's so nice to have friends who understand why someone would be jumping up and down and squealing through her regulator about a small, snake-like fish.

[DiveZen]

We just saw a quillfish Sunday at Cove 2. Viz was insanely good and it was free swimming below us while we were doing a SAC swim. We swam in a circle for a bit to watch. Good times!

[nwscubamom]

Lynne!! That's so cool! I am completely jealous of course, and may have to start yet another club that I am president of: the Never-Seen-A-Quillfish Club. Although it does sound like I will have plenty of co-presidents.

- Janna

[fnerg]

I was in that class with DiveZen when we saw that quillfish. It totally made up for all my goof-ups during that dive!