Langley Harbor, July 30, 2023.
First dive after three weeks of dry gills almost didn't happen. As I was suiting up, the wrist seal on my drysuit decided to tear open just as was ready to get in. I jerry-rigged solution using an old dive knife strap, and it worked. Only half of my sleeve got wet.
The dive itself was a sad story unfolding in the world of sea stars. Wasting is starting to unfold in a big way, even if only in the shallower, up to 25 feet depth. The deeper part of the harbor was not as bad. Yet. Month ago there was an abundance of small Sunflower stars, this time I found only eight and half of them are starting to show category 1 stage of wasting. Mottled stars are wasting in large numbers, their arms littering the bottom along the seawall. The Ochre stars
are twisted and some with arms hanging listlessly, that too is sign of distress. here are still many healthy sea stars, hopefully they will survive the rising temperatures...
![Image](https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Langley-Tire-Reef/i-v7PtwFG/0/a52950f2/XL/7.30.23%20torn%20wrist%20seal-XL.jpg)
![Image](https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Langley-Tire-Reef/i-btSxVwh/0/076b5f5f/XL/7.30.23%20S%20-%20H%20beam%20Pycnos%20gone-XL.jpg)