Rocky

Rocky's California Dive Vacation

My little brother came out for a week of diving in early August 2003. We took a trip to the frontside of Catalina, a trip to Farnsworth Banks and the West end of Catalina on the Second Stage, and a trip to Santa Cruz on the Peace. Despite the low vis that we encountered, we had a great time. Here are a few of the pictures I took during the trips.

Black Sea Bass at Italian Gardens	Frank Farmer checking out a BSB	Another BSB
Close Up of the head showing the parasites We noticed that they duck under the skin when you get close. Maybe this is how they avoid the cleaner fish.	Purple Hydrocoral and a San Diego Dorid at Farnsworth Bank	We couldn't find the anchor again at Farnsworth so I deployed a SMB for safety stop. We found this nice mola while we were doing a deep stop at 30 fsw.
Kendall flying away	A short body Gavin with a video camera	The galley on the ride home
Big red urchins were everywhere	I think this is a Northern Clingfish	According to "Coastal Fish Identification" by Paul Humann, Northern Clingfish are rare in Southern California. See P140.
California safety stop in 15 fsw near Lulu's at Catalina Island.	Same location a few seconds later. The sun and shifting kelp change the whole environment every few seconds and put on a wonderful show.	Rocky on his safety stop at one of our Santa Cruz dives.
This little harbor seal played with us for about 15 mins at West End Cove at Catalina.	This is a seal's equivalent of hide-and-seek. He would hang out until he noticed that we were looking at him and then he would dart away and come back from a different angle.	We found lots of abalone at the 2nd and 3rd dive sites.
	Leafy Horn Mouth