Dive Log

The San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park Ecological Reserve

• See anything unusual in the underwater park? Tell me about it: judith@garfield.org
• To learn more about the underwater park, visit The San Diego-La Jolla Underwater Park Ecological Reserve page.
• View the surface conditions in the underwater park. Real-time video of La Jolla Shores with a Scripps Pier cam: Click here to get an idea of the latest tides and conditions.

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I generally log my dives only once a month (I'm time challenged!) so feel free to email me directly to find out about conditions or the sudden invasion of any special critter.

Date:3/20/07
Location: Vallecitos Point.
Time: 7:30 pm
Max depth:102'
Duration: 58'
Visibility: 30'
Comments: What a breathtaking dive!! Seeing the newly changed topography of the canyon lip is quite a treat with such good vis. The squid eggs are deposited in the valleys on the south and north sides of Vallecitos Point, which has attracted lots of other life: a subadult leopard shark, painted greenlings, sculpins, brown rockfish, Hermissenda crassicornis eggs deposited on numerous squid egg tips. Eggs on eggs! Lots of juvenile brown rockfish hanging schools over the squid eggs. Big bat ray mucking up the vis. The best look came from seeing a Physophora hydrostatica, the multicolored "hula-skirt" siphonophore. Wow!!

Date:1/28/06
Location: Vila Nova, Terceira Island
Time: 2:30 pm
Max depth:33'
Duration: 62'
Visibility: 35'
Comments:According to my dive buddies, this is the least exciting dive spot on Terceira Island but wind conditions made it the best place to dive. I have no complaints about the visibility and colorful marine life we saw: Mediterranean moray (brown with yellow spots), small school of African white bream, bluefin damselfish (close relative to our garibaldi), sea urchin clingfish, rainbow wrasse, small brown puffer, a foot-long Black Fauvre in a cave, to name some of the fish in this "boring" spot. Inverts included one urchin, numerous cucumbers, many colorful (orange, fluorescent blue, purple, white, yellow...) sponges, octopus, big feather duster worms of different colors, and red velvet seastars. Numerous species of algae. There was much more but this is as much as I can remember. The cafe stop afterward for coffee and Amendoa Amoga (almond liquor) was a perfect and fitting end for a bunch of happy divers. Bon tarde!

Date:4/17/05
Location: Marine Room
Time: 6:15 am
Max depth:64'
Duration: 54'
Visibility: 8'-10'
Comments:Horrifying vis (brown to green) but a high-voltage dive nonetheless!!! silver giant sea bass came right up to my face and circled 3" from me several times. Four 4'-long yellowtail (!!!!), school silversides, yellow cancer crab, several dense piles of purple olive snails farming mucus, several piles of squid eggs (freshly laid) but no squid this morning.

Date: 1/15/05
Location: La Jolla Shores: Vallecitos: to the canyon and north
Time: 2 pm
Max depth: 61'
Duration: 53'
Visibility: 15' in the canyon
Comments: Too late to fill you in on the fantastic diving we had the end of last summer. The visibility was outstanding, unusual for warm water. Highlights included a rare sighting of a juvenile needlefish and a lucky sighting of yet another green turtle. But now we turn to winter diving, which has been very good until this past extended rain deluge. The water is now green, polluted from certain runnoff. Feeling save with all my protective gear and zero surf, I forged into the drink. Saw a 1/4" long juvenile preying mantis, young (striped appearance) wolf eel sitting out in the open. When it saw me, it slithered into a hole in the rock and disappeared. Seastars: armored, ochre, fragile. Blacksmith fish in holes and small schools of juvenile senoritas patroling. Numerous sheephead--male, female, and juveniles (females)--following my every move around the Point. Octopi. [A couple of months ago, I saw 10 on one dive!]. So much more but out of time.

Date: Fourth of July/04
Location: La Jolla Shores: Marine Room shallows and to the canyon
Time: 6:30 am
Max depth: 45'
Duration: 83'
Visibility: 10'
Comments: Diving has been great offshore in the kelp and inshore in the Reserve. Today's dive included 2 butterfly rays, leopard sharks, pipefish just finishing up their intertwined mating, tons of crabs (swimming, graceful, sheep, and masking). One crab looked like the Michelin Man. It was decorated with plump sponges that covered its legs and carapace. Dead seahare. White cartilage of thornback that met its demise, One Cancer gracilis crab amidst the sand dollars. This is the crab that has been see clutching the underparts of the purple-striped jellyfishes (albeit in junior size of half-inch or less) that have been prevalent these past few weeks. Two of those jellies seen on this dive. The crab (~3" across carapace) carried a clutch of orange eggs on its belly. In eelgrass, kelp crabs (golden and brown-red), 4-foot-long halibut, small school mackeral. BIGGEST DEAL SIGHTING ON THIS DIVE: A baby (1-inch-long) giant sea bass!!!

Date: 6/20/04
Location: La Jolla Shores: Marine Room and north
Time: 6:30 am
Max depth: 85'
Duration: 49'
Visibility: 30' in canyon
Comments: Finally found time to transcribe a dive to this page. What a fantastic dive! The vis has cleared up nicely in the canyon and has vastly improved in the shallows over the last few weeks. Dropped onto the bottom right next to an angel shark. Big sheepcrab, school of circling tubesnout fish, numerous San Diego dorrids, and a couple of speckled nudibranchs. About 5 or so purple jellyfish, most with commensal crabs within; octopus out in the open; elbow crab burdoned with a big barnacle stuck to its arm; couple of large swimming crabs; a string of the stinging Apolomia uvaria wrapped around a giant kelp strand. The swan song was a giant kelp bass.

Date: 3/7/04
Location: La Jolla Shores: Vallecitos Point and south
Time: 6 am
Max depth: 98'
Duration: 46'
Visibility: 20'
Comments: Buzzed the entire time by sea lions we first saw rafting on the surface. The 12 clowns whooped it up from the ongoing buffet of squid that have permeated the canyon. The biggest run happened north of Scripps Pier where squid were knee deep above the ocean floor. They are gone now. I counted five commercial fishing boats camped out day and night for several days. Since squid may lay up to 20-odd sacs each, it's likely their chance to fulfill their destiny were cut short...to the detriment of them and all of us but the few fishers (no reasonable catch limits are in place). But I digress. Back to this dive. Scattered dead squid, large sheepcrab in hog heaven as all scavengers are when they find themselves in this position of seemingly endless bounty. Clusters of squid egg sacs--some fresh and some ready to pop (~1 month old). Small octopus hiding in hole. Numerous fragile rainbow seastars. On the ledge, big male sheephead in den with a couple of females. Juvenile sheephead, many juvenile brown rockfish. A yellow-spotted tuxedo cadlina nudibranch (Cadlina flavomaculata). Top of Val. Point, big Pisaster seastar (ochre seastar) that was about 2 feet diameter from arm to arm. So much to see. Whenever the squid make an appearance, everything seems brigher. More life and more action.

Date: 2/10/04
Location: La Jolla Shores: West wall: Vallecitos St. and south
Time: 8 am
Max depth: 108'
Duration: 49'
Visibility: 40'
Comments: WOW! What vis. It's been great out there to take what I call a topography dive. When the vis opens up, and I can get a grand view of the canyon with its terraces, I like to cover as much terrain as possible, then store the pictures in my mind for future reference. If it were 20 degrees warmer, it could be like diving Hawaii! Nudibranchs: Cadlina limbaughhorum and Triopha catalinae. Few rosettes of squid eggs. Larvae appear to be about 3 weeks old. Sculpin, female sheephead, octopus out swimming around. In shallow, lots of moon snails, California cone snails.

Date: 1/20/04
Location: La Jolla Cove
Time: 1:30 pm
Max depth: 0'
Duration: ~60'
Visibility: several miles
Comments: Although the diving has been way below stellar due to high surf, surfing has been lots of fun. For those not inclined, the best way to visit the underwater world at this time is to go tidepooling, since this week marks the lowest tides of the year. I am taking advantage. Today the top of the low tide was -1.6 feet at 3 pm. Tidepool life was abundant. I hadn't realized how rich the tidepooling is at the Cove. A class of third graders and I saw the following: opaleye fish, wooly sculpin fish, a grouping of 3"-long zebra perch; goose-necked barnacles, red barnacles, red urchin, purple urchins, Kellet's whelk shell, both wavy and smooth limpets, owl limpets, chitons, striped shore crabs, braided hair red algae, surf grass, aggregating anemones (open and closed), sand-castle worms, wavy top turban snail, lots of slippery green sea lettuce carpeting the rocks, lots of brown rockweed, dripping off the rocks and boulders, gray periwinkle snails abounded, hermit crabs inhabiting empty periwinkle shells, areas of scaly tube snails, and one eagle-eyed student spotted a brittle seastar.

Date: 1/1/04
Location: Marine Room: to canyon and north
Time: 8 am
Max depth: 105'
Duration: 47'
Visibility: 15'
Comments: Brrrrrrrrrr. This water temp is not for the faint of heart. Found what looked like a human leg bone (I hope not). Dense school of sardines at 105' deep. Octopus out swimming. Giant black seabass. Many tiny white anemones of a species I haven't seen before. Several large beds of small (~1/2" diameter) sand dollars. Sand has now been pulled out to sea such that what looks like railroad tire rims have been revealed. I don't recall seeing this before. San Diego dorid (Diaulula sandiegensis), Splotched yellow dorid (Dialula nobilis), navanax, red rock shrimp, moon snail, grass shrimp. That's most of it. Great dive!

Date: 11/19/03
Location: Marine Room: North to boat launch
Time: 8 am
Max depth: 49'
Duration: 69'
Visibility: 10' shallow and 15' in canyon
Comments: Mostly dove in the shallows where rocks are exposed: a few nudibranchs (Giant dedronotis, Dendronotis iris, and Phidiana hiltoni, Hilton's aeolid). Numerous elbow crabs, adult sand dollars and a couple of large beds of subadult sand dollars (to about 1/2" across); loose school of sardines. The most unusual sighting was a solitary blacksmith fish snuggled against a rock and nestled in a self-made depression in the sand. What? This is nightime, sleeptime behavior. These fish typically school or swim singly or in pairs in the water column. They are not "sitting" fish or sand dwellers. Otherwise, saw several pipefish and armored sea stars. Unfortunately, found a fishing hook with some line attached (located in about 15' deep water in front of hotel).

Date: 8/3/02
Location: Marine Room: Devil's Slide
Time: 7 am
Max depth: 20'
Duration: 95'
Visibility: 10-20'
Comments: Surf picked up a little since yesterday (See "Sydney's Swim Log") but surge light. Lots of leopards in the surfzone. Dropped into the shallow reef area. Lots of lobsters (one with eggs!) sitting as sentries under ledges. One very small lobster under a ledge in what appeared as its own custom-sized hole. Rocks and stones painted with pink encrusting algae. Lots of red, orange, and yellows sponges. School of barracuda. Opalyeye, lots of rock wrasse (male and female coloring) male and female sheephead, halfmoon, kelp bass everywhere (including big, old, yellow kelp bass). Some garibaldi (adult and juvenile). Lots of snails. Salad bowl of algae and seagrass: surfgrass patches; sea palm, feather boa, giant kelp, and other browns; pink corraline algae; some kind of short, lime-green algae that looked like just-mowed grass. A cloud of hovering juvenile giant kelpfish (the youngest transparent and slightly older gaining amber color patterns). Peaceful, quiet, relaxing dive.

Date: 9/16/01
Location:La Jolla Shores: North Wall
Time:7:30 am
Max depth:82'
Duration:45'
Visibility:15'
Comments:At the beginning of the wall, found 4 sarcastic fringeheads. Contnuing along, numerous brown rockfish; male and female adult sheephead and 2 tiny juveniles. One juvenile took refuge at the base of a solitary red gorgonian anchored at the top of the ledge. HIGHLIGHT! Black-eyed goby eating a small fish. Only it's head was exposed. Not certain but a guess is a juvenile giant kelpfish. Numerous painted greenlings and several red polka-dotted rock shrimp. A school of senorita fish passed by. Into the shallows, an abundance of moon snails. One box jellyfish. A black sea bass about 3 1/2' long.

Date:7/21/01
Location:Marine Room into the canyon and north
Time:7:30 am
Max depth:93'
Duration:55'
Visibility: to 25'
Comments:Really been slackin' on the entries, which is too bad since I've been having such great dives. Here's the latest: At the lip of the canyon, discovered that several sheepcrabs have returned. One had a sea pen attached to it's upper carapace :-). A 3 1/2' halibut, a bat ray dredging in the mud. Along the wall, several large (2" long) banded shrimp, each in its own hole. Rope hanging over ledge decorated with strawberry anemones and scallops. The best stuff was in the shallows! Some kind of round apparatus, mostly buried to create a reef, sheltered a small purple giant kelpfish, few lobsters, couple portunid crabs, and one tiny, tiny hermissenda nudibranch. Also found a white nudibranch with lots of tan-tipped cerata. A couple of polyclad flatworms. The greatest sighting was 2 Armina californica nudibranchs feeding on a sea pansy!!!!!!!! (Always wanted to see that.) Thrilled to find a clump of eel grass in 14' of water at the north end of the Marine Room. Never have seen these plants here. They are expanding their habitat! Found the interesting anchor. Sighted an unidentified larvacean floating by.

Date: 7/1/01
Location:Buoy off main lifeguard tower
Time:8 am
Max depth:95'
Duration:36'
Visibility: 30' in the canyon
Comments: Red tide wipes out vis in the shallows but below 25', what acreage can be experienced in the canyon! Swimming down one gully with scattered old squid eggs, we headed south over a hill and down to another gully, then repeated this process with another hill and gully before heading back to the shallows. At depth, there were a few sheepcrabs, sarcastic fringehead, and a pelican skeleton. In the shallows, pipefish, halibut, moon snails.

Date: 6/23/01
Location:Marine Room and into the canyon and north
Time:8 am
Max depth:90'
Duration:42'
Visibility: 25'
Comments:

Date: /01
Location:Vallecitos to Gorgonian Gardens
Time:6:30 pm
Max depth:100'
Duration:48'
Visibility:10-25'
Comments:More squid eggs scattered here and there from the shallows to deeper in the canyon. In the canyon, dead shovelnose guitarfish, about 10 sarcastic fringehead in various locations at least half out of their holes (one was completely out and encircled the base of a red gorgonian), 1 bat ray, necrosis on some gorgonians, 1 sheepcrab, a couple of octopi (1 in a hole and one sitting outside of a hole). Up to Otto's Reef (~56'), and saw Otto the nosy octopus, an island kelpfish outside hole, beige cancer crab, white jellyfish parts being eaten by a terebellid worm, lots of Calif. cone snails (and one laying eggs on a strand of surf grass!). One small 1 1/2" long pipefish in the shallows.

Date: 6/10//01
Location: Marine Room to the canyon
Time: 7:30 am
Max depth: 65'
Duration: 57 min.
Visibility: 25-30'
Comments: In the canyon, vis really opened up. Mini squid run going on!!! Scattering of fresh squid eggs covered a wide area, from just above the ledge, the wall, and down the sandy slope. Scorpionfish, a "pride" of sheepcrab climbing over the upper ledge of the canyon to shallower water, one bat ray stirring up sand on the wall, one black sea bass (~40 pounds) swimming over top of ledge. Clumps of surf grass harbored a red, juvenile sheepcrab and ~10 juvenile giant kelpfish. Beige cancer crab, scores of California cone snail eggs but only 2 Calif. cones. Coming out of the canyon, a cloud of mycetes (shrimp) swarmed. In the shallows, juvenile giant kelpfish abound around various seaweed tufts. Also scores of good-sized (to 8" long) pipefish everywhere! Many pinkish to white coiled mollusc egg strand masses about 2" in diameter attached to bits of seaweed. Halibut (3' long). Found rope piece covered with plant growth and 4 pipefish. Rope was attached to long metal chain, which was attached to...nothing.

Date: 1/6/01
Location: Buoy of main lifeguard tower and south
Time: 10:00 am
Max depth: 81 ft.
Duration: 50 min.
Visibility: 40 ft.
Comments: Wonderful vis. Blue water. Individuals and small groups of sheepcrabs (2" across carapace) in the algal mat area. Continuing into the canyon to the Gymnasium (so-called because it opens up into this big open space) where masses of squid egg cases carpeted the floor. Continuing south, came across a halibut and turbot. Ascended to Otto's Reef and found a sarcastic fringehead; nearby, an elbow crab.

Date: 1/3/01
Location: Vallecitos St. and north
Time: 7:30 am
Max depth: 85 ft.
Duration: 43 min.
Visibility: 20 ft.
Comments: Birds circling, squid out and about, large patches of squid egg cases smattered around. A couple of visits by a cormorant. But the thrill of the dive was at the end in the shallows (~20' deep). At first, I saw 1 small sheepcrab, then 2, then 8, then over 100!!! They were moving together as a mass. It was like some B horror flick whereby a hapless person walks into a dark room, turns on the light, and looks down to see the floor moving...with tarantulas. These furry crustaceans were the equivalent size. In the midst of this crowd of crabs, I noticed a lone lobster maintain its position without scurrying away. Why not? How much more protected could one feel than to be surrounded by sheepcrab bodyguards armed with powerful pincers.

Date: 10/4/00
Location: White buoy off main lifeguard tower
Time: 7:00 am
Max depth: 89 ft.
Duration: 54 min.
Visibility: 20 ft.
Comments: Dropped into the squid egg area, headed deeper, then turned south and ended up at Otto's Reef. Lots of hermissenda nudibranchs (6) around the eggs. Also hermissenda eggs on the squid eggs. An unusual purplish speckled nudibranch. Clusters of transparent giant kelpfish hung around kelp or surfgrass plants. Two pipefish in the squid eggs. A red gorgonian at 85' with snow white skeleton shrimp hanging on. At Otto's Reef, found a small sarcastic fringehead and just above the ledge, three 3-foot-long halibut on the sand. Moon snails are out in force all along the shallow sandy bottom.

Date: 09/24/00
Location: White buoy off main lifeguard tower
Time: 7:00 am
Max depth: 91 ft.
Duration: 62 min.
Visibility: 5-20 ft. Pour vis in deep; good in shallow.
Comments: Down to the squid eggs. Saw one squid and several bat rays. A large school of sardines repeatedly soared toward the surface, then dove back down. Into the sahllows, 2 1-foot-long red kelp crabs...one of which attached itself to my console. From the distance, I thought it was a sheep crab. I wonder where these are coming from and what brought them in. Several pipefish, and numerous moon snails with sand collars.

Date: 09/10/00
Location: White buoy off main lifeguard tower
Time: 7:30 pm
Max depth: 63 ft.
Duration: 56 min.
Visibility: 20+ ft.
Comments: Nice to see the squid again. Hundreds crowded (or should I say cowered) around me. Somehow they seem to know that humans aren't after them so they use us as a foil against bat rays, sea lions, etc. At least 20 bat rays swooped in and out and around the squid and the egg masses. Within the clusters of eggs saw, a bright red shrimp (~1" long), many mating decorating crabs, and hermissenda nudibranch eggs coiled around squid egg cases. A golden pipefish clung to some surf grass nearby. In the shallows on the way in, a white shrimp that prefered to be buried in the sand rather than sit atop the sand. There was an unusual juvenile fish about 1-1 1/2" long. It had a roundish body with a very high-sitting dorsal fin. It was brown to orange. What is this??

Date: 09/4/00
Location: Gorgonian Gardens
Time: 7:00 am
Max depth: 100 ft.
Duration: 50 min.
Visibility: 25-30 ft.
Comments: From the surf zone on out, clear and blue water. Shovelnose guitarfish, leopard sharks, round stingrays. Dropped down to see a pipefish and a sprinkling of fresh squid eggs. Hit the gully just right and followed it down toward the gorgonians. Skeletal remains (shovelnose?) and a Spanish shawl nudibranch next to a juvenile sarcastic fringehead. Arrived at the first gorgonian and continued deeper to find clusters of strawberry anemones attached to one of the gorgonian branches or attached to the base. More sarcastics. At 100 feet deep, one gorgonian was completely bent over due to the weight of a large cluster of fresh squid eggs. A very large ink mass was suspended several feet above the bottom--too large to be from a squid. Brittle stars everywhere. Whelk eggs. Up to Otto's Reef to see yet another sarcastic and lobsters. Into the shallows to see a chain of salps with neumatocysts (string of animals was circular and necklace measured about 3 inches in diameter). Moon snails, a yellow-gold pipefish, a box-type jellyfish, and numerous thornback rays. Beautiful dive!

Date: 09/3/00
Location: La Jolla Cove
Time: 7:30 am
Max depth: 49 ft.
Duration: 59 min.
Visibility: 30 ft.
Comments: Kicked out toward the Rock Pile and dropped down. Juvenile harbor seal paid us numerous visits. Sheepcrab, sea cucumbers, knobby and blood seastars, California and red gorgonians, sea urchins, lobsters, sheephead, whelks, nudibranch and eggs, seniorita fish. Vis was good but murky. While it was possible to see the long strands of kelp reach to the surface and have the sunlight stream down through the water, there was a lot of particulate matter. The best vis occurred a few days ago and has been deteriorating bit by bit since then. As I ascended, a school of anchovies swirled around just below the water's surface.

Date: 08/19/00
Location: Marine Room
Time: 7:30 am
Max depth: 67 ft.
Duration: 57 min.
Visibility: 10-15 ft.
Comments: Dropped just shy of the canyon and found some shriveled squid eggs. We have been invaded by giant (1' across) red kelp crabs. Saw 4 of them. Also found a yellow cancer-type crab. Pipefish everywhere in shallow and a large (3' long) male sheephead.

Date: 08/13/00
Location: South side of North Wall
Time: 7:00 am
Max depth: 81 ft.
Duration: 38 min.
Visibility: 20-25 ft.
Comments: In a matted area of dead seaweed, there was some kind of fluffy white growth. It was almost like foam. Could it be some kind of fungus? A midshipman (haven't seen one here before; they're in the toadfish family), moray eel, white-speckeled nudibranchs everywhere, lobsters. Over the top of the ledge and high up in the water column, there were a number of sheephead circling (one male and 4-5 female). Few strands of giant kelp attached to rocks near the lip of the top of the ledge.

Date: 08/6/00
Location: Marine Room
Time: 7:00 am
Max depth: 74 ft.
Duration: 56 min.
Visibility: 10-15 ft.
Comments: Dropped into the sand at about 30 feet. A few squid eggs around. Headed toward the first ledge of the canyon and swam north. Plenty of yellow nudibranchs (Dendrodoris) and Dendronotis eggs. Red rock shrimp in a hole. Very small sarcastic fringehead. A garden of sea pens evenly spaced from one another atop a plateau. In the shallows, several mottled brown pipefish and a beautiful golden one. Sand dollars as shallow as 13 feet. Although they have been this shallow all season, this is unusual when considering years past. I have generally not seen them shallower than 25 feet.

Date: 07/23/00
Location: Vallecitos Point to Otto's Reef
Time: 7:00 am
Max depth: 66 ft.
Duration: 58 min.
Visibility: 10 ft.
Comments: Dropped down onto the ledge and traveled north. Found the single red gorgonian and many nudibranchs: salted dorids, Spanish shawls, dendronotis sp. Some were in mating pairs, and coiled egg masses were everywhere. Also, convict fish, brown rockfish, and lots of sea hares. Matted sea hare eggs were plastered to parts of the ledge. Cormorant ran by and left a cloud of dust. Ocean whitefish hung around with male sheephead. After leaving Vallecitos Point reef, continued north along the sand until reaching Otto's Reef where a huge (5' long) halibut greeted us. At both Vallecitos Point and Otto's Reef, lobsters, lobsters everywhere!!! In the shallows on the way in, blue-spotted diamond turbot and a school of herring.

Date: 07/16/00
Location: Yukon
Time: 7:00 am
Max depth: 93 ft.
Duration: 42 min.
Visibility: 80-100 ft.
Comments: While the Yukon is not a part of the underwater park in La Jolla, it is now a part of the statewide underwater park system so I figured it worthwhile to log here. We were the only ones diving the wreck, the public not being permitted to dive until noon. We entered various rooms, most notably the room with the Honor Wall. Milt's yellow and black "blowtorching" flannel shirt was encased in plastic and framed to the wall. The map that is immortalized on the (now somewhat obsolete?) slate is also encased in plastic and nailed down. All the supporter-investors have plaques with their names, many familiar to me. There was little current and beautiful, clear water. Brittle stars have attached themselves to the hull. Since they often live burried in the sand, I wonder if the impact of the ship hitting the ocean floor and sending up clouds of sand ultimately released these animals. Then, when the dust settled (as it were), they settled down onto the ship. While doing a saftey stop, a small sea lion spun, charged, and generally played around us. A giant purple jellyfish and 2 comb jellies floated by. Hooray for the Yukon having sunk this way. Its inopportune sinking has provided it with a past instead of just fanfare, and it looks way more dignified underwater lying on its port side. Now it can rightfully be called a wreck.

Date: 07/14/00
Location: Vallecitos St. to Gorgonian Gardens
Time: 6:30 am
Max depth: 98 ft.
Duration: 45 min.
Visibility: 10-15 ft.
Comments: Squid eggs sprinkled over the ledge. Piles of Calif. sea hares in mating orgies. A fried-egg jellyfish pulsed gently upside down nearly touching the sand bottom. Upon closer inspection, saw a 3-inch-long unidentifiable fish ensnared amongst the tentacles. The fish struggled but was totally enwrapped in the jelly. Heading down into the depths, found 2-3 strawberry anemones attached to a gorgonian. Mating solid-yellow Dendrodoris nudibranchs and 1 Diaulula sandiegensis (white bulls-eye) nudibranch. Found clumps of Kellet's whelk eggs but no whelks. From Gorgonian Gardens, headed back to the ledge Otto's Reef, saw a small sarcastic fringehead and a lobster in the same hole with a yellow crab (unusual!), Cancer anthonyi. Heading into the shallows, found 2 pipefish (1 solid gold and 1 mottled brown) entwined in an uprooted clump of surf grass. Also, 2 pipefish (mottled brown) amongst short, brown seaweed.

Date: 07/09/00
Location: South of Vallecitos St.
Time: 6:30 am
Max depth: 61 ft.
Duration: 51 min.
Visibility: 10-15 ft.
Comments: Dropped down into a smattering of squid eggs just above and draped over the upper ledge. Eggs also sprinkled below the ledge along the bottom as well. Sea hares, a 4-foot halibut, and 2 fried-egg jellyfish with mangled tentacles rounded out the sightings' highlights.

Date: 07/01/00
Location: Marine Room
Time: 12 noon
Max depth: 76 ft.
Duration: 58 min.
Visibility: 5-10 ft.
Comments: Vis in shallow is very poor. Into the canyon, ceiling lifted only enough to muster 10 feet of vis. Still, there is an abundance of life, some of it quite unusual. There were 2 kinds of salps and 2 pyrosomes (one was ~1", the other ~2" long). Fairy hydroids abound. A purple jellyfish languished on the bottom, it's tentacles adrift elsewhere. Large Hemphill's decorator crab, and Diaulula sandiegensis nudibranch (I like to call them the bulls-eye nudibranch because of its body marking). Into the shallows and the area around Pipefish Patch, found many juveniles: octopus (~1"), Calif. sea hare (beautiful brick red and ~1 1/2" long), and giant kelpfish (a number of them with patterns of solid gold, brown, and mottled brown 1 1/2 to 2" long). Of course there were pipefish of various browns. In the canyon and in the shallows, some fresh squid eggs so the rumors of a mini squid run must be true.

Date: 06/04/00
Location: La Jolla Shores
Time: 12 noon
Max depth: 85 ft.
Duration: 45 min.
Visibility: 10 ft.
Comments: Kicked out to the canyon from in front of the main lifeguard tower. At depth, one of the lion's mane jelly fish came into view. What a specacular sight. The tan to yellowish bell stretched about one foot across and the tentacles, as fine as the strands that make up a spider web, reached 10 to 15 feet. I followed it with my camera as it pulsed around, then even more of these jellies came into view. All of them had tiny hitchhiker crabs crawling around, and one had some kind of barnacle attached dead center on the outside top of its bell. What else did I see on my dive? Why look further? I spent the entire time with these graceful gelatinous creatures. Better hurry. This is something that won't last.