Saturday February 11 - Diving Rockaway: Spring is emerging on the reef

Sometimes the worst part about diving is cleaning your gear in the dark.  I don't mind cleaning the gear itself but what I do mind is pulling the hose out and putting my hand right on top of a large, squishy, slimy leopard slug stuck to the hose.  Yuck.  Other than that I absolutely love to dive and can't get enough of it.  After a long week of work it's down to Rockaway Beach to meet Katie and watch her molest sunflower stars burrowed in the sandy floor of Puget Sound.  One of them did try to turn her into its dinner but I saved her at the last minute before it engulfed the third finger of the left hand.  It took awhile to remove the tentacles that didn't want to let go.

The dive itself was fantastic and of course it was the one dive I decided I could leave my camera in the car and just enjoy the dive itself.  Sorry Pam, I'll take it next weekend.  This week you'll just have to read about it.  I was put in charge of leading the dive with a heading down to the main reef then on to the deep reef.  Luckily, Ryan, Lucas and I cleaned the line just over a month ago and the visibility was about 20 feet.

The main reef was rather bare except for the hoards of Coon Stripe Shimp in every crack and fissure.  Mid way down we found out why.  In a crevice cut into a cleft in the middle of the reef was a Giant Pacific Octopus about 6 feet from end to end.  Its Mantle was a deep reddish/purple with its tentacles spread out displaying its suckers underneath.  The garden was a mess, the Octopus was full.  Further down the reef we found a pile, and yes it was a pile, of leopard nudibranchs.  The Wrinkled Dogwinkle Snails which were also piled, and found last weekend, had laid down a mass of eggs, yellow and shaped liked ovals with points on each end.  We also found a mass of Lingcod eggs that looked like white styrofoam balls stuck in a crack.  This was one of the larger egg masses I've seen so I went over to investigate.  Katie later told me she was waiting for the Lingcod to ram me in the head, but it didn't and we never saw it. 

While the main reef was still bare of fish the lower reef was teeming with them.  Copper Rockfish of all sizes were all around the reef and in the crevices within the rock.  No Octopus.  The swimming anemone that I've wanted to photograph for a long time was thrusting its small orange and white tentacles out, taunting me with its grace and beauty that I would only remember.  We swam around the lower reef passing an expanse of Orange Zoanthids covering the rock, their stalks covered in silt.  Katie continued to look in every opening convinced we'd find an Octopus.  No Octopus so we headed back up the line towards the main reef passing the largest Lemon Nudibranch I've seen, molesting Sunflower Stars and tickling the Plumose along the way.

Sunday February 5 at Rockaway - The Altar at the Church of the Holy Water

As I drive over the New Zealand style bridge on Rockaway Drive I think about how it is time to once again Baptize ourselves in the holy waters of Puget Sound.  It is Sunday and we all belong to the Church of the Holy Water.  In just a few hours we would be punching our yearly man cards at the unholy altar of the NFL.  Jon manned up and wanted to cleanse his soul so dove with a split up the second finger of his right hand glove.  We dropped in at the buoy with no specific plan knowing our guardian Angel Fish would watch over us.  Steve dropped in with us but after hitting 12 feet signaled that his ear was bothering him so decided to stay behind in the shallows.  That left myself, Rick, Ben and Jon to commune with the reef.

The trip down the line was uneventful arriving at the reef with little expectation other than we'd see our rock at 50 feet.  As we turned the corner and headed South along the structure it was apparent we'd be searching in cracks and crevices bowing our heads to view with in the sacred chambers.  We were not disappointed.  Ben found a Longfin Gunnel deep within a crevice set off of the main reef.  Farther down on the main reef a Red Irish Lord guarded its home within the rock while a Sailfin Sculpin loitered nearby.  The Lord puffed its face flared out its fins and made short charges at me while I peered into the crevice.  I suspect it was sitting on eggs.

Shortly thereafter Rick called me over as everyone shined their lights into another crack.  I went over to take a look.  Nothing there, Not at thing, Nada.  Later on Ben assured me there was an Octopus in there.  If he says so.  Rick called me over a second time.  This time I did see it, an Octopus compressed into another crevice with only its mantle, eye and mantle cavity showing.  From there we continued along the main reef finding dismantled crabs with others waiting to be sacrificed to the GPO for dinner.

Wrinkled Dogwinkle

Part way back up the reef we came across Ryan's tire signalling the way to the Southern Reef.  Rick checked our air supplies, 1500 PSI all around and we headed off.  Jon had felt the pain of his sacrifice by this time and headed back to the line going in.  Rick navigated for us along the 50 foot contour reaching it with 200 PSI less air.  We scouted around the reef finding a large GPO with its inch wide suckers showing along an opening in the rock.  1000 PSI and it was time to head back.  Rick led the way again.  They knew better than to let me navigate as they didn't want to end up in Seattle.

Along the line was a Feather Duster Worm hiding within the seaweed but feeling the change in current pulled into its tube as I approached.  At the end of the line I saw the yellow of Ricks fins and followed them in until I became distracted and unknowingly veered off to the right.  The depth at 10 feet stayed constant so I surfaced to get my bearings and yes, I was North of the exit point.  I dropped back down and found a long shallow reef I didn't know was there and pursued it in until I hit 4 feet and surfaced.  The sun was out, the temp was up to 54 degrees and it was a beautiful dive at the altar of the holy water.