Dive 1: NE of Gorgonian Rock.
Handful of gorgonians |
Hydrocoral garden |
Dive 2: Guillemot Rock.
Sheep crab |
Colorful sea cucumbers |
Bill and friends |
Hydrocoral surprisingly shallow and near shore |
Ditto for this corynactus |
Just as colorful as the Great Barrier Reef |
Ling cod tries not to be seen (seconds later, a
second ling swims by |
Copper rockfish amongst the kelp |
Bill is content to stay where he is... |
...as Glenn receeds towards the bright light |
Dive 3: Coal Chute Cove.
Dove with Glenn Davis at Point Lobos and checked out Gorgonian Rock, a rock with over 30 gorgonians on its base, which we had discovered on 2005-09-08 and later marked with the help of Bill Gomez. The maps are courtesy of Marcos and Beto.
The anchorage is in a sand channel at N 36 31.474, W 121 56.577 in 108 ft Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW). NO LESS! The pinnacle itself is just to the south and tops out around 72 feet to the southwest of the anchorage. Since the sand channel is narrow, to avoid hitting the gorgonians I'd suggest approaching the coordinate from the south very slowly. When the depth drops to 108 feet (approximately 15 feet from the waypoint), dump the anchor. But not too soon lest you take out the gorgonians.
Visually, the anchorage is 200 degrees from the horn on Guillemot Rock and 120 degrees from the outermost rock at Cannery Point.
If you're anchored in the right spot, the wall will be up a sand channel to your south. Once you hit the rock, turn right and you should start seeing the gorgonians which are in a 15 ft band along the bottom. You'll be swimming over a very narrow sand channel which runs up to the northwest and gives way to rubble.
On the other side of the smaller pinnacle across the narrow sand channel to the northeast are more gorgonians and a pair of metridiums.
Finish the dive by swimming south along walls blanketed thick with colorful mats of corynactus and gardens of hydrocoral, bryozoans, and sponges until you hit the kelp and do your safety stop with large rockfish.
Gorgonian Rock (there are at least 5 gorgonians in
the photo--view the larger image to see) |
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Copyright © 2006 Bill Wohler Last modified: 2006-07-24 16:30:38 -0700 (Mon, 24 Jul 2006) About photos |
Free DNS |
