BajaNomad

Morro Bay 5/17

Ken Bondy - 5-17-2007 at 09:23 PM

It was good to get back in the water today, even if it was very cold. I know I look like the creature from the black lagoon, but this is the equipment I use for a coldwater dive like this:



But I digress. Here are the REAL subjects.

Hermit crab:



Blackeye goby:



Fringehead in PVC pipe:



Fringehead with Hermissenda nudibranch:



Another view of the fringehead/nudibranch combo:

Paulina - 5-17-2007 at 09:58 PM

Ken,

Dern and I walked in MB yesterday, from the launch ramp, to the rock then almost as far as the Snowy Plover line until my ears were frozen and I wussed out. As we passed by the Coast Guard station I looked down the pier and thought of you and how COLD and windy it's been lately. I thought to myself, Ken wouldn't be out diving in this weather... Silly me!

Glad you had a good dive.
Saludos!

P<*)))><

Bob H - 5-17-2007 at 10:51 PM

Ken.... absolutely surpurb! I always get a jolt of how you get those little critters to look at you square in the eye. Unreal. You are the best at this.
Bob H

Cypress - 5-18-2007 at 05:49 AM

Thanks Ken.:)

Ken Bondy - 5-18-2007 at 07:02 AM

Thank you Paulina, Bob H, Cypress. Paulina, high tide was at about 12:45pm yesterday, we got to the pier about 11:30am. It wasn't too bad, little windy but the sky was clear. Anyway once I get tucked into that drysuit it doesn't really make any difference topside OR underwater :). In fact I get so warm inside of that thing suiting up that I can't wait to get into that nice 51F water :).

++Ken++

Natalie Ann - 5-18-2007 at 07:41 AM

Well gee, Ken... all those fringeheads playing peek-a-boo are so cute, but none so much as that creature peeking out of the large black shell (grin). Thanks so much for sharing a view of the photog.

Couple of questions:
Once you're all assembled with lights and cameras, etc.... how much weight would you estimate you're carrying in gear? How much assistance does a dive like this take?

DianaT - 5-18-2007 at 08:42 AM

Those fringheads always make me smile---they all remind me of Oscar the Grouch.

As always---just love your pictures. Great to see the photographer this time. :tumble::tumble:

Diane

Skipjack Joe - 5-18-2007 at 09:09 AM

It IS good to see the photographer this time. All these years I pictured you to look like your avatar.

Ken Bondy - 5-18-2007 at 09:14 AM

Gracias Nena and Diane! Nena with weights, tank, and all the other equipment I am carrying about 80 lbs. The drysuit requires a lot more weight than a wetsuit. I can do a dive like this by myself, although it's always nice to have some company. Since the water surface is about 8-10ft below the pier deck I hang my camera in the water from a line attached to a cleat on the pier and retrieve it when I am in the water.

++Ken++

Ken Bondy - 5-18-2007 at 09:16 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Skipjack Joe
It IS good to see the photographer this time. All these years I pictured you to look like your avatar.


Thanks Igor! Hey I DO look like my avatar. Only difference is that the the picture in my post was taken yesterday and the avatar was taken about 15 years ago :). ++Ken++

cbuzzetti - 5-18-2007 at 09:50 AM

As usual your pics a great. That nudibranch must be tiny.
I will have to join you sometime on a dive. I live in Atascadero and have been diving on and off for about 20 years.
I prefer the warm water now but your pics make me want to see some local stuff.
Do you enter from the pier? or Shore?
What peir are you diving near or do you go to multiple locations in the bay?
That looks like the CG pier.

Ken Bondy - 5-18-2007 at 10:01 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by cbuzzetti
As usual your pics a great. That nudibranch must be tiny.
I will have to join you sometime on a dive. I live in Atascadero and have been diving on and off for about 20 years.
I prefer the warm water now but your pics make me want to see some local stuff.
Do you enter from the pier? or Shore?
What peir are you diving near or do you go to multiple locations in the bay?
That looks like the CG pier.


cbuzzetti

Gracias! You are correct, these are from the North T-Pier (the Coast Guard Pier). I have only dived this one. I would like to dive the other T-Pier (the one to the southeast) sometime but I don't see an easy exit point. I occasionally enter from shore but usually I just do a giant stride from the pier. It is safer than a swim from shore, and it puts me just about where I want to be. The only other place I have dived in Morro Bay is Fairbanks Point, which is just south of the Inn at Morro Bay, in the park. It is a GREAT dive, the deepest point in Morro Bay (you can get to about 60fsw). ++Ken++

tripledigitken - 5-18-2007 at 10:02 AM

Ken,

thanks again for taking us with you on your dive. do you ever spearfish? those ling cods are very tasty!

are there sand dabs at Morro Bay? I can remember enjoying them at Dorns awhile back.


Ken

Ken Bondy - 5-18-2007 at 10:16 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by tripledigitken
Ken,

thanks again for taking us with you on your dive. do you ever spearfish? those ling cods are very tasty!

are there sand dabs at Morro Bay? I can remember enjoying them at Dorns awhile back.


Ken


Ken, thanks mucho. I used to spearfish when I started diving but I found that I enjoyed photography more than hunting and I could always buy seafood :). Agree, ling cod are muy sabroso. There are lots of sand dabs under the Coast Guard pier but they are tiny. I think they get the commercial ones from outside the bay.

++Ken++

Skipjack Joe - 5-18-2007 at 11:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Bondy
I used to spearfish when I started diving but I found that I enjoyed photography more than hunting and I could always buy seafood :).
++Ken++


Some of my marine biologist friends told me the same thing. Hunting put them in a different frame of mind and they were passing up all the other critters.

I can relate to that. Here's what happened to me:

I often fished a small creek in northern california by the name of yellow creek. It had maple trees along it's banks and in the fall I would often stop and reflect on their colors on the water. So I decided to make a trip and just shoot pictures. Well, the strangest thing happened. I kept getting attracted to sections of the stream where trout would lie. I kept shooting the lies where a trout would take a dry fly. I kept being drawn to those areas. I just couldn't separate the photography from the fishing. It was like my wires were crossed somewhere in my brain, or sumtin.

amir - 5-19-2007 at 12:23 AM

I never had the opportunity to dive, and never will.
Many others go diving and bring up food, but few bring up pictures like you do, Ken. Thank you for posting them here and sharing your hobby with us.
--Amir

pics

tehag - 5-19-2007 at 06:37 AM

Again, thank you for sharing.