... and kelp carnage. Last weekend's storm took out practically everything inside the cove and washed it to shore. This is the 3rd time this winter this has happened. The photos don't really do justice to how much kelp there was on the beach.
With the water almost reaching the steps in the morning, it was pick your poison for the entry - tangling up in the bull kelp strands or trying to go around it and hoping you remembered where the rocks are. I attempted the latter, did not pick a good route and ended up cracking my knee pretty hard :/
Visibility was a dazzling 3ft at its best, which meant we were hugging the sand the entire time. This wasn't as bad as it initially looked as I saw a ton of rainbow nudibranchs and 2 of the largest Kellet's whelks I've seen - they were both at least 4-5" long.
-> 41min, 47ft, 53F
Last week's neck seal surgery seemed to work out - no leak and I'm now able to wear the seal much higher on my neck and get more seal contact area. I still felt like there was a leak at the very start of this dive and suspected the inflator but am now convinced I'm just imagining it.
- U