Today, I dove Shaw's Cove with Shiyu, Yana, and David. This was my first time diving with David and Yana; and, I'm so glad that I did because I learned a new style of diving: nudibranch hunting! I observed David carefully and slowly picking up almost every rock off the sea floor and checking for nudibranches. He didn't want to eat them, no. He wanted to show us and then photograph them! And, I was along for the ride, just observing this new style of diving: sitting in one place for 50 minutes, flipping rocks, and looking for tiny slugs. Awesome!!
What is a nudibranch? They are a soft-bodied, shell-less marine gastropod mollusk, often referred to as a "sea slug". (wikipedia)
David has a really good catalog of nudibranch photos. This is one of his that he photographed in Shaw's Cove.
Why do I like nudibranchs? They don't do much, to be honest. But, the fact that they are so tiny (often the size of your pinky fingernail) makes them difficult to spot. I've never spotted one on my own until this day. I've always dove with people who say they're so easy to see but I could never relate. But today was the day that I changed that and I was so excited to announce that I was able to spot my own nudibranch, what a remarkable milestone in my scuba diving career. And once I saw my first one I couldn't stop seeing them. It was like my eyes were dialed into the right settings. We'll see if this carries on to future dives but for now I'm going to relish in my accomplishment.
Oh, and I love seeing lobsters and sheephead. I caught a few on video:)