KVI Tower

Two dives here today with EPIC vis. You always know you are in for a great day when you pull up to the mooring buoy and you can see all the plumose below clear as day. Vis was over 50 feet below 70 feet, and really good in the shallows too (35+). There was some erratic current here today with the huge exchanges, but all very manageable and the current died off on the western reef. This site is so gorgeous in great vis and lots of sunlight in the water!

What we saw: Hermissenda opalescens (horned or opalescent nudibranchs) EVERYWHERE. This happens most years here, but the are much larger this year. And of course a couple of wolf-eels, plenty of lingcod that survived "lingcod season" (thank goodness), copper rockfish galore (along with brown, quillback, and yellowtail cousins), columns of majestic plumose, blackeye gobies, painted greenlings, and even a Pacific spiny dogfish fly-by (always cool). My dive buddy thought it might be a six-gill, so for his benefit I am referring to it a highly anorexic six-gill. Plenty of evidence of GPOs about by all the red rock crab kills, but they are all well hidden as the broadleaf kelp and sea lettuce are in full bloom and consume the bottom.

To be clear, clear by PNW standards, meaning there was only some stuff in the water (and not enough for me to count as snowy). INCREDIBLE views, really cleared below 80'. Saw both the west and east reefs and didn't disappoint. At least 5 different types of nudis, ratfish, lingcod, my buddy saw 10 or so Wolfies of different sizes. Rockfish everywhere, including a few YOY (I love seeing quill back). Other folks in our group but diving in a different diving pair saw a GPO and a skate, along with two dogfish. Seal at the surface!

Very fun scooter dive from the shore!