Last time I was here (I took video instead of photos), I found a series of rocky reefs stretching out from McMicking Point towards Mouatt Reef. I swam out along them a bit near the end of that dive, but I didn't have the air to explore too far. Today (April 9, 2015) I wanted to spend most of my dive out on these reefs. I entered at my usual spot at the tip of the point and swam down the slope.
surf grass near the surface
Even though my plan was to swim straight to the reefs underwater, I couldn't help stopping now and then to take some photos along the 50'-deep rocky slope where I usually dive. Visibility was 15-20':
bull kelp
wall of urchins
anemone and urchins
nudibranchs
Irish Lord
Puget Sound king crab
Puget Sound king crab
urchins 50' deep
plumose anemones
hydroids
        I eventually made it to the reefs that I was looking for. Some of them had small vertical walls covered with colourful invertebrates, including lots of hydrocoral. The top of these reefs was about 20-30' deep and the base was 40-50'. It wasn't one continuous reef. It was more like a maze, with sections of rock popping up one after another. I kept a close eye on my compass, since it would be easy to get lost here. If the current picked up, it would be difficult to get back to shore. I didn't have the air to follow the reefs to their end, but looking at the aerial view, it seems they go all the way to Mouatt Reef.
Urchins on one of the reefs
invertebrates on the reefs
zoanthids, sponge and snail
nudibranch
small wall
small wall
sponge, etc.
crab on hydrocoral
urchins
small wall
small wall
Puget Sound king crab
small wall
small wall
side of rock reef
side of rock reef
hydrocoral and plumose anemones
hydrocoral
hydrocoral, urchins and plumose anemones
pink hydrocoral
brittle stars in hydrocoral
hydrocoral
colourful small wall
small wall
small wall
urchins on a small reef
small reef
side of a reef
tube worm and tunicate
urchins on a reef
urchins
nudibranch
nudibranch
abalone
woody debris deposited by the current
golf balls
Puget Sound king crab
Puget Sound king crab
Puget Sound king crab
Puget Sound king crab
hydrocoral
bull kelp
nudibranch
        On my swim back to shore, I saw a kind of nudibranch I've never seen before:
surf grass and bull kelp
bull kelp
bull kelp
bull kelp