These photos are from July 11, 2012. July is my lucky month to dive at the Southern end of the Pender Islands. So far, in all the years I've been coming here, the visibility has been around 30 feet during this month. When I've come here in the winter, visibility has only been 10 feet or so. Today visibility was the expected 30 feet. I was hoping to get some decent photos in the cavern, but as soon as I swam in, my bubbles seemed to send a bunch of particles raining down to cloud up the water. For most divers, the cavern seems to be the major draw here, but even without it this would be an excellent dive.
kelp near the islet
boulders at the base of the reef
rockfish at base of reefs
Puget Sound king crab
sea pens
looking up under an overhang
clown nudibranch
sea pen under an overhang
rock sticking out from the wall
looking in the entrance to the cavern
swimming up into the cavern
looking up in the cavern
looking up in the cavern
in the cavern
in the cavern
the wall of the cavern
near the shallow exit from the cavern
stirring up the sediment in the cavern
looking out the deeper exit from the cavern
nudibranch
seapen
gap in the reef
gap in the reefs
narrow entrance to cavern
at the base of the reefs
base of the reefs
base of the reefs
base of the reefs
sponge on the wall
Puget Sound king crab
Puget Sound king crab
Puget Sound king crab
copper rockfish
buffalo sculpin
buffalo sculpin
buffalo sculpin
small Puget Sound king crab
lingcod
cup corals
tiny nudibranchs on cemented tube worms
Puget Sound king crab
Puget Sound king crab
clown nudibranch
swimming back up into the bay
nudibranch and sea pen
sea pens
wall in shallows
overhang in shallows
urchins
nudibranch and tube worm
hermit crab
hermit crab on sponge
kelp near the bay
parking at the end of Craddock Lane
deer on the beach
view from the beach
the beach and islet
the beach
sandstone
steps down to the beach