Good evening!
Once again, our Niigata shop staff bring you the sea of Sado.
As I mentioned briefly yesterday, with this wind direction Mushizaki was only good in the morning. There was a bit of chop, but once we got in the water, visibility was an amazing 20m!
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For marine life, there were 5mm juvenile hoteiuo (smooth lumpsucker) and aeolid nudibranchs: a sea where the little things were wonderful.
The juvenile hoteiuo open their mouths and work hard at eating plankton, so they're well worth waiting patiently for.
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Another highlight unique to this season is the "young usumebaru (goldeye rockfish)." They're about 3cm long and huddle together in groups of about 10 to 15, which is adorable.
However, asahianahaze (a sculpin) are always on the lookout and snap them up, which is a reminder of how harsh nature can be.
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As it got closer to noon, the wind direction changed and, as expected, the chop and the northern swell grew stronger, dropping visibility to 15m. Tomorrow we'll dive at Mushizaki and Katanoo.
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The photos were taken by today's guest and by Shiraishi during a break. Thank you, O!
Shiraishi's photos were taken with a close-up lens called the SMC-1, so the fine details of small creatures come out more clearly, and they're uncropped. I highly recommend it, but focusing is very tight, so I shot at around F8 to F16.
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[Dive data]
Today's dive site: Mushizaki
■Air temp 13℃
■Water temp 10℃
■Visibility 20m
[Inner layers]
◆Top: 2 thick Heattech type layers, fleece
◆Bottom: thick tights, brushed lined trousers, thick socks
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