20 Jan, 2009

Persistent winds clear up the water and drop the temperature.

Finally the south-easterly winds have let up slightly around the Cape coast of South Africa, so we managed to get out to sea.

We dived an area just west of Justin's Caves this morning, a spot that has some good rock structure and healthy kelp (Ecklonia maxima).

Because the south-easters have blown for so long and so hard, they have finally cleaned up the sea. The visibility was at least 6-10m (20-33ft), which is the best we have seen in a long time.

I dropped to the bottom, which levelled out at 13m (43ft). Huge granite boulders make up the reef system in this area, covered with long kelp, or seabamboo as it is commonly known.

The winds that have ripped across the Western Cape have also dropped the temperature of the water. It was 9°C (48°F) – the coldest water I have ever dived in.

I spent about 40 minutes in the water, enjoying the good visibility and structure. Fish life was a bit on the disappointing side, but I found a pretty nudibranch.

This particular one is called the gas flame nudibranch (Bonisa nakaza), and it's not too difficult to see how it got its name.

Nudibranchs are molluscs but lack shells and some of the other organs that true molluscs have. The gas flame nudibranch is one of the larger species and it defends itself with stinging cells which it has ingested when eating sea anemones. Creatures in this group have both male and female reproductive organs and lay eggs which hatch into larvae.

– by Barry Skinstad, Earth-Touch crew © Earth-Touch

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