It was a short jaunt to the Ruby E from the Yukon.  The fog was still hanging in there but the sun was shining down from above making for a warm pleasant surface interval.

 

Arriving at the site we tied up to the aft Buoy and chatted a bit to allow for more off-gassing and to regain some strength for the coming dive.  The seas remained mostly calm with only a gentle rocking of our happy craft.  Many stories were swapped about dives past and hopes for future dives in warm exotic locations.  John was his usual charming self and had great stories from his many Le Bufadore trips.  Max unfortunately was feeling a bit queasy from the roll of the boat but like a trooper he managed to keep the Yak out of our Zodiac. 

 

As we prepared to don the gear again I happened to look west into the open ocean and noticed a white “object” just below the surface.  At first I thought it was a third submerged buoy but it was very large and not quite round and IT WAS MOVING.  Instantly the thought jumped to mind…. MOLO!  Yes, it was indeed a Mola Mola. The very bizarre fish are also know as Pacific Sunfish and are often seen near the surface where they feed on jellies and salps and occasionally will lie on their side at the surface so that birds can  clean them of their parasites. 

 

Quickly strappin on the fins

and mask I swam slowly up to him/her.  Eyeing me warily, I rolled back up right and swam next to me for what seemed like forever, but in hindsight was probably on a moment or two, then slowly descended into the deep.  Grinning like a fool I swam back to the boat.   Very cool indeed.

 

Having had over an hour of SI we suited up, geared up, met at the buoy and made our decent to the Ruby E.  This is one of my favorite dive sites.  She has been down a long time and is covered in growth.  As many will say, she looks like float in the Rose Bowl Parade as there are millions of strawberry anemones covering her surface.

 

Visibility was a firm 20 feet, maybe more when we reached our destination.  Life is everywhere on this wreck.  From little tiny nudibranch’s to ling cod and spotted sea bass.  Schools of blacksmiths, black surf perch, black-eyed Goby.  Everywhere you look there is something to see. 

 

This is nudibranch central for the macro photographer.  I spotted 5-6 different species in the short time we were down.  Max and I took turns pointing them out.  Two new ones for me on this dive. It is always exciting when I see on I haven’t seen before.  This trip I spotted Tritonia Festiva and Diaulula sandiegensis

 

Max and ventured through the wheel house and peering into the gloom interior through open hatches and port holes.  Our tour was going swimmingly but eventually air supply and nitrogen loading dictated our ascent.  We made our way back up the line, pausing again at 20 fsw for a stop and a gaze into the blue forever. 

 

Back on the surface and back in the boat. GPS guiding us through the fog we talked about the days events and all agreed that the rough start in the morning was well worth it after two fantastic dives.

 

Surface temperature 65 degrees

Temperature at Depth  54 degrees

Gas: Air

Max Depth 86 fsw

Average Depth 70 fsw

Bottom time  38 minutes

Zodiac Wreck Adventure Part 1 —  By Terry Strait