Clear, cold and lovely

Guitar Fish and I, Looking Glass, made our first extended immersion into the bracing waters of the East Side on Friday, June 1, and were greeted by absolutely stellar conditions. We conservatively estimate the visibility to be in the realm of 50 feet, it was that clear.
The location was the Surf Hotel/Beachead beach. The tide was on its way in and the time was approximately 1500. The excursion resulted in the observation of: one juvenile lobster, two juvenile tautog, and one skate.
The following day, we went again. Conditions were not as perfect given an outgoing tide and a steady breeze from the west. We also noticed that the water was appreciably colder from the afternoon before. This was especially apparent to Guitar Fish, who, despite a new wetsuit, went hoodless. Nevertheless, it was a special day for me especially: this was the maiden voyage of the S.S. Bubble-- my new Canon Camera and housing.
The photos you see in this post are the result of that day. I'm looking forward to posting many more.
As was the case the day earlier, Guitar Fish spotted striped bass that I didn't see. But this was only the case on the East Side dives. In Great Salt Pond on June first, we both saw plenty of bass.
Why the Great Salt Pond? We have taken our unspoken orders from Dr. Boze Hancock, an authentic Australian scientist, who is heading up the North Cape Restoration Project for NOAA and U.R.I. He is on-island to help with a scallop restoration project. As a member of Sea Squad, I felt compelled to join in this effort and, with the help of Guitar Fish and others, we have collected 57 native scallops to help with the project. Photos of these will be forthcoming.
As you can see from the photos, the world below is crisp and crystal clear. We surmise that the warmer water toward the end of the summer is what brings the less attractive "fuzzy" algae growth to the otherwise crisp surroundings. Stay tuned for more. L.G.