Tag Archives: Roger Rude

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Here are two videos Jack Likins recently took while diving near Arch Rock Road in The Sea Ranch. He entitled one “the good” and the other “the bad.” Jack wrote, “The one clip shows some of the good, almost environmental normal, areas with healthy vegetation and sea life; and the other clip shows the same general area where the Sea Urchins are taking over.” Jack tells me that Sea Urchins have taken over the deeper waters, twenty feet and deeper. Here's a photo taken by Roger Rude of several healthy Abalones.

The Good, a healthy intertidal zone by Jack Likins

 

And here is the "bad," the ocean floor taken over by purple Sea Urchins.

Jack wrote further, “The remaining Abalone have moved into depths less than 20 feet where there is kelp [food] that the urchins haven't eaten.  I don't think the urchins like the shallower water because they can't hang onto the bottom in the rougher shallow and intertidal areas.  I'm not seeing much bull kelp but am seeing boa, giant and palm kelps, mostly in the shallower water.  I do see some short stalks of bull kelp underwater but it seems to me that the bull kelp is showing itself on the surface later and later each year, so we'll have to wait to see if it gets to the surface before the urchins eat it this year.”

There is some bull kelp to be seen off the north end of Gualala, but it is sparse. We hope the ocean can get back in balance. We know Sea Stars are recovering, so there's good news there.

Thanks to Jack for allowing me to share his videos with you here, and thanks to Roger for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Sunny and warm at our place in Anchor Bay, though fog covers most of the ocean.

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It hasn't been a good year for diving, as ocean conditions haven't been inviting. One day last month the ocean quieted down enough for several divers to get in a dive. Here's what Jack got after two hours of free diving.

jack-likins-finds-a-ten-inch-ablone-by-roger-rudeThanks to Roger Rude for allowing me to share his photo of Jack.

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I'll let Roger Rude tell the story. He wrote, “I was searching a rock structure in 20 feet of water when I came upon a rock gully. As it opened up below me, I could see some large abalones along a hole on the side. I dropped my ab iron, which was attached to a float connected to my dive board, and returned to the surface for air.

“On my next dive, I followed my float line back to the hole and measured three large abalones. I saw one more off to the side, nestled on the ceiling of the hole. This one clicked on my ten-inch gauge.” Roger retrieved his ab iron and easily popped it off the rock.

Roger wrote further, “At the end of my breath, I grabbed the ab and headed for the surface. On the surface I carefully measured it and confirmed it was over ten inches. This was my 40th abalone over ten inches, a small milestone towards the completion of my bucket list of a lifetime goal of 100.”

Roger Rude finds a trophy Abalone by Jack Likins

Here's a photo of one of Roger's other 39 trophy abalones. He looks pretty darn happy, doesn't he?!

Roger Rude with a huge Abalone by Jack Likins

Roger's diving partner, Jack Likins, has already recorded his 100th 10-inch abalone, considered trophy abalones, an amazing feat and Roger’s goal. Many divers never get a single trophy abalone. It takes skill, peak conditioning, intelligence and a dash of luck.

Roger took a video of finding the abalone in the first photo. You can see it here: https://youtu.be/auqn-MkmV7g

Thanks to Jack for allowing me to share his photos of Roger, and thanks to Roger for sharing his experience. Roger did tell me the abalone in the video did come off the rock amazingly easily.

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This weekend brought calmer weather and abalone divers from near and far headed to the Mendonoma Coast. The swells were minimal but the visibility was not good. That didn't stop seekers of red treasure from finding their goal.

Here is a photo from a recent dive. Roger Rude and his dive buddy, Jack Likins, each got a ten+ inch abalone. Roger also speared a Lingcod.

Roger Rude with a ten+ inch Abalone and a Lingcod by Jack Likins (Large)

Rick and I took a walk on the Walk-on-Beach public access trail on The Sea Ranch yesterday, Saturday. We greeted two abalone divers headed back to their truck. They were tired but happy. We saw the trail they used to get down the bluff face. It is steep, very steep. I guess abalone divers must be part mountain goat!

Here is a photo of the iridescent interior of an Abalone shell, taken by Craig Tooley

Abalone shell by AUG Craig Tooley

Thanks to Jack for allowing me to share his photo with you here. To learn more about abalone diving, preparing abalone, and much more, here is a link to Eric Anderson's awesome website: http://www.abaloneten.com/home

To see much more of Craig's nature photography, here is his website: www.ruffimage.com

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Roger Rude wrote, "It has been a month since I have ventured into the sea, that is a long stretch for me. It seems like she has been angry, perhaps for the way we have been treating her, throwing tantrums of waves and storms. Today she was at peace, befitting of her name "Pacific", enticing me to come to her and play, explore and rejuvenate my soul.

Abalone season is closed, so I brought my new kayak, a Pedal Mirage Drive Hobie Outback Kayak, along with another for my friend Jack Likins, to test them out, explore new dive sites and perhaps spear a fish for dinner. Conditions were lovely, flat water, sunshine, a beautiful day. I could see the spouts of whales traveling south about a mile off shore. [Below is Jack Likins trying out the new kayak.]

Jack Linkins Kayaking on a pedgal Miracle Drive Hobie Outback Kayak by Rogert Rude

We launched somewhere near Gualala and pedaled our way north. Yes, I said pedal, not paddled. These kayaks are equipped with a unique pedal drive that propels them through the water nearly effortlessly at a speed faster than we could have paddled.

We arrived at the area we wanted to explore and dropped into interspace. The visibility was around 20 feet over a boulder strewed bottom. Very few fish were about probably due to the full moon and a night of feeding. I was looking for a black rock cod for dinner and I found her sleeping in a cave. Dinner provided for I began to explore. In the next fifteen minutes I found not one but two abalone measuring close to 10.5 inches.

A ten inch Abalone will have to wait by Roger Rude

I wear a GoPro camera on my head and I video record my dives so I can review them later, for posting on the Internet and for occasions like this. I surfaced and recorded landmarks above the water, as well as on the bottom, in hopes of relocating these two trophy-sized abalone in April when the season reopens.

Two ten-inch Abalone by Roger Rude

While heading back to our launch sight we were briefly surrounded by half a dozen sea lions porpoising through the water in the other direction. They were moving fast and only briefly slowed down to take a look at us as they past, too fast to get a photo of them. I had heard there was a pod of Orcas in the area and I wondered if this was the source of their frantic pace, but I saw no sign of them.

Another beautiful day in the sea off of the Mendonoma coast, another adventure experienced with the lure of a fruitful one in the future. Standing on shore I shared a beer with my buddy. Once again a terrestrial being looking out at my mistress the sea, my spirit is full and my soul is at peace."

I thank Roger for giving us this look into the world most of us will never see. And thanks also for allowing me to share his photos with you here. Here is a photo of Roger after a very successful abalone dive. The photo was taken by his buddy, Jack Likins. These are two ten+ inch Abalones.

Roger Rude with two ten-inch Abalones by Jack Likins (Small)