February 9th, 2024 Friday

0 North Bound 0 South Bound 4.5 hrs

Sunshine 60 degrees light wind 5-7mph calmer ocean than days prior.

A 4.6 Earthquake struck at 1:47pm near Leo Carrillo in the Santa Monica Mountains. The Epi-center was six miles from Point Dume State Beach. Shaking was not felt personally but was felt by others at the beach who were in moving cars and resting in upper deck of campers. One observer was in the Nature Preserve watching over 100 sea lions hauled out under the bluff resting on the rocks and suddenly 60% lurched up and into the ocean and the remaining stood still at the edge of rocks not going in but frozen in apprehension! The observer did not feel the earthquake personally.

Several aftershocks occurred throughout the afternoon but none were felt.

No whales were observed despite good viewing conditions.

Several coastal bottlenose dolphins observed near shore with visible blows heading north (west).

Wavy turban sea shells in various state of conditions were seen in the tide line. Not a typical site at this beach, typically the larger snails are in deep water and the smaller ones in shallow tide pools. Wavy Turbans are herbivores and one of the largest turbinid gastropods. They feed primarily on kelp and coralline algae. Predators include sea stars, octopus and lobsters. The snails can grow their shells up to six inches long. The shells are used to make buttons and are covered in a type of brown algae. The snails grow quickly at first but slows down with larger snails. The shells along the beach were all empty today.

Bright orange skies after sunset as a cargo ship nearly aligned with the last bit golden light.