I kinda knew that there was an abalone farm on Davenport Landing Rd just north of the village, and I assumed that the landing craft gathering kelp I've off of Pleasure Point on a regular basis was part of the operation.  And the farm never had any signs or anything else to show it was there, except for what looked like a couple of old small farm sheds in the weeds.
    Today, as I was driving up the coast, I noticed a bunch of "farm stand" - like signs that said abalone (and some other sea critters) was for sale at that location.   
    I'm naturally curious about what has changed and why.   

From Cook's Country, Feb-Mar 2018 (Check YouTube, or their website.  The same people from America's Test Kitchen):

1/4 C minced fresh chives
2 Tblspns whole-grain mustard
2 teasps lemon juice
1 teasp honey
pinch of salt, pepper
2 Tblspns EVOO (olive oil)
Combine, top baked fish with a squeeze of lemon - they used it on salmon, I used it on ling, tasted great. I'd like to try it on WSB if wishes were horses, etc.

(If you search for "chives" on this forum, you get lots of "Archives" and mis-spelled "chovies"!)

 Short version:
There is a magnet that is part of the On-Off knob that got corroded and the unit wouldn't stay on; Shark Shield provided a replacement knob and O-rings which should, if the screw holding it on is fairly tight, keep water from getting under the knob in the future.

Long version: 
A few weeks ago, after using my Shark Shield Freedom 7 for about 2 years, I was launching and couldn't get the device to turn on, even after turning the on-off knob several times.  It felt like there was grit under the knob (I'd had a serious roll in the sand late last season, and though I'd rinsed the unit several times since, I thought maybe some of the fine Carmel sand was still under the knob.)  so I took the screw out of the top and took the knob off, brushed off some dark particles on a small round magnet that is molded into the bottom of the knob, and put the knob back on.  But I still couldn't get it to turn on for more than a few seconds at a time.  I figured I had little to lose, so I gave the unit (not the knob) a sharp rap with my knuckles after I'd turned the knob on, and it stayed on all day.   But the next time I went out, I'd hit it but it would stay on random lengths of time from a few seconds to a hour or so.
   So I took the knob off once more and examined the underside again, and realized that the magnet was corroded/disintegrating and probably had swollen in the process and caused hairline cracks in the knob.
    I e-mailed Shark Shield in Australia and described the problem and requested a replacement knob, which came free in about a week from a Minnesota address.  I put the new knob on and the unit worked fine.  I'm pretty sure the magnet operates a switch within the sealed unit when the knob is turned so the magnet is in the proper position, and the corroded magnet wasn't powerful enough to trigger the switch, but had just enough force to barely keep the switch in the on position most of the time.
   Importantly, the new knob came with two "O" rings, one large diameter, one small.
The large one fits into a groove in the case under the knob, and the smaller one under the small plastic "washer" that the screw goes through to hold the knob itself on.  I hadn't noticed the original rings because they are the same red color as the knob So it appears that the O rings are meant to keep water out from underneath the knob so that the magnet doesn't get corroded, and, possibly, so that water doesn't get into the case, though I would think there'd be other O rings inside the case to keep water from entering if there is any opening under the knob, which I doubt. 
   I can imagine that if the knob screw comes un-tightened just slightly, some water can get past the O rings and begin to corrode and lead to the problem I had.
    It's also possible that I torqued the knob somehow in my rollover or by striking it some way and created the hairline crack which led to water intrusion.
     The manual I got with the unit says nothing about maintaining the knob, though it does say to rinse the unit thoroughly (Which I did, maybe too thoroughly, because I used the "fan" setting on my garden hose-end sprayer to spray into the space between the knob and the case- maybe forcing water past the large O ring.).
     And while I will probably just gently bucket rinse the unit from now on, and even though I might wonder whether water is getting past the O rings, I don't think I'll be unscrewing the knob to check, because that might create a problem where none exists.  Right now, I've got the screw tightened to the point where the knob will turn, but not real easily. I'll just trust that it should work well from now on, and if it doesn't get another knob and maybe silicone grease the O rings and dielectric grease the magnet.
      Shark Shield didn't give any explanation or instructions  with the replacement knob and rings, but they were very quick to replace the part when I brought the problem to their attention.
     

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/01/from-nazi-germany-to-australia-the-incredible-true-story-of-historys-longest-kayak-journey

Good light winter reading. 

A friend sent this pic from a trip to the beach in Ecuador with the comment: "You can't get fish fresher than this unless you swim with your mouth open!"

  I haven't seen this info on the forum - the SC Port District website says that the Coast Guard closed the entrance from the opening to the gas dock to "all vessels".  I think there's enough water there to paddle through, but it would take some care if large swells were running - probably why they closed it completely. 
   If you've just got to get out, consider Capitola. Or perhaps Cowells (Don't know it that's legal, but people have done it.) or a beach launch from the State beach to the west of the harbor a little west of Seabright Ave. - near the Natural History Museum (The Cement Whale.) - no signs forbidding it, though I've never seen anyone do it, and it would be quite a haul over the sand (Beach re-built because the jetties were constructed.).
    I think it will be at least a month before the harbor is opened.  There is a huge amount of sand in there.  There have been a lot of large swell days this winter.  Think of the poor bastards with large powerboats who can't get out.
   

   There are signs in the south end (nearest Aldo's)of the west parking lot at the SC Harbor saying no parking this Sunday.  The end of the west parking lot near the bridge, past the dry storage for sailboats  and near that kayak launch near the Velocity didn't have the signs.
    They are going to have a car show - how that has anything to do with boating I have no idea, maybe they think car pics with boats in the background will look good.  And on one of the last few nice weekends of the season.   I hope there's more to the story than just another car show.
     Not that there are any fish in SC, mind you.   

http://opentopublic.blogspot.com/2015/08/carmel-bay-fisherman-films-close.html

I found this today when I was looking at the Monterey Herald.  It's just a photo with the caption that it is a 54" halibut from the Monterey Bay, but no date, no species, no info about where.  The pic and caption are near the bottom of the article.