July 3rd not quite hooky day

[mikemill]

Ok to let sarah get her hooky day planning back on track I'm starting another thread.

Several of us are available on July 3rd. It sounds like a big event is happening in/around Monterey that day so lets try doing a north coast dive.

The suggestions I got from the NCDers and from the other thread is Fort Ross. Anyone up for this? It'd be nice if someone familiar with the site was there to guide us.

 

[Jim Ernst]

This could be a good plan Mike , though I think we need to see if we can get one/some of the North Coast Divers as a guide if we are to do that area.

 

[Peter_C]

North Gerstle Cove is probably the easiest place to unload gear at. Then Still Water Cove, but the vehicle needs to be parked at the top of the hill and parking is VERY limited without parking in the County Park, which is quite a walk. I use a dolly to move all my gear at Still Water. Fort Ross State Park you drive down to the bottom and unload, then you have to pack your gear a little bit onto the beach. Once unloaded your vehicle has to go all the way to the top. Fortunately it is an unwritten rule that anyone walking gets offered a ride. Even the park rangers will hook you up.

For places to hang out...well Still Water has three tables and from there it is a short walk to the beach. Gerstle has fairly large rocks everywhere, but we do it with doubles and scooters all the time. Shortest walk since it is less than 30 feet from the drop off point to the water. Fort Ross has probably the longest walk, but the beach is a great place and could easily handle a few hundred people.

There are not as many divable days on the North Coast as there are in Monterey. The vis will average 10-15 feet on a good day. Some days we can see up to 40 feet though. There is plenty of life to see. Gerstle is a Marine Preserve and therefore loaded with life. To see lots of fish at the other dive sites you need to get out further. The North Coast has some incredible structure, after all the area is very rocky. There are pinnacles that rise 40 feet up. We can hit 90+ feet at all of our dive sites, but we do use scooters to conserve gas.

Here are a couple of links with more info. Sorry the website got screwed up and all my photos and dive reports are gone. Oh well...
Fort Ross
Gerstle Cove

 

[PKHamrick]

Boy did you open up a can of worms!!!
1. I would not personally dive north coast in July as I am an abalone diver and abs are off limits the month of July, so I am out period.
2. The drive is long and you will want to car pool as much as possible.
3. It will be very difficult to get there and back in one day unless you live in Santa Rosa (hi Michelle).
4. The fourth of July weekend will create lots of traffic. ugh.
5. You are correct, there is a big race at Laguna Seca that weekend so bikers will be all over Monterey but they do not hinder the SCUBA diving much unless they have submersible bikes or are too drunk to stay dry. Unless you are trying to find a room in Monterey you should be OK.
If y’all decide to go up North, have fun… I will see you in August for the summertime M&G.

 

[Peter_C]

Boy did you open up a can of worms!!!
1. I would not personally dive north coast in July as I am an abalone diver and abs are off limits the month of July, so I am out period.

What do abs have to do with scuba diving? You do know that you can sight see while tank diving the North Coast right? LOL

2. The drive is long and you will want to car pool as much as possible.

Except the two first posters are coming from Sacramento, which means either place is roughly the same amount of time.

3. It will be very difficult to get there and back in one day unless you live in Santa Rosa (hi Michelle).

My friends from Dixon to San Jose dive the North Coast all the time.

4. The fourth of July weekend will create lots of traffic. ugh.

That is the best reason to stay away from the South Bay Area.

5. You are correct, there is a big race at Laguna Seca that weekend so bikers will be all over Monterey but they do not hinder the SCUBA diving much unless they have submersible bikes or are too drunk to stay dry. Unless you are trying to find a room in Monterey you should be OK.
If y’all decide to go up North, have fun… I will see you in August for the summertime M&G.

Any time there is a race it can create huge traffic jams. You are probably right though that they will not affect Monterey itself.

 

[PKHamrick]

You are right, most of the posters are not from Monterey and the drive from Sac-Town is pretty much the same for both locations. I have done both SCUBA and free diving on the North coast. I will wait until August when I can do both and come home with abalone. Have fun all, I will be in Monterey with the bikers on the 3rd.
Paula

 

[Brewski]

I was going to make the same points that Peter made. seems your arguments are purely selfish miss Paula.
The sacto gang regularly drive 3-4 hours to hang with you Monterey types so why can't you do it once in a while for us my dear???

 

[mikemill]

Not sure what can of worms I opened...

I know both Jim and I would go crazy dealing with the traffic out of the Monterey area on the 3rd. I was down there a few summers back on race weekend. While the city itself wasn't bad (full but still ok) the traffic in and out was just horrible.

Anyone is free to join us or not join us. Just please understand that I do want to vary my locations. If someone wants to get a Monterey group together for the 3rd be my guest.

 

[Jim Ernst]

Not sure what can of worms I opened...

I know both Jim and I would go crazy dealing with the traffic out of the Monterey area on the 3rd. I was down there a few summers back on race weekend. While the city itself wasn't bad (full but still ok) the traffic in and out was just horrible.

Anyone is free to join us or not join us. Just please understand that I do want to vary my locations. If someone wants to get a Monterey group together for the 3rd be my guest.

Mike.

I wonder if we went into Monterey real early we could miss the traffic, and then when leaving on A Friday like the 3rd wouldn't all of the traffic be coming in while we were going out?

 

[Anti-Hero]

When you have the USGP at Laguna, there are lots of races over multiple days. When people don't want to watch particular races guess where they go? Yep, you guessed it. Cannery Row baby. You can't get a hotel within 40 miles, you can't eat, you can't park - it's loosely organised chaos, and it will affect divers in Monterey.