Barge Expedition on Doubles report:

[Anti-Hero]

Casey,

It was really cool to have bumped into you and your buddy. I wanted to go watch you launch the Scooters into the water, but had to stay for support on a class.

You also had a big grin on your face as did your friend when you both spoke about the scooters.

I am saving up for one, and now can only wait...

Say, I would love to do a doubles dive with you if you bring down your doubles for Lobos, like we did a long time ago, so what do you say? It would be so much fun diving with you again. :cool2:

MG

I'm alway up for Lobos diving; I only dive Lobos in doubles. It's just too far of a swim for most of the more interesting sites to single tank it.

 

[kathydee]

Also as Kathy stated, I dove this expedition with not just one DM but three that are very familiar with the site, I wouldn't have it any other way, just the type of diver I have become, I can thank K a little for adopting that type of mentality.

That's very kind of you Mike G .

 

[Peter_C]

Anyway, props need to be mentioned to all the single divers that have dove successfully the barge, Neil, Kristina and of course Guy.

Grammer Police Alert! Neil is not single he has a wonderful woman I do not know if Guy is single or not? Kristina is single and looking for her knight in black neoprene though

When I dove the barge I was single, so thanks for the props Mike :cool2:
Okay back to the regularly scheduled event

 

[mikeguerrero]

Grammer Police Alert! Neil is not single he has a wonderful woman I do not know if Guy is single or not? Kristina is single and looking for her knight in black neoprene though

When I dove the barge I was single, so thanks for the props Mike :cool2:
Okay back to the regularly scheduled event

Dude,

Your humor on the board, is second to none... I always get a kick out of your posts...

 

[np251]

Hi All

So many informative, great replies. Thanks to everyone who commented.

I agree that the barge is a tough dive and takes careful planning. The few times ive been out there werent exactly the best laid plans (and you know what they say about those) and we only ever got maybe 5 minutes tops out there for a look. Having run the numbers for an Al80 and our current level- we'd get 22 minutes to get from the wall-barge-back... definately not what id call a fun relaxed dive. Although the numbers say we *could* do it, and i have the kit and the training to mitigate some of the risk *should* we end up surfacing out there, it isnt something id want to do in a single Al80. The cost/benefit ratio just isnt tempting enough.

Besides, now im out there with someone that really loves to explore and hang out, i think a quick out and back to the barge is tantamount to being a ridiculous tease. There are still plenty of sites around BW that we love to explore and which result in very fulfilling dives, making the barge one of those 'wait to do it properly' dives. Once we get into dubs, we can make the most of the extra tank of gas and hang out and enjoy it.

Thanks again for all the replies.

PeterC- you got that right, she is awesome!

(/hijack)

 

[mikeguerrero]

I believe that it was Peter C that anchored next to the barge. If memory serves me right, he was spooked by a curious, evasive little seal that was warning him about something far more sinister in the water column. :shocked2:

But having said that, in this case off of a zodiak, singles would be awesome to explore in detail the barge, it is a fantastic dive site.

MG

 

[Guy Alcala]

Sorry Mike more hi-jacking .

There are plenty of great dives with fewer risks that the barge for newish single tank divers. I've had plenty of offers to visit the barge in a single tank but never felt comfortable with the idea. I agree with Ben about carrying more gas, just in case you encounter the unpredictable. <snip>

FWIW, I consider the barge only slightly more risky than the metridium fields, especially the outer ones. There can be considerable boat traffic there too, and you're a fair way out. But everyone should dive within their comfort level, and I always tell people that I recommend at least 1,000 PSI as a turn around no matter how much gas you're carrying, and anything up to 1/2 your capacity depending on your tank size. You should have enough gas at turn around to get you and your buddy at least halfway to the wall while air-sharing, and it's preferable to have enough to get all the way to it. Halfway or more on ~200 deg. will be enough to get you out from under the motor and sailboats, but not necessarily kayaks.

I really think Ben Ca and Gombessa summed it up about this site not being for beginners. Their reasons are rock solid and like Neil said, you constantly hear the propellers from the engines!

Yes, it's definitely an intermediate dive, as in addition to the above, the round trip distance from the beach is about 3/4 mile.

<snip>

Anyway, props need to be mentioned to all the single divers that have dove successfully the barge, Neil, Kristina and of course Guy.

But you should remember that Guy is not a beginner diver, far from it. Has anyone on this board had a one/one conversation with this dude? Seriously he is to me the Guru of Break Water.

He is an intense, very knowledgeable diver that has the Math all packed away for the dive, if you get lost with him then you were not really diving with Guy but some other diver that calls himself just a Guy diver.

Mike, in the extremely unlikely event that the Vatican ever considers me for canonization:blessing:, can I give you as a reference? Thanks.

Lest anyone get an exaggerated impression of my nav. abilities from the above, I have my bad nav. days too. Or as Bob Newhart had it in a bit about a submarine that had just traveled around the world submerged, "Men, the navigator informs me that when we surface we'll be seeing the familiar skyline of _either_ New York City, . . . . or Buenos Aires?" Similarly, there are days when about all I can say is 'if we swim on course such and such, I can guarantee raying: that we'll eventually run into land somewhere between Pacific Grove and Seaside'. My buddies might just as well be carrying one of these: :classic: To quote Daniel Boone, "I ain't never been lost, but I was a mite confused once fer three days."


Fortunately, the number of nav. dives where I'm lucky and/or good outnumbers the ones where I'm a :bonk:. But I still haven't found Kristina's Thing-a-ma-bob despite having spent more than a year mapping the BW, and specifically looking for it on three dives. My knowledge of BW's topography and features is a long way from complete.

Guy
:focus:

 

[Guy Alcala]

I believe that it was Peter C that anchored next to the barge. If memory serves me right, he was spooked by a curious, evasive little seal that was warning him about something far more sinister in the water column. :shocked2:

But having said that, in this case off of a zodiak, singles would be awesome to explore in detail the barge, it is a fantastic dive site.

MG

If you've only got an 80 and you want to spend more time at the barge, it's also possible to swim most/all of the way out to the barge on the surface, using a back range for line up and a cross range, drop a little short and then continue out on the same heading until you hit it or the line. I used to use the back range (aka lineup)on Chuck T's website,

GPS For the Monterey Diver

lining up the end of the gate where it extends out over the side of the BW with the corner of the bathroom. I did my first two dives to the barge that way, but I haven't tried it since the gate got bent by some big waves a couple of years back. I used to drop on a cross-bearing of 145 or 150 deg. to the daymark at the end of the BW, which made sure I was inshore of the barge when I dropped. IIRR you can't see Monterey Bay Kayaks from the water to use it as Chuck recommends, although you can from a boat.

It's a good idea to dive the barge a few times going out from the wall before you try this, to familiarize youself with the bottom features in the area of the barge, especially the debris field off the SE end and the line, as well as the likely depths. It's also a good idea to know how to swim a search pattern, with or without using a reel, and have access to a tide table before the dive so you can estimate the likely depth. But this is an excellent use of ranges, although you should practice on other shallower sites before attempting to do so here.

Guy

 

[pacificgal]

Grammer Police Alert! Neil is not single he has a wonderful woman I do not know if Guy is single or not? Kristina is single and looking for her knight in black neoprene though

When I dove the barge I was single, so thanks for the props Mike :cool2:
Okay back to the regularly scheduled event

I am single but quit looking. I decided it was much more fun just to have fun. :cool2:

 

[Peter_C]

I am single but quit looking. I decided it was much more fun just to have fun. :cool2:

That is just when you step into something, after you quite looking. .