Yea im behind again…
Saturday Jeff, Jessica and I headed off to Lovers Cove. They hadn’t been here yet and wanted to give it a shot. I was hoping for better vis than my first dive there. When we arrived we checked things out and decided to dive Lovers #1. It was obviously the calmest and looked like the easiest entry. Off we went to gear up.
I was not on top of my game this morning and was taking a little longer than usual to gear up. I blame my lack of sleep from the crazy work week. Once we had our gear we did a discussion of what we would do on our way down to the beach. Once at the beach we did our buddy checks and agreed on where we would swim out to. In we went. When we got in vis didn’t look that bad at all…
Once we had swam out to our drop down point however, the vis was not good at all. We agreed to drop down and down we went. About 5 feet into the descent I knew it wasn’t going to be a good dive at all. The vis was about 3-4 feet. I tried to communicate to Jeff with hand signals that since we couldn’t see we might as well go back, but it didn’t work. So out to sea we went, and the whole time the vis never got any better.
I actually almost hit my head several times on some rocks because of not being able to see where they were, and trying to keep an eye on my buddies. No life at all was out today, I dont even think I saw very many starfish. Probably more so because even if they were there I wouldn’t have known it. Finally however, I was able to convince Jeff it was time to go back since conditions were not improving. He signaled for me to lead back to shore (something I never look forward to, but enjoy the practice in doing) and back we went. The swim back was about as eventful as the swim out, except once we started getting closer to the shore the vis improved! Go figure.
At the end of the dive we ran into Mike (SB: mikeguerrero) and Danile; we were thinking about doing Lovers 3. Once the decision was made to do Lovers 2, I decided I would pass on a second dive. I just don’t enjot the 3 foot vis. I wished everyone luck and better vis and decided id head over to Monastery and check out what it was like over there.
DIVE #17: 38′ Depth for 00:37 minutes with 52F water temperatures. We had about 3-4′ of vis. This dive was with EANx32.
03.May.2008 - South Monastery, Monterey CA
Before I left for Monastery I called a LDS and found out that they were doing an AOW class out there that day. I figured I might as well go check it out (never being there before) and see how bad it really was. When I arrived I saw a familiar car so I knew they were still there, but not on the surface. So I hung out and checked things out. Not too bad of a beach… large sand.
Once they were up I went over to their cars and said hello. The owner of the LDS that I frequent was doing his AOW class and they had just finished their peak buoyancy lesson. Apparently they had about 70′ vis, and I was astonished. Lovers had 3′, and Monastery had 70′…wow!
While they were taking their SI break I went and asked if I could be of any assistance on their next dive. Turns out they had a student that needed a buddy. Since I was still in my wetsuit, I finished gearing up and we setup a plan. My buddy and I would be the last of the three groups to go out, once out my buddy would do his navigation exercise and they I was going to take him for a little tour through the rocks and kelp.
We went down and met the Instructor, I was just trying to stay out of the way, but be close if needed. My buddy did his calibration swim to count his kicks for 100′. When he went to turn around somehow his fin came off. I could also see that he was struggling and was also slightly worried when this happened. I quickly swam over and took his fin and helped him get it back on and strapped down. I then followed him for the rest of his exercises, and for a good portion I was swimming upside down amazed at how clear it was all the way to the surface.
Once he completed his skills we went off into the kelp and rocks right at end of the beach. Again, I was amazed at how surreal everything looked. You could look off and see kelp far in the distance, and see the entire rock structure, as well as how it layed out beneath you. I was really enjoying the vis and the sites. Every single anenome was out and open today too! Every crevice you peered into had at least three good sized ones in them. There were also a good number of fish swimming around, as well as a few nudi’s and crabs. Unfortunately my buddy was starting to get low on air and I didn’t want to make him feel like we were pushing any limits so we began to head back.
The exit was much like the entry, get right behind the wave break, take off the fins and casually walk out. I guess my first Monastery experience spoiled be with great conditions because now I am hooked.
DIVE #18: 25′Depth for 00:29 minutes with 49F water temperatures. We had about 70′ of vis. This dive was with EANx39 I had a PO2 of 0.68.
Saturday Jeff, Jessica and I headed off to Lovers Cove. They hadn’t been here yet and wanted to give it a shot. I was hoping for better vis than my first dive there. When we arrived we checked things out and decided to dive Lovers #1. It was obviously the calmest and looked like the easiest entry. Off we went to gear up.
I was not on top of my game this morning and was taking a little longer than usual to gear up. I blame my lack of sleep from the crazy work week. Once we had our gear we did a discussion of what we would do on our way down to the beach. Once at the beach we did our buddy checks and agreed on where we would swim out to. In we went. When we got in vis didn’t look that bad at all…
Once we had swam out to our drop down point however, the vis was not good at all. We agreed to drop down and down we went. About 5 feet into the descent I knew it wasn’t going to be a good dive at all. The vis was about 3-4 feet. I tried to communicate to Jeff with hand signals that since we couldn’t see we might as well go back, but it didn’t work. So out to sea we went, and the whole time the vis never got any better.
I actually almost hit my head several times on some rocks because of not being able to see where they were, and trying to keep an eye on my buddies. No life at all was out today, I dont even think I saw very many starfish. Probably more so because even if they were there I wouldn’t have known it. Finally however, I was able to convince Jeff it was time to go back since conditions were not improving. He signaled for me to lead back to shore (something I never look forward to, but enjoy the practice in doing) and back we went. The swim back was about as eventful as the swim out, except once we started getting closer to the shore the vis improved! Go figure.
At the end of the dive we ran into Mike (SB: mikeguerrero) and Danile; we were thinking about doing Lovers 3. Once the decision was made to do Lovers 2, I decided I would pass on a second dive. I just don’t enjot the 3 foot vis. I wished everyone luck and better vis and decided id head over to Monastery and check out what it was like over there.
DIVE #17: 38′ Depth for 00:37 minutes with 52F water temperatures. We had about 3-4′ of vis. This dive was with EANx32.
03.May.2008 - South Monastery, Monterey CA
Before I left for Monastery I called a LDS and found out that they were doing an AOW class out there that day. I figured I might as well go check it out (never being there before) and see how bad it really was. When I arrived I saw a familiar car so I knew they were still there, but not on the surface. So I hung out and checked things out. Not too bad of a beach… large sand.
Once they were up I went over to their cars and said hello. The owner of the LDS that I frequent was doing his AOW class and they had just finished their peak buoyancy lesson. Apparently they had about 70′ vis, and I was astonished. Lovers had 3′, and Monastery had 70′…wow!
While they were taking their SI break I went and asked if I could be of any assistance on their next dive. Turns out they had a student that needed a buddy. Since I was still in my wetsuit, I finished gearing up and we setup a plan. My buddy and I would be the last of the three groups to go out, once out my buddy would do his navigation exercise and they I was going to take him for a little tour through the rocks and kelp.
We went down and met the Instructor, I was just trying to stay out of the way, but be close if needed. My buddy did his calibration swim to count his kicks for 100′. When he went to turn around somehow his fin came off. I could also see that he was struggling and was also slightly worried when this happened. I quickly swam over and took his fin and helped him get it back on and strapped down. I then followed him for the rest of his exercises, and for a good portion I was swimming upside down amazed at how clear it was all the way to the surface.
Once he completed his skills we went off into the kelp and rocks right at end of the beach. Again, I was amazed at how surreal everything looked. You could look off and see kelp far in the distance, and see the entire rock structure, as well as how it layed out beneath you. I was really enjoying the vis and the sites. Every single anenome was out and open today too! Every crevice you peered into had at least three good sized ones in them. There were also a good number of fish swimming around, as well as a few nudi’s and crabs. Unfortunately my buddy was starting to get low on air and I didn’t want to make him feel like we were pushing any limits so we began to head back.
The exit was much like the entry, get right behind the wave break, take off the fins and casually walk out. I guess my first Monastery experience spoiled be with great conditions because now I am hooked.
DIVE #18: 25′Depth for 00:29 minutes with 49F water temperatures. We had about 70′ of vis. This dive was with EANx39 I had a PO2 of 0.68.
