Dive Report: Point Lobos (5/27/11) - Scooters + R3 = Fun!

[Hepcat62]

Ben V and I met up at Lobos on Friday for a fun dive, with the intention of figuring out how to run a Rec3 compatible dive - a little bit of deco, a lot of fun. The plan was to surface scooter out, and then head to the deep end of Beto's Reef (in about 130fsw), spend 15-20 minutes out there, and then head back towards the cove. Once we dropped down (in about 80fsw, a bit past Hole in the Wall), we were quite pleased to find that visibility was FANTASTIC - easily 50+ feet.

After the gas switch at 70fsw, we enjoyed a nice fun dive on our way back through the cove. Doing deco this way is much more enjoyable, but then again, scooters makes everything more enjoyable.

Later that night, we met up with Claudette and Mykle for a night dive at Breakwater. Mykle and I did a kick dive out and back on the wall, and while visibility was not what I'd call "good", it was an excellent night for critter hunting. Lots of fish out, some ginormous crabs, a small herd of Dendronotus Iris (including a mating pair, we think), and a few octopi made for a really nice dive.

Thanks to Ben and Mykle for a couple of great dives! Here's some video of the Lobos dive...

 

[Ben_ca]

It was awesome diving with you Brian. Thanks for putting that video together. Lets do it again soon!

 

[TSandM]

Looks like fantastic Monterey viz!

Just a question -- were you guys carrying the 80s as stages, or as deco bottles?

 

[Hepcat62]

Just a question -- were you guys carrying the 80s as stages, or as deco bottles?

Umm, I guess I'd say a little bit of both, since we definitely planned to do both our short'ish deco obligation and some extended bottom time on the bottles. We were trying to figure out how to plan Rec3-compatible dives at Lobos. The plan was to do a deep segment (20 minutes or so around 120-130fsw) on 21/35, then switch onto 32% at 70 and do a nice multi-level dive back into the cove, doing our deco along the way. I thought it worked out pretty well... Ben might have some other insights.

 

[Ben_ca]

I would call them deco bottles. The Rec 3 profiles are pretty interesting. It's pretty much the 2nd dive everyone does after a T1 dive at Lobos.. It just has a name now.

 

[Hepcat62]

Neat. Thinking about it more, it does make more sense to call it "extended deco" than "bottom time".

Now I'm curious - how does running deco change for the tech 1 dive at lobos? I'm assuming that unless you're off a boat you're still doing deco in the cove... Is it just less screwing around on the way in? That would make sense, since I'm assuming you're on a 50% (or O2 I guess) bottle... presumably an AL40?

 

[Ben_ca]

I don't want to peel back the curtain too far and spoil it for everyone... Let's save the answer for your next class

 

[Ben_ca]

After reviewing the profile I think Rec 3 + Scooters + Pt Lobos are a perfect match

 

[Hepcat62]

After reviewing the profile I think Rec 3 + Scooters + Pt Lobos are a perfect match

Agreed - the only downside is how attractive that lithium battery is starting to look.