Do I need a guide?

[Chuck Tribolet]

You need a guide, or a very experienced and patient local buddy. Any of
the Monterey dive shops should be able to fix you up. My choice would
be Aquarius on Del Monte (not to be confused with Aquarius II at the
breakwater, different ownership) but the others are OK,

Charthouse is great, Nepenthe is good, Rocky Point (2/3 of the way to
Nepenthe)is great, Monterey's Fish House is great but a bit noisy.

 

[SailNaked]

The guide was a total waste of money, and I guess time as I had to surface with 1500# each time.

Monterey bay at the coast guard station is almost a pool dive, the kelp are no issue what so ever and the cold water was not so cold at all. only 52° there is no current and the places to go are obvious as soon as you enter the water.

Lesson learned, but since we teach new students to get a guide in new situations I suppose I had to do it.

I did not make it to the Patisserie, we had reservations one evening but had packed too much into the day and fell asleep with no dinner that night.

On the last day we stopped at the Chowder House and were very happy with the quality of the food.

The area is beautiful and lots of stuff to do.

 

[zf2nt]

The guide was a total waste of money, and I guess time as I had to surface with 1500# each time.

That's a pretty brief trip report! I would really like to hear more so that I can understand why you had such a negative experience.

Bruce

 

[cmburch]

I am sorry to hear that. I have not dove there in over 20 years. Why would a paid guide take experienced divers to this area? And wasting so much air by surfacing early.

If the sea looks calm, I drive down towards Big Sur. If it is too rough when I get there, I dive the Carmel area. There is much more sea life, usually better visibility, and little chance of running into any other divers underwater.

 

[rdjiv]

...Why would a paid guide take experienced divers to this area?...

As a guide, it is hard to actually determine the level of ability a diver has just from the intro. And, based on what was already stated,

I do not have much experience Diving in cold water. I have no experience with kelp (below the water)...

breakwater would have been my choice as a dive site as well for this group.

However, as stated, the recommended course of action taught was followed, and although it might not have been a glorious Caribbean experience, it sounds to me that it wasn't bad. Plus, SailNaked got to experience a bit of Monterey diving and will hopefully come back to try new dive sites.

 

[cmburch]

I guess there are different ways of looking at it.

I take friends and relatives from Hawaii without cold water or kelp diving experience elsewhere if they were not interested in Breakwater. I also take them freediving up north if conditions are good.

He is listed as an instructor. There are easy dive spots in Pacific Grove and Carmel if conditions are good for someone with over 200 dives under his belt.

 

[rdjiv]

I completely agree with your statements. Friends and relatives are easier to assess and might lower the risk, making more dives sites viable.

I used to think that the instructor label made someone a good diver. Most of the time, that might be the case. But I've had a personal experience that proved otherwise so now I use the adage of 'trust by verify.' Once verified, I would definitely be up for more advanced dive sites - who really wants to dive Breakwater if they can go the Carmel?

 

[SailNaked]

I had two great dives, I just would not have paid a guide to do them after the fact.
The break water is fine diving and since I was not familiar with California waters it was all new and fun. No slight to the guide at all. I just did not know better and took the guide option.
The reason for the high left over air was we had one other diver with us that was very new to diving and his air was at 500#. no big deal I am used to that when diving in a group, but to do it again I would have preferred to be told the location of the dive spot and then done it on my own.
My only complaint would be that the shop never suggested this as an option. the breakwater is an elementary dive spot with no noticeable hazards, would have been nice if they passed on the income and offered me the option but I understand their position, I would have offered me the option.

 

[mikemill]

the breakwater is an elementary dive spot with no noticeable hazards,

Breakwater is not as benign as it looks sometimes. Some of my hairest moments have been a BW. Including getting tangled in kelp, getting knocked over and rolled, bounced near rocks (some with barnacles on them), and even having to deal with fishing lines near the wall.

This last weekend was some really nice weather with calm seas so I can see how one can easily think it is a non-issue site. The problem is that we don't always know what the conditions are gonna be like until we get out there.

Glad to hear you had a good time non the less