When my wife and I decided to visit her father in Monterey, I knew that the trip had to include diving in the bay there. I started by researching the dive shops in the area, and looking on the map to see where they were located in relation to the hotel we would be staying in. That narrowed it down to 2 very conveniently located dive shops. Maximizing the convenience, I selected Monterey Bay Dive Company, as it is located directly across the street from the hotel. I called, and started making arrangements with Chris for the gear I would need, and for 2 guided dives. I left open the choice between diving wet and dry, waiting to see what the weather would be like before deciding.
We arrived the afternoon of 19 December, the day before the dives, so after checking into the hotel, I walked across the street to meet the folks at MBDC. I met Chris, discussed the weather for the next day, and decided to go ahead and dive dry, since there was a chance it would be chilly during the surface interval. Chris got me set up with a DUI CF200, and got the zip seals all fitted and installed into the suit. One aspect of the suit that caught my eye was the suspenders. They are quite durable, more so than those on my own dry suit. We got the paperwork done, and I went back to the hotel.
The morning of 20 December dawned nice and clear, and after a good breakfast, I went to the shop to get ready for diving, showing up at 8am. I met my guide, Alicia, and she gave me a pre-dive briefing, and we discussed proper weighting, given diving saltwater, and using steel 95s instead of the normal Al 80. I figgered the weighting would come out close to my weighting for my dry suit with an Al 80 in fresh water. I told her I was bringing my camera, but that was a secondary objective, seeing the bay was first. She assured me I would have plenty of opportunities to take pictures. Then we geared up and walked across the street to the beach. The first dive was along the Breakwater. We swam partway out, and descended down. (The weighting did work out just fine) Alicia did a fantastic job guiding the dive, showing me all the various life in the bay. We even had a couple sea lions come swim around us during the dive. We returned to the shore for our surface interval, getting tanks refilled. On reviewing the pictures, I did not have good results. I fiddled with settings on the camera, and set out to do better on the second dive. On the second dive, we followed the pipe on out, and explored the Metridium field. Again, Alicia pointed everything out and made sure I had plenty of chances to take pictures. When air began to get low, we again headed for shore. Alicia did great guiding the dives, and making the calculations for our max bottom time. Both dives I walked out of the water with 500psi remaining. On reviewing the photos from the second dive, I had some great results.
In the end, 2 great dives, great weather, and great support from MBDC. Given the warmth (air and water both in low 50s), I coulda/shoulda dove wet, rather than dry. But, I have to admit, they supplied me with a great rental dry suit. So, all in all, and good time out there in California, and well worth the trip. Next time we go out, I will get in some more dives!
Ken
We arrived the afternoon of 19 December, the day before the dives, so after checking into the hotel, I walked across the street to meet the folks at MBDC. I met Chris, discussed the weather for the next day, and decided to go ahead and dive dry, since there was a chance it would be chilly during the surface interval. Chris got me set up with a DUI CF200, and got the zip seals all fitted and installed into the suit. One aspect of the suit that caught my eye was the suspenders. They are quite durable, more so than those on my own dry suit. We got the paperwork done, and I went back to the hotel.
The morning of 20 December dawned nice and clear, and after a good breakfast, I went to the shop to get ready for diving, showing up at 8am. I met my guide, Alicia, and she gave me a pre-dive briefing, and we discussed proper weighting, given diving saltwater, and using steel 95s instead of the normal Al 80. I figgered the weighting would come out close to my weighting for my dry suit with an Al 80 in fresh water. I told her I was bringing my camera, but that was a secondary objective, seeing the bay was first. She assured me I would have plenty of opportunities to take pictures. Then we geared up and walked across the street to the beach. The first dive was along the Breakwater. We swam partway out, and descended down. (The weighting did work out just fine) Alicia did a fantastic job guiding the dive, showing me all the various life in the bay. We even had a couple sea lions come swim around us during the dive. We returned to the shore for our surface interval, getting tanks refilled. On reviewing the pictures, I did not have good results. I fiddled with settings on the camera, and set out to do better on the second dive. On the second dive, we followed the pipe on out, and explored the Metridium field. Again, Alicia pointed everything out and made sure I had plenty of chances to take pictures. When air began to get low, we again headed for shore. Alicia did great guiding the dives, and making the calculations for our max bottom time. Both dives I walked out of the water with 500psi remaining. On reviewing the photos from the second dive, I had some great results.
In the end, 2 great dives, great weather, and great support from MBDC. Given the warmth (air and water both in low 50s), I coulda/shoulda dove wet, rather than dry. But, I have to admit, they supplied me with a great rental dry suit. So, all in all, and good time out there in California, and well worth the trip. Next time we go out, I will get in some more dives!
Ken
