Good beginner dives in Monterey?

[rugbydiver]

As I mentioned in a previous thread (thank you to the guys who replied), I'm heading to Monterey in mid-March.

2 of the guys I'm going with are new to diving (well, so am I... 35 dives... they're in the 5-10 postcertification range.)

I know that Monterey can fiesty... when I dove there last time, I was on the Breakwater and enjoyed it, I'd like to try something new, and was wondering what other beach dives y'all would recommend for us to go to.

Knowing my buddies, they'll be comfortable in the water, they just need one "easy" dive where they can get reacquainted with the water, figure out their rental gear, and still have some good marine life (I've heard that Lover's Point is good for this.)

After that, I'd like a couple options as to stuff that can "be kept easy" if need be, or can be deeper, have different kinds of sea life, etc. We're thinking about doing 3 dives -- we'll be arriving around noon, so I reckon that should be enough time.

As ever, I remain indebted to y'all's knowledge.

If you ever want a good dive site in Colorado, um... I'll just stop there.

 

[D_O_H]

I've done all of 10 dives in Monterey, so take this with an appropriate amount of salt, but I do have a couple of recommendations:

-Which sites are easy can vary depending on the conditions, so it's hard to predict what will be an easy dive until you get out there (though I believe sites in the bay like breakwater are the most protected and "easy" during typical conditions).

-See if you can get reservations at point lobos. I haven't had a chance to dive there yet, but everyone I speak to raves about it. I did go hiking there and Whaler's Cove looked like an easy entry with sheltered conditions, though I'm sure this can vary depending on which way the swell is moving. If you're going to be there during the week, getting in is a piece of cake. Diving there on the weekends is tougher.

-You can rent a divemaster for a few dives for pretty cheap from most of the local dive shops. I did this my first time diving down there (used Monterey Bay Scuba Diving) and it was an excellent way to get the benefit of some local knowledge and experience.

-There's a decent DVD available called Monterey Shore Diving (I think) that gives a pretty decent overview of the popular sites from big sur to breakwater. MBSD sells it and I image you can find it online as well.

I'll defer to the experts on anything else.

As I mentioned in a previous thread (thank you to the guys who replied), I'm heading to Monterey in mid-March.

2 of the guys I'm going with are new to diving (well, so am I... 35 dives... they're in the 5-10 postcertification range.)

I know that Monterey can fiesty... when I dove there last time, I was on the Breakwater and enjoyed it, I'd like to try something new, and was wondering what other beach dives y'all would recommend for us to go to.

Knowing my buddies, they'll be comfortable in the water, they just need one "easy" dive where they can get reacquainted with the water, figure out their rental gear, and still have some good marine life (I've heard that Lover's Point is good for this.)

After that, I'd like a couple options as to stuff that can "be kept easy" if need be, or can be deeper, have different kinds of sea life, etc. We're thinking about doing 3 dives -- we'll be arriving around noon, so I reckon that should be enough time.

As ever, I remain indebted to y'all's knowledge.

If you ever want a good dive site in Colorado, um... I'll just stop there.

 

[darkpup]

Staying in Monterey, there are 3 dive sites that come to mind for beginners.

Breakwater (BW)
Mcabee Beach - McAbee Beach and BW
Lover's Point - BW and Lover's Pt.

The amenities are nice with local bathrooms at all locations, and food near by. The depths are usually in the 30' range, but can get deeper especially at Breakwater. All sites are relatively protected, and have easy access to the water.

Most of the sites can be dove in all conditions if you're up for dealing with the waves during the stormy months. The only thing to look for is surfers. If there are surfers in the water, then it's probably to rough to dive.

If you're really interested in diving Monterey and want more detailed information, there's a great DVD of local dive sites. It's titled "Monterey Shore Diving: as told by those who love to dive there", and you should be able to order it from either Monterey Bay Dive Center or Manta Ray Dive Center in Monterey.

Let me know if you have more specific questions about dive sites, and I'll do what I can to help out.

~ Jason

 

[darkpup]

-See if you can get reservations at point lobos.

Yep, I forgot about Pt. Lobos. It's a great place to dive, and with any luck, I'll be diving there on Wednesday.

Here's a link to the state park web site. Chances are it's booked on the weekends, but should be open on week days.

Pt. Lobos State Park: Scuba

~ Jason

 

[dannobee]

You could try McAbee's, it's just up the road from Breakwater-there's an El Torito restaurant right next door to the beach. The beach is actually a vacant lot with access from the sidewalk. Bring quarters for the parking meters though, or the lot across the street charges $10 for the day, and you can walk around, have lunch, and not worry about feeding the meters. If you dive there, keep an eye out for "the bucket." It's been there, in one form or another, for years.

If you go to Breakwater again you can check out the metridium fields if you feel like swimming. Magnetic compass heading of 020 from the main stairs (off the top of my head, but I'm pretty sure it's correct-there's a bouy WAAAY out there that you can also use for a reference). Line up with Reeside Ave, in about 60 feet of water. You'll probably see others out there before you go in.

Lover's Point Cove is an easy dive with quite a lot to see. (Well, except for those stairs when you're tired and have 80 lbs of junk strapped to you.) At least the parking's free. If there's no surf, you can try Otter Cove-right up the street from Lover's, just on the other side of the Point. But be careful on the rocks if you're doing a beach dive.

If it's a weekday, you might try to get reservations for Point Lobos, but I don't know what they do with threesomes. IIRC, you start diving from the boat ramp (only from there, too) and stay in Whaler's Cove. Chuck will probably chime in with more info, as Lobos has been awhile for me, as I'm just too lazy to plan two or three months in advance for a weekend dive there.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Breakwater, McAbee, Lover's, Lobos. I'd add Del Monte, but
either along the pier wall (requires a surface person and clearance
from the harbormaster) or on the Sailboat/Amtrack. Everything
else is boring sand.

For the Met Fields, they begin at about the centerline of Reeside,
so drop there in about 60', and swim NW. If you go SE, more
boring sand.

Divers are not allowed to park on the street at McAbee, you MUST
park in the lot across the street or in the El Torito lot (which has a
quite variable attitude about divers) (Actually, you can PARK on the
street, you just aren't allowed to load and unload and change).

Lover's has a bunch of rules in the Summer, but those don't
apply just now.

Threesomes are usually OK at Lobos to handle an odd number of
divers in your group , but don't try to get six divers in on two
reservations. If you dive Lobos, you must enter at the ramp.
Don't bother diving the area in front of the ramp, it's MUCH better
if you hang a left and swim way out before you drop. Take
a compass heading back to the ramp and meander back that
way during your dive. Be sure to allow plenty of air to get back
UNDER the kelp, doing the kelp crawl sucks. Remember that
it's usually a short UW swim to the open channel, a long swim all the
way to the ramp. Go up on top of the hill and eyeball things.

Good books:

A Diver's Guide to Monterey County, California, Bruce Watkins,
1997, ISBN 0-9628600-1-8

Diving & Snorkeling Monterey Peninsula & Northern California,
Steve Rosenberg, 3rd Edition, 2000, ISBN 0-86442-775-1

You can get them in most any Nor Cal dive shop.

Actually, sand can be fun, but you gotta look hard.

Chuck

 

[Ishie]

Lovers is our favorite, though with the exception of last weekend, every time we've been there this winter, it has been totally blown out. We discovered Lovers soon after we got our certification and from April through about September, it was flat as glass. Lovers usually has good visibility, the surface swim is quite pretty (unlike Breakwater), and perhaps it's luck, but we almost always pick up a pet harbor seal when we're there, and not too far out. We go off Beach 2, but at certain times, the rocks can be a headache. Best thing to do is to go to the far right hand side of the beach (if you're facing the water), and follow the sand channel out. It's easier to find in summer, because it's the only place where the kelp breaks.

 

[rugbydiver]

Just wanted to say thanks again to everyone who helped with their recommendations.

We went to Lobos on the day, got a couple good dives. Kelp wasn't too bad, despite the protests of the one guy in our dive group that managed to find a green (well, really brownish/yellow) monster on his back every 30seconds on the surface swims.

A few friendly seals came around to play with us as well.