Hello from San Francisco

[bdrell]

Hi, all.

My wife and I recently finished our certification dives on our honeymoon in French Polynesia, and we've definitely both caught the diving bug. We've probably spoiled ourselves, what with the sharks, manta rays, spotted eagle rays, and massive schools of fish we saw in the Society Islands, but we're also really looking forward to diving in the kelp out here.

We did our SSI Open Water, and I'm planning on taking some specialty classes -- particularly nitrox and the perfect buoyancy class.

Just wanted to say hi. I've already gotten quite a bit of useful information out of the gear forums.

 

[Schwob]

Welcome!

 

[BikerBecca]

Welcome from San Francisco!

You'll find me in Monterey pretty much every weekend. I'm a Divemaster down there so if you have any questions about diving in Monterey, diving cold water, etc just ask.

~Rebecca

 

[wnissen]

Welcome from the East Bay! Have mainly done shore diving in Monterey and it's true that 30 ft / 10 m. visibility is a good day. And there are not, typically, vast schools of fish to be seen, and I've yet to see a shark down there. But there are still incredible things to see. Nudibranch eggs are just gorgeous, seals and cormorants dive bombing you, and of course the magnificent giant kelp. It's really awesome, hope to see you around.

 

[iamrushman]

howdy and welcome from southeast florida...good luck with your diving adventures..

 

[bdrell]

Thanks, everyone! I’m really excited about diving in Monterey. I’m a supporter of the aquarium, and as a hiker, I love walking through the forest. I’d imagine diving in Monterey is like that, but diving.

Looking forward to seeing sea stars, anemones, abalone, urchins, and so forth.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Welcome to the board!
I’m up here in Santa Rosa and mostly dive Sonoma and Mendocino Counties, but I sometines will make the trek down to Monterey to get in a few dives.
The Channel Islands are really great too. I highly recommend shooting down there and jumping on a two or three day charter, world class diving, loads of fun, they feed you like a king, no babysitting, and close by too.

 

[Chavodel8en]

Thanks, everyone! I’m really excited about diving in Monterey. I’m a supporter of the aquarium, and as a hiker, I love walking through the forest. I’d imagine diving in Monterey is like that, but diving.

Looking forward to seeing sea stars, anemones, abalone, urchins, and so forth.

Someone once called Monterey/Carmel diving "hiking underwater" and I ascribe to that description. The kelp forests have thinned recently due to the sea stars dying, but looking up the kelp stalks, with the light peeking through is a bit like looking up a redwood forest.

Someone described Butterfly House in Carmel as "Yosemite underwater," with its boulders strewn around, and I would include Monastery and parts of Pt. Lobos in that comparison.

Welcome and enjoy the diving.

Oh and if you haven't found it yet, there is a NorCal regional forum here as well, down in the regional forums.