Is Point Lobos really that good?

[eelnoraa]

On a good a day, Lobo is as good as anywhere else I have dive, far better than Hawaii IMO. Lobo is more of a shore dive spot. Boat dive is possible, but since all divers must enter water in Whaler's cove, making boat dive logistic tricky.

Compare to Catalina, if you just dive in Casino point water park, then Lobo beat it by far. If cost is no issue, Cataline is better if you can do live aboard.

 

[raftingtigger]

We're into the summer kelp growth. Very hard to swim over (surface) but spectacular from underneath. It is almost like a boat dive with a swim. You enter down a concrete boat ramp and swim out through a channel in the kelp. Drop where ever you like a huge variety of depths to choose from. On exit there is a fresh water hose for rinsing gear. I'm headed there in a few minutes.

BTW, there is a reservation system for the 15 teams allowed daily. Weekends fill quickly (Sat especially) and you can reserve 60 days in advance. Weekdays usually aren't full and walk up can work. Check out the website for dive calendar, reservations, and other information. Dive Calendar | Point Lobos Foundation your want to click on "planning your visit" and then the path is obvious. Enjoy.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

We're into the summer kelp growth. Very hard to swim over (surface) but spectacular from underneath. It is almost like a boat dive with a swim. You enter down a concrete boat ramp and swim out through a channel in the kelp. Drop where ever you like a huge variety of depths to choose from. On exit there is a fresh water hose for rinsing gear. I'm headed there in a few minutes.

BTW, there is a reservation system for the 15 teams allowed daily. Weekends fill quickly (Sat especially) and you can reserve 60 days in advance. Weekdays usually aren't full and walk up can work. Check out the website for dive calendar, reservations, and other information. Dive Calendar | Point Lobos Foundation your want to click on "planning your visit" and then the path is obvious. Enjoy.

I'm too lazy to look up the rules forgive me, so tell me, is a "team" still three people, or did they drop it to two people?
I know you must make a reservation with a buddy - no solo allowed.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

you can reserve 60 days in advance.

No, two months, not 60 days, which is not quite the same (but makes the calculations easier).

Chuck

 

[bperc]

I'm too lazy to look up the rules forgive me, so tell me, is a "team" still three people, or did they drop it to two people?
I know you must make a reservation with a buddy - no solo allowed.

It is 2 divers.

1. Diving permits are limited to the fifteen (15) teams on any one day. Each permit is for a team of two divers. Diving alone is not permitted. All divers must have a partner. Permits are only valid for the date issued.

 

[TSandM]

I adore the diving from Point Lobos. The visibility can be amazing, and the color is astonishing. There is a fabulous density and variety of life. This is cold water diving, and some of the best viz occurs during cold upwellings, when the water temperature can be in the low 40's.

That said . . . If you are going to make a trip from the East to dive California, I'd suggest a 3 day liveaboard in the Channel Islands. Why? Because if conditions are good, the boat can go to San Miguel, which is VERY similar to Monterey. Lying further west than the other islands, San Miguel sits in the Humboldt current, which is the same cold water that bathes the Northern California coast. You will see the California hydrocoral and corynactis anemones there that you will see on the granite structure at the outer borders of lobos. (I CANNOT GET THIS DAMNED COMPUTER TO LET ME CAPITALIZE THAT NAME!). But on a Channel Islands liveaboard, you will also get to dive the places in the California current, which is warmer water. This where you will get the dense kelp and the Garibaldis, as well as the huge sea hares, gorgeous lobsters, octopuses, and tons of Nudibranchs. In addition, the boats can find shelter from whatever the prevailing winds and swell are, whereas if you come all the way out to dive Monterey, you are at the mercy of the water and weather conditions.

I love Monterey. We just did a three day stay there, for which we drove 14 hours each way. But if I were flying from the East for a single diving experience in California, I'd book the Peace for three days.

 

[deadbilly]

Just to toss in a little oceanographic pedantry, the cold current off the coast here is actually the California Current. The Humboldt flows north along the coasts of Peru and Chile. The inner Channel Islands and much of Southern California tend to be sheltered from the California Current by Point Conception, and warm waters flow north from Baja in the Southern California Countercurrent. Otherwise, you're right about San Miguel (and Santa Rosa), but you'll be extremely hard pressed to find the type of vertical relief we get at Lobos.

 

[raftingtigger]

It is 2 divers.

1. Diving permits are limited to the fifteen (15) teams on any one day. Each permit is for a team of two divers. Diving alone is not permitted. All divers must have a partner. Permits are only valid for the date issued.

BUT you can pay for 4 divers and only bring 3 and dive as a team of 3. Each diver is $10, and parking is $10/car.

Conditions can vary tremendously from day to day. I suggest you follow the thread http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/norcal/425815-monterey-conditions-lets-keep-going.html. For example this Saturday (6-28-14) the conditions were excellent: no swell, no surge, and 40+ vis, with lots of life swimming around. The next day (6-29), the swell was coming in and had stirred things up quite a bit. Swell in the cove at the entry was not bad, but then again the viz there was 2' (couldn't see my fins). Further out the viz opened up quite a bit to a large particulate 20' (not worth turning on my GoPro) with a significant, but manageable surge at 70'. All the fish were sheltering in the cracks. When we surfaced we watched the local charter boat (BeachHopper II) pitching and swaying a little further out and commented that we were both glad we were not on it. The swell was still building so we mutually agreed to stop at the one dive (very unusual for either of us).

I'll echo TSandM's advice. If you are flexible with your schedule and can dive a weekday (Fall best), then by all means try Pt. Lobos. - but please do it on a day I'm not trying to get a reservation .

 

[TSandM]

Thanks for the correction. I got the information I posted from something I read, which must have been in error.

 

[mathauck0814]

I'll dissent. The channel islands are far better on a far more reliable basis, are home to more wrecks, fewer restricted hunting areas and have more/better boats servicing them (not to mention the water temperature can be as much as 20 degrees warmer). Monterey and Point Lobos are nice to dive, but very hit and miss compared to the island sites.