Late May Early June in SF ? Carmel?

[Vin]

Hey guys-
Will be out Visiting my Sister in SF and my Cousin lives in Carmel. Figured I woul logg a dive in or 2. Any Suggestions as where to head?

My goal has been to do a great white dive off the Farllons- but it seems according to GWA the season is Sept - Nov.

Other thoughts? Boat or shore?

Please advise.

Vin

 

[Vin]

Little help please.....

 

[divenut2001]

Instead of Cal Trips

It would help if you would say something about your experience level.i.e...Previous cold water? Dove in Kelp before? Own gear or renting?

Hey guys-
Will be out Visiting my Sister in SF and my Cousin lives in Carmel. Figured I woul logg a dive in or 2. Any Suggestions as where to head?

My goal has been to do a great white dive off the Farllons- but it seems according to GWA the season is Sept - Nov.

Other thoughts? Boat or shore?

Please advise.

Vin

 

[Wristshot]

Vin,

June is starting the cold season for diving in the Monterey Bay Area. Believe it or not, the diving here is "better" in the winter when the water is warmer and clearer.

That said, there is still real good diving to be found, but I would focus on Monterey and Carmel. I am sure that there are some good diving spots in SF, but I don't know of any. Monterey has a number of great spots with shore diving and boat diving available.

There are a bunch of boats in the Monterey Area. Arguably the two most popular are the Monterey Express and the Cypress Sea.
http://www.montereyexpress.com/
http://www.cypresscharters.com/

There are others and there are links to others (Escapade etc) but those listed above are the ones that I know of personally. They tend to run about $80 for a 2-tank dive. (Please remember that I am speaking in generalities!)
--------------------
There are a number of nice shore dive locations in and around Monterey Bay Area. The most popular is Breakwater. If you want to find lots of divers go there. If you want solitude, don't go there. McAbee and Lover's are two others that immediately come to mind in Monterey.

A little south of Monterey is a State Park called Pt Lobos. I think that it is one of the best hiking places in the entire area with fabulous views, seals, otters, windswept rocks and trees, tidepools, cliffs, ledges, everything you could want. They also have some great diving at Whaler's Cove. You need to make reservations in advance to dive there, and you can't dive alone. I don't know the details, but there should be threads that explain it better than I can. I believe that it is relatively easy to get midweek reservations, but weekends sell out way in advance. Here is a link to the state park.

http://pt-lobos.parks.state.ca.us/index.html

Another famous dive site is Monastery Beach, just North of Pt Lobos. There is some real good diving there, but the place is infamous for hammering inexperienced divers when they try to exit through the surf. The "Monastery Crawl" is pretty much required to survive. You never dive Monastery when the conditions are bad, and you should dive with experienced people that have been there before. Monastery is probably home to more local dive horror stories than any other place. However, it is still a popular destination, so that tells you something about how good the diving is.

Search the web a bit, and search the ScubaBoard Archive a bit and then when you know what else you want to know, you can ask us again. There are a number of very skilled, and very knowledgeable locals that will help and that sometimes jump at the chance to buddy with a visitor. They will just want to know more about you and your training and your desires and what you are looking for.

----------------
There are a number of dive shops in the Monterey Area, and those can also be good sources for suggestions. Here are a million CA dive shops:

http://www.scubanaked.com/diveshops.html

Here is a popular Monterey Dive Shop right across from Breakwater

http://www.montereyscubadiving.com/index.html

I could give you a ton more, but my boss just walked in

W

 

[Vin]

Thanks!

Good info. (Though sounds like an interview- please see my resume)

Born and raised in the cold waters of NewEngland - 32yrs- 220 dives logged - been diving around the world - though mostly in New England - I am a DM and have my ice cert. No issues in an overhead and dive all Winter here in NewEngland.

Love to hunt and kill stuff - only take what I can eat though. (But I'll kill it if your going to eat it.)

I'll be bringing out my DUI and ScubaPro- would preffer to shoot some fish in which case will drag out slinginsteel Rhino gun - looking to mulit plex the trip- See my Family and get my fill.



Can provide references.

I appreciate any leads.

Vin

 

[divenut2001]

Wristshot covered just about everything, but if you're going to be hunting then there are some things you should know.

There's absolutely no hunting in Pt Lobos. Don't even have hunting equipment in your car, but don't miss the chance to dive there if you can.

Not sure about the other boats but I know the Cypress Sea does not allow the taking of game aboard the boat and I've never seen any hunters on the Monterey Express. E-mail any commercial boat you're considering to see if they allow hunting so you're not disappointed.

Thanks!

Good info. (Though sounds like an interview- please see my resume)

Born and raised in the cold waters of NewEngland - 32yrs- 220 dives logged - been diving around the world - though mostly in New England - I am a DM and have my ice cert. No issues in an overhead and dive all Winter here in NewEngland.

Love to hunt and kill stuff - only take what I can eat though. (But I'll kill it if your going to eat it.)

I'll be bringing out my DUI and ScubaPro- would preffer to shoot some fish in which case will drag out slinginsteel Rhino gun - looking to mulit plex the trip- See my Family and get my fill.



Can provide references.

I appreciate any leads.

Vin[/QUOT

 

[Wristshot]

Vin,

I did not address hunting in my first post because much of the Monterey Bay Area is in (or near) a Wildlife Refuge (or preserve? something like that)

I know that there are people and places in the area for hunting, and I know people that hunt, but I can claim ignorance with a clear conscience. There should be some in the NorCal group that can help with hunting, I try to limit myself to comments and suggestions about subjects that I know something about.

It has been said that there is more wildlife underwater in Monterey than just about anywhere in the world. One of the keys in Monterey is to get up close and personal. Use a light on every dive! Stay within a foot of the rocks and see what is hiding there.

You usually are not going to have great visibility (we consider 30 feet to be great) so you will not be seeing hundreds of brightly colored fish and corals from 50 feet away. What you will see are rocks covered with anemones and all sorts of tiny life. You will see highly camoflauged fishes, and crabs and such. You will also see at least a hundred starfish on almost every dive.

The kelp forest is a really pretty world. Some people get claustrophobic, but from your resume it is obvious that you will not have a problem.

Enjoy the sights!

Wristshot

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

There aren't a lot of hunters around here. I don't think ANY of the Monterey dive
boats has a "passenger fishing vessel" licence any more. Just no market. Be sure to
read the rules a bunch, and ask around. The rules are complex, and vary by location,
depth, date, species, and the day you read them.

Pt. Lobos reservations are easy on the weekends, IF you plan ahead. Reservations open
two months ahead, that is, you can make a reservation for July 15 anytime after
midnight on the night of May 14-15. I dive there about 20 weekend days a year,
and I have to pick the days carefullly so the tides are right to launch my boat. I make
the reservation when I get in to work the day they open (about 6:30 a.m.) and I'm
one of the first three or four reservations almost always. There are often weekend
reservations available for a week or two after they open.

For sites pick up Bruce Watkins book in any of the local dive shops.

 

[Vin]

Good info guys I apreciate it.
I am more than happy to be a passenger and leave the guns at home.
Fired up to see the kelp and have been diving in coffee grounds all winter. So 30 feet will be a dream! Anyway- i'll stay on the board and give more of a def update when flights get books and see if we all can connect.
thanks

Vin

There aren't a lot of hunters around here. I don't think ANY of the Monterey dive
boats has a "passenger fishing vessel" licence any more. Just no market. Be sure to
read the rules a bunch, and ask around. The rules are complex, and vary by location,
depth, date, species, and the day you read them.

Pt. Lobos reservations are easy on the weekends, IF you plan ahead. Reservations open
two months ahead, that is, you can make a reservation for July 15 anytime after
midnight on the night of May 14-15. I dive there about 20 weekend days a year,
and I have to pick the days carefullly so the tides are right to launch my boat. I make
the reservation when I get in to work the day they open (about 6:30 a.m.) and I'm
one of the first three or four reservations almost always. There are often weekend
reservations available for a week or two after they open.

For sites pick up Bruce Watkins book in any of the local dive shops.

 

[Wristshot]

Vin,

I guess I need to clarify that a little. When I said that we consider 30 foot visibility to be great, what I should have said is that the visibility is often 10 - 20 feet. When we get 30 foot or better visibility, we consider that to be great.

However, even with 5 foot of visibility, you will see more in that 5 feet than in 100 feet most places.


Wristshot