Malibu conditions?

[ligersandtions]

Has anyone been diving (or just looked at the surface) in Malibu? Some of us are hoping to dive Malibu (Pt. Dume, specifically) this weekend, but don't want to make the drive up there if it's going to be un-diveable.

BTW, are there any live cams up in Malibu (like there are for Vet's and some areas in Laguna)? Would be nice to be able to get a sneak peak from down here.

Appreciate any insight you might have

 

[Ericlt1]

Hey Nicole,

I dove Deer Creek in Malibu this morning.

Got in the water around 9:15am.
2-3 foot waves on entry.
High frequency of waves with short lul
Vis was 5-15 feet.
Max depth 31ft
Dive time 47 min
53 degrees at depth
4 foot waves on exit and got smacked around quite a bit.

I don't know about cams in the area. What day are you planning on diving? You know.... Malibu is my local beach

 

[surfinusa555]

Here is what I use:
Cams:
Malibu Surf Report and Surf Cam | SURFLINE.COM
Conditions:
Malibu Divers (MalibuDivers) on Twitter

Malibu Dive Shop usually has daily vis/temp/surf updates and predictions.

 

[geoff w]

I walked down to Westward Beach tonight with my dog and saw a whale (California Gray, I think) just hanging out right outside the surf line from the end of the parking lot. Still seeing about one whale a week there. The waves were crashing pretty good, probably a lot of 4+ ft. waves. Much bigger waves than last night (most well under 2 ft) when walking between Little Dume and Paradise Cove at about the same time. It looked like the swells were hitting the pinnacles pretty good so not sure how good the viz will be. Also, it was remarkably cold this morning, with lots of whitecaps on the Zuma side

There's a semi-live web cam at the Point Dume lifeguard station; see Point Dume

All the restrooms at Westward Beach in the parking lot are now closed off (chain link fences around all of them). Porta-potties only. I didn't talk to the lifeguard to get the story, but I expect the county is trying to get things working before summer.

If you want, I'll walk over to the overlook on Friday and give you a current status

 

[ligersandtions]

If you want, I'll walk over to the overlook on Friday and give you a current status

I would really appreciate that

 

[Rich805Howell]

Hey Nicole,
4 foot waves on exit and got smacked around quite a bit.

Welcome to deer creek =)

Eric, I hope we didn't scare you from shore diving with us =)

 

[geoff w]

I walked down to the end of the parking lot at Westward Beach this morning. The waves looked to be 1.5 to 2 ft, with an occasional 3+ ft set. Warmest morning this week and clear. Here's a short video of the waves looking toward the point taken from my phone to give you an idea:



If this weekend is like today, you should be able to get out OK

but all the restrooms are closed and look like they will be for some time

 

[Rainer]

Thank you, Geoff!!!

 

[ligersandtions]

Just a quick update...

Big thanks to Eric and Geoff for giving us some insight into conditions before we committed to make the long drive up there.

When we got there, surf was probably 2-3 feet, with a relatively long period between waves. We made it in (with scooters, and one person with a big camera rig) with no major issues. After putting fins on and doing our final checks, we descended into quite limited vis....hoping it would open up out toward the pinnacle, we proceeded to scoot out there. It was quite an accomplishment that four of us were able to stay together, while on the scooters, in the poor vis we had....but we did, and after what felt like an eternity, we finally found the pinnacles! I can't believe people kick this site!!

The site was very pretty, but the vis never opened up. I can only imagine how nice this site would be on a clear day. After 47 minutes, we turned the dive and headed back to the entry point....13+ minutes on the trigger heading west, again I can't believe people kick this site!!

Of course, by the time we get to the exit, surf has picked up and most are breaking over my head (yeah, I'm short, but 5' surf is still big)! Plus, two of us are small girls trying to make the exit through big surf with pretty close to our body weight in rigs + scooters. We managed to get out somewhat unscathed....and decided to skip the second dive, but hang out at Pt. Dume State Beach afterwards anyways. It was a beautiful day....better topside than underwater, but I'm still grateful we managed to get a dive in with great friends

 

[Rainer]

Couldn't have asked for better topside conditions on Saturday. Just a beautiful, warm, sunny day at the beach. Alas, diving conditions weren't the best, but we still had a great time scootering out to the Point Dume Pinnacles. A short video of our adventure:

[vimeo]22535342[/vimeo]

Thanks Geoff and Eric for taking the time to check out the site before we headed over (no way one could have known what the visibility would be like).