Monastery 4/4

[kwest]

Wanted to share: I finally dove Monastery today, and I feel it was a great introduction to the site. I can truly say that I approached it with caution, which is absolutely necessary here. It was just a little rough today and things definitely changed (more rough) even during our short 40 minute dive. I dove with an experienced diver, but that said, it is definitely more about your own personal comfort level when diving here. You are ultimately responsible for yourself and should not treat your buddy as a safety net. I personally felt comfortable with the conditions: Not too rough, but rough enough for me to end with a crawl exit and a huge respect for the awesome power of the ocean and the beach drop off. I felt calm the entire exit and this is key. I also feel this is a better way to do your first dive at Monastery, rather than getting a false impression by first diving this site when it is a extremely calm. We dove to 103 feet and the visibilty was at least 30 feet (45 degrees though - brrrrr) while Monterey Bay was 0-5 feet, so it was a good choice for us.

I also recommend watching Doc Wong's "Diving Monastery Beach" video before you even consider this dive. Just do a search on Scubaboard and you will find it.


(((kevin)))

 

[White Knight]

Kwest: I have dove Monastery severy times and I am impressed with the caution you showed. It just is impossible to properly portray how really dangerous the place is and just how fast you can get into trouble. Kudo's

 

[ShakaZulu]

What an awesome site though, nice drop-off, then the boulders, and Kelp back in....did the Monastery crawl in and out

 

[MaxBottomtime]

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Max: Thanks for posting the link. Doc's video should be mandatory viewing
for anybody planning to dive Monastery. On a good day, Monastery is
arguably Monterey County's finest beach dive. On a bad day, it's fatal. You
gotta walk away at least one day in three, and that's if you can read the
forecasts.

 

[Ouvea]

This beach is truly Jekyll/Hyde. I've been there where it has been as calm as the Breakwater or Lover's Cove and I walked in/out without any problems. However, there are times where I've called it quits and just went for cofee or soup.

Enjoy both ends of the beaches with the southern shallows (relative) and the northern depth (Mariana Trench...ish).

Have fun & dive safe,
Claude