Monterey/Breakwater Diving

[micboucher]

Congratulations on getting certified and welcome to the board qazdec!

I didn't dive Breakwater for a long time but I've also seen some great things there lately...my first Mola Mola, my first Dirona, a huge swarm of Moon Jellies along the wall, just to name a few.

 

[DocWong]

If you go on a day with not so many students, the viz is a lot better. Also as you get more experience and are ready to do a night dive, Breakwater is amazing at night.

 

[mikeguerrero]

One of the best benefits of diving the conditions that you dove is this:

If you enjoyed diving Break Water with those conditions all your future dives will be no disappointments...

That is what I learned as I got certified in 5 feet of viz at the bottom with zero on the top... I was honored to have 5 feet and since then every dive has been a dream as King Neptune gives me 10feet and sometimes even 30 ft and when it's zero then I don't dive... But as of 50 dives I have logged I've never called off a dive at Monterey...

MG

 

[bbianchi]

Last month on the 21st I was helping with an open water class, on dive 4 we dropped near the pipe and swam to the metridium fields. Must have been 40+ feet of vis because the metridium were visible from the pipe. Once there the view was utterly breath taking, those students were spoiled, but they got to see something that we all hope to get lucky enough for.

I much rather would have had those conditions for my mapping of the metridium over the 15' I had!!

 

[Fuzzmutton]

Can you tell me how to navigate there? Hubby's pretty good at nav and we got directions from someone to the metridium field last time we were out there and...missed it. I saw *one*, by itself, no field:cross:

We found the pipe (I don't remember now exactly where it lines up from shore) and went from there, it seems like we swam a looong way, we just kept going and going, and finally I motioned that I wanted to surface and see where we were. I would not have been surprised to see Hawaiian surfers at that point, heh heh.

Back to this thread, I see lots of wonderful stuff at Breakwater, especially on night dives. I have seen a couple of bat rays up close and personal and I love watching the octopus change color as they try to hide in the different sea grasses.

 

[zf2nt]

Can you tell me how to navigate there? Hubby's pretty good at nav and we got directions from someone to the metridium field last time we were out there and...missed it...

The pipe originates from the small blockhouse immediately to the west of the larger blockhouse just below the rest rooms at the west end of Breakwater. It goes out on a heading of 030. So...if you were out in the water and were directly over the pipe, you could take your compass and sight back to the small blockhouse (which will appear to the right of the larger blockhouse) and you would note a heading of 210 (the reciprocal of 030). This is one way of lining yourself up with the pipe. An even better way is to get out to sea and look for the traffic light on the northeast corner of the intersection of Foam and Drake. That light is very easy to spot when you're out to sea in the right general area. If you line this light up with the right hand edge of the small blockhouse mentioned above, you will be directly above the pipe.

When you go down to find the pipe, it is best to start down where you are on a known side of the pipe. Otherwise, you might land just a few feet away but not see it, and then you don't know what direction to swim. If you use the stoplight to line yourself up, I suggest moving off to the west about 20 feet and then going down. Once you see the bottom, start swimming on a heading of 120 and you will bump right into the pipe. Or, if you go down on the east side of the pipe, swim at 300 and you'll hit it. Either way works, as long as you're not off the end of the pipe.

To know how far out to sea you need to go, you need to remember that the heading from the end of the pipe to the red beacon at the very end of the Coast Guard pier is 135. As long as you see less than 135 degrees when you sight that beacon, you're still along the pipe.

If you don't have a compass, you should! But without one, you can still swim out and line up the stoplight I mentioned with the right edge of the blockhouse. Go out even with the gate on the pier and move off to the west about 20 or 30' from where the stoplight lines up with the right edge of the blockhouse. When you start down, orient yourself so that you're swimming toward the pier and wait until you see the bottom before you start swimming. You should find the pipe after about 20'.

 

[micboucher]

The pipe originates from the small blockhouse immediately to the west of the larger blockhouse just below the rest rooms at the west end of Breakwater. It goes out on a heading of 030. So...if you were out in the water and were directly over the pipe, you could take your compass and sight back to the small blockhouse (which will appear to the right of the larger blockhouse) and you would note a heading of 210 (the reciprocal of 030). This is one way of lining yourself up with the pipe. An even better way is to get out to sea and look for the traffic light on the northeast corner of the intersection of Foam and Drake. That light is very easy to spot when you're out to sea in the right general area. If you line this light up with the right hand edge of the small blockhouse mentioned above, you will be directly above the pipe.

When you go down to find the pipe, it is best to start down where you are on a known side of the pipe. Otherwise, you might land just a few feet away but not see it, and then you don't know what direction to swim. If you use the stoplight to line yourself up, I suggest moving off to the west about 20 feet and then going down. Once you see the bottom, start swimming on a heading of 120 and you will bump right into the pipe. Or, if you go down on the east side of the pipe, swim at 300 and you'll hit it. Either way works, as long as you're not off the end of the pipe.

To know how far out to sea you need to go, you need to remember that the heading from the end of the pipe to the red beacon at the very end of the Coast Guard pier is 135. As long as you see less than 135 degrees when you sight that beacon, you're still along the pipe.

If you don't have a compass, you should! But without one, you can still swim out and line up the stoplight I mentioned with the right edge of the blockhouse. Go out even with the gate on the pier and move off to the west about 20 or 30' from where the stoplight lines up with the right edge of the blockhouse. When you start down, orient yourself so that you're swimming toward the pier and wait until you see the bottom before you start swimming. You should find the pipe after about 20'.

I can find the Metridiums every time from Bruce's directions but I just wish I could find the pipe coming back every time too.

 

[Brewski]

Can you tell me how to navigate there? Hubby's pretty good at nav and we got directions from someone to the metridium field last time we were out there and...missed it. I saw *one*, by itself, no field:cross:

We found the pipe (I don't remember now exactly where it lines up from shore) and went from there, it seems like we swam a looong way, we just kept going and going, and finally I motioned that I wanted to surface and see where we were. I would not have been surprised to see Hawaiian surfers at that point, heh heh.

Back to this thread, I see lots of wonderful stuff at Breakwater, especially on night dives. I have seen a couple of bat rays up close and personal and I love watching the octopus change color as they try to hide in the different sea grasses.

You can navigate underwater by taking a heading the same direction as the pipe. when you reach the end of the pipe its appox. 60 feet or so the same heading. and yes it will seem like your going a long time out to sea before you actually see the reef.
I prefer to surface swim out and drop on them, this gives me plenty of air to explore, and return underwater.
What I do is enter near the block houses kick out on my back keeping Reeside in front of me along the way. Swim out until you can see the white rocks on the point beyond the aquarium, and line them up with the tip of the breakwater.

Before descending take a compass heading on the block houses back on shore. then when you return along that heading you will hit the pipe on the way back.

 

[chadfordr6]

I can find the Metridiums every time from Bruce's directions but I just wish I could find the pipe coming back every time too.

Haha, i'm glad i'm not the only one. I swear that pipe moves while I'm on the field :doh2:

 

[bbianchi]

Actually in doing my mapping project and getting lost(ish) care of my safety stop and the outgoing tide when I dropping in on what I thought was the end of the pipe and landing in the field I learned a lot. I can now say for the "main" field portion and where it ends if you will im pretty sure I could locate the main rocks off the end of the pipe and head back. Man did it take a lot of dives though to figure it all out. Luck was also involved