Monterey conditions. (let's keep it going )

[runsongas]

2 at breakwater, 1 at the metridium field and 1 along the wall. 5 to 10 ft vis in most parts at breakwater, murky and 5ft or less in the shallow areas, maybe 15ft in a few spots further out. kelp cover still thin. 50F, green, with particulates.

 

[elgoog]

The good conditions at Pt Lobos continued yesterday. We did the Middle Reef -> HITW -> Lone Metridium -> Cannery Point Wall circuit in a one nice, slow dive.
Tons of nudibranches everywhere and quite a few lings swimming around. It was a little surgy above 50ft or so and viz was around 30-40ft throughout. Super low tide when we got in and the ramp was about as slippery as I've seen it.

-> 75min, 75ft, 49F at depth, 56F on the surface. Bright, sunny and warm topside.

101 was closed down in both directions in the afternoon in Gilroy around Masten Ave due to downed power lines which increased my drive home from the usual 2+hr to 3+hr. Even after my long 1hr detour through Gilroy farm country, when I got back on the 101N traffic southbound was backed up and almost at a standstill for 4 exits.

 

[Chavodel8en]

I finally got a dive in on Saturday, my first local dive since Labor Day - conditions have blown out many attempted dives all through Oct, Nov, Jan, Feb & March. I just always choose to target the wrong weekends.

1 hour long dive at the Breakwater with ~10 foot viz. A couple lingcod and sea lions and not much else in terms of fish. I was just happy to finally get in the water. However, the conditions were blah enough that we choose not to do a second dive.

Good timing for me on the drive home. I think I reached the freeway stoppage just as it was shut down. It meant that all the cars had to reverse direction and drive the wrong way on the 101, exiting on the on-ramp (a first for me). However, it was only a short detour on surface streets and back on the road home.

 

[3D diver]

Did two at Lobos today. Calm water and good viz.

First Dive: Hole in the Wall and Lone Metridium

Bottom time: 43 minutes
Max depth: 66 feet
Visibility: 40 feet (Could see the surface clearly from 45 feet.)
Water temperature: 48F to 54F
Sea state: small waves, tide mid-way up the ramp, opposing current on return

Didn't see many fish but Lone Metridium was in good form. I was practically on top of the only Lingcod we encountered when my buddy pointed it out to me. We were buzzed three times by a sea lion.

Second Dive: Across Whaler's, pop-up in Coal Chute, and return

Bottom time: 38 minutes
Max depth: 37 feet
Visibility: 25 feet
Water temperature: 50F to 55F
Sea state: small waves, descending tide

The viz was nice enough we opted to simply cross Whaler's and return for our second dive. There were lots of fish, some not-quite-schooling groups of Blue Rockfish, some nice clouds of krill. We got close to a nice male Sheephead on our return. On a good day, inner Whaler's Cove is a nice dive.

 

[stilldivin]

It was a sunny and beautiful at Pt. Lobos. Lots of divers and tourists. We dove middle reef and had fun exploring the reefs and walls. We saw large copper rock fish, schools of blue rockfish, a lingcod, and many other critters. We reached a max depth of 46 feet. Water temp. 48 degrees. Vis 20-25 feet. We also saw a small hole in the wall.

 

[Mark413]

Dove Stillwater cove today, inside the cove it was clear enough to see the bottom (15-20') from the top of a kayak. Saw a couple very friendly harbor seals, a mom otter with her baby, but none of the tasty fish I was looking for. I couldn't find any good structure, where are the rocks here? Just lots of sandy bottom, interspersed with kelp on the few rocks that were there. If someone could point me to the structure, that would be awesome!

 

[Michaelszippy]

Dove Lovers' this morning. Water temp 51, viz 12-15 feet, very low tide made entry a little rocky, but there was no significant swell to deal with. Dive buddy got a nice ling.

 

[elgoog]

Amazing day at Pt Lobos on Saturday!! A few of us got to dive as part of the Underwater Parks Day - dive 1 was to collect specimens for display and the 2nd was a fun dive.

Dive 1 - @Ouvea, myself and another BAUE team dropped right by the extremely slippery ramp in super low tide. Viz was predictably bad but we managed to find some nice specimens for the display tanks (a decorator crab, a couple of Doriopsillas, a Phidiana hiltoni and sea cucumbers were the highlights for me). We turned around at the Worm Patch as we were running a little behind on time to set up the displays but saw the viz open up dramatically right around there. I was practically drooling to get back in.
-> 25ft, 36min, 48F

It was absolutely beautiful top side and the display tables were a big hit. I managed to lock myself out of my truck and Carmel FD, who were doing equipment checks there, came to the rescue.


Dive 2 - A BAUE buddy kindly offered me his DPV to try out for this dive and after some adjusting of the leash, we were off. We dropped around the Worm Patch and @Ouvea led us on an amazing tour of the right side of the preserve, turning back right around Q-tip. The conditions were absolutely spectacular with clear blue water and viz in the 50-60ft range, which let us stay on the trigger the entire time (dang, it gets cold when you're not kicking). We stayed about 30-40ft of the bottom once we hit Granite Point Wall and I got to appreciate a completely different view of the reserve. I usually stay within 10ft of the bottom and don't really get to see this part of the topography - I'm definitely going to try this more. I got a leak in my left wrist seal which soaked my arm and part of my chest. Combined with not kicking at all, I was freezing and called the dive far sooner than I would have on gas :/ The only bad thing about this dive was that I went from "DPVs look pretty cool, I might get one in a few years" to "I want one RIGHT F'ING NOW". Maybe if I only eat one small meal a day for a few months ...
-> 86ft, 47min, 46F

All photos courtesy of @sea_otter who also provided surface support for the divers and the event.

 

[rabbey]

One dive at Breakwater last Saturday, did the pipe and metridium fields. Lots of particulates, visibility was a very green 5-10 ft. It was really cold! 48ish on the surface and 46F at depth. Nevertheless buddy and I managed to do 50 min despite him being in a wetsuit. Saw a good number of rainbow nudibranchs feeding on tube anemones, as well as a few opalescent nudibranchs. Noticed a mermaid's purse, probably a skate egg, stuck to the base of a kelp frond near one of the groups of metridiums. 47 ft, 50 min, 46 F!

 

[uspap]

Dove North Monastery today. 30-40ft vis. 49 degree water. Pretty calm. Second dive Breakwater 15-20 ft vis. 50 degree water. Calm.