Monterey conditions. (let's keep it going )

[Rob Wilks]

I use the Fourth Element Arctic. Works well for me.
I know Bamboo Reef rents drysuits, though mentioned above, COVID may have halted that. Their “semidry” suits are from Bare and are relatively new. I think they are 8/7. Pretty good suits. Give em a call and ask about a drysuit class. I think they are by request? It’s a quick class.
I was in the water in Monterey today. Surface was 59, at 40fsw it was 55. Carmel is typically a bit colder and clearer.

 

[OctoHelm]

Alright, will do! Thank you for replying! I will give them a ring to see what I can figure out.

 

[SoCalRich]

Get a quality dry suit. I wish, I had purchased one a couple hundred dives earlier. I like to take photos while diving so I am swimming slowly or hovering. It will make you dive more often and a wider range of diving. like- Tacoma, BC. anywhere on the Calif coast, Great Lakes.
Stay Warm,
SoCalRich

 

[OctoHelm]

Ok, I will look into them. I want an investment in a good suit that will serve me well. I am looking into Seaskin. Any recommendations for a good drysuit? I might even use it without an insulation layer in Hawai'i too.

 

[stilldivin]

MacAbee was dead calm when we arrived at about 8:30 AM. Overcast and not too cold, the beach was closed except for divers and kayaks. We went straight out from the restaurant toward the kelp beds and submerged. We saw old cannery pipes, a section of anchor chain, a heavily encrusted pot or bell, many fish and critters, and a curios harbor seal. Water temp. 54 degrees at depth. Our max depth was 37 feet. We could only dive for 40 minutes due to the parking meter. Vis. below 25 feet 10-15 feet.

 

[wnissen]

MacAbee was dead calm when we arrived at about 8:30 AM. Overcast and not too cold, the beach was closed except for divers and kayaks. We went straight out from the restaurant toward the kelp beds and submerged. We saw old cannery pipes, a section of anchor chain, a heavily encrusted pot or bell, many fish and critters, and a curios harbor seal. Water temp. 54 degrees at depth. Our max depth was 37 feet. We could only dive for 40 minutes due to the parking meter. Vis. below 25 feet 10-15 feet.

That is absurdly calm. Sounds like a wonderful dive, thanks for sharing.

 

[Eyegore]

Yesterday, our dive at Monastery was nice with easy out/in and but mild surge condition. The vis was 30'-50' with 53º water temp. Lover's Point was also a pleasant dive, yesterday, with essentially identical vis and water temp, but practically no surge out at the buoy.

 

[uspap]

Dove North Monastery on Wednesday. Walk in walk out. Vis in the shallows was 10-15ft +/-. Around the point and between 60 to 90ft depth we had 30ft+ vis. Overall the water had a greenish cast to it. Second dive was Breakwater. Vis along wall was average 10-15ft +/- with sea nettles. It's nice to have them back. Last part of the dive I went to the middle reef area and water was clearer 20ft +/-.

 

[wnissen]

San Carlos Beach Park is city-run, so the parking lots were open (though just as full as any holiday weekend) but they were constantly asking people to leave the beach if they weren't heading in or out to do something in the water. Since you could rent a kayak or paddleboard, I've never seen so many craft in the water. Both bathrooms were open, though of the four entrances, only the narrow stairs closest to the breakwater were open. We swung our legs over the railing when going to the pipe, which was no big deal on the way it, but tool effort on the way out. In the water, visibility was OK, milky 2-3 m / 5-10 ft. in the shallows, and improving to about twice that once you got away from shore a bit. Water temperature was practically toasty at 14ºC / 57ºF. Kudos to our guide, Ashley, who spotted a midshipman being eaten by a red octopus.

 

[stilldivin]

We arrived to smokey skies and a red sun. Unknown to me my camera battery was bad so I only got 32 seconds of video. The ocean was dead calm with a murky 15 foot of vis. and a temp. 53 degrees at depth. We reached a max depth of 41 feet on middle reef towards coal chute cove. We saw a few critters and fish, but not as much as we usually do. My earlier videos show much more life. The kelp was present but not too heavy. Lots of divers.