Monterey conditions. (let's keep it going )
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wnissen
Contributor
Decent but cold conditions yesterday and today. Went for a crepuscular dive to the San Carlos metridium fields, water temp was 17ºC at the surface, 11º at depth of 15 meters. Visibility was OK, maybe 3 meters at the surface, but in the cold water it opened up to maybe 7 meters. 63/52F, 50 ft., 10 ft., 22 ft.
Gear and body were not cooperating so I thumbed the night dive.
This morning 9:30 a.m., trying out my new OMS plate and Argonaut wing, basically the same viz and temperature along the wall.
Gear and body were not cooperating so I thumbed the night dive.
This morning 9:30 a.m., trying out my new OMS plate and Argonaut wing, basically the same viz and temperature along the wall.
elgoog
Contributor
Saturday dive at Pt Lobos - back to The Road. We were building up some confidence navigating to the deeper reaches of the reserve and had planned a pretty conservative dive.
Conditions were a little hazy out to about Lone Metridium but viz improved to 40-50ft of blue water by the time we got deeper than 100ft and to our target site. Waved at the Three Sisters on our scoot back and dawdled a bit at Beto's Reef and Sea Mount before deco.
-> 72 minute dive, 140ft max, 130ft avg, 49F at depth, 40ft viz
Conditions were a little hazy out to about Lone Metridium but viz improved to 40-50ft of blue water by the time we got deeper than 100ft and to our target site. Waved at the Three Sisters on our scoot back and dawdled a bit at Beto's Reef and Sea Mount before deco.
-> 72 minute dive, 140ft max, 130ft avg, 49F at depth, 40ft viz
elgoog
Contributor
Saturday dive at Pt Lobos - headed west to Taco and Marco's Pinnacle with a slight detour to Sea Mount.
Conditions were overcast in the morning and, combined with the slightly green water, the dive felt dark overall. Viz was about 30-40ft throughout with very little surge. Tons of color through Rock Garden and at Marco's as usual.
-> 74 minute dive, 86ft max, 58ft avg, 52F at depth, 30-40ft viz
Conditions were overcast in the morning and, combined with the slightly green water, the dive felt dark overall. Viz was about 30-40ft throughout with very little surge. Tons of color through Rock Garden and at Marco's as usual.
-> 74 minute dive, 86ft max, 58ft avg, 52F at depth, 30-40ft viz
Two dives -- one in Carmel with about 6 meters of visibility, out by the splash rock at North Monastery. It was quite flat this morning and visibility improved below 30 meters; but who really cares about a well-lit sand slope, since scenery and fish life diminishes a great deal by that depth?
The second dive was at San Carlos Beach in Monterey; and there were about a half dozen Marine Mammal Rescue trucks and vans, all just hanging out. Apparently, they were interested in a couple of sea lions who looked a bit worse for wear, but who were perched, high-up on the rocks at low tide, and were clearly hours away from ever hitting the water.
Perhaps they should have consulted a tide chart. Visibility there was about half that of Carmel.
One of the cute but clueless "dolphinettes" yelled at me, through cupped hands, for surfacing some 10 meters away from a sea lion, and accused me of "harassing" it. The sea lion did absolutely nothing; didn't so much as bat an eye in my direction; and some French tourists, I later spoke to, had actually wondered whether it was dead.
Years back, I ran into the same thing, right down to an accusation, that time, of my harassing sea otters, when I happened to surface close to one, which all but ignored me, while it was eating a rock crab.
It turned out that the same rescue services, that day, were capturing, weighing, and taking the body core temperatures of a dozen or more otters, all trapped and squeaking bloody murder in pet cages, while the techs sported a massive Caligula-sized tube of K-Y, for the thermometers -- all and all, an otter-alien abduction scenario.
Who was harassing whom?
The second dive was at San Carlos Beach in Monterey; and there were about a half dozen Marine Mammal Rescue trucks and vans, all just hanging out. Apparently, they were interested in a couple of sea lions who looked a bit worse for wear, but who were perched, high-up on the rocks at low tide, and were clearly hours away from ever hitting the water.
Perhaps they should have consulted a tide chart. Visibility there was about half that of Carmel.
One of the cute but clueless "dolphinettes" yelled at me, through cupped hands, for surfacing some 10 meters away from a sea lion, and accused me of "harassing" it. The sea lion did absolutely nothing; didn't so much as bat an eye in my direction; and some French tourists, I later spoke to, had actually wondered whether it was dead.
Years back, I ran into the same thing, right down to an accusation, that time, of my harassing sea otters, when I happened to surface close to one, which all but ignored me, while it was eating a rock crab.
It turned out that the same rescue services, that day, were capturing, weighing, and taking the body core temperatures of a dozen or more otters, all trapped and squeaking bloody murder in pet cages, while the techs sported a massive Caligula-sized tube of K-Y, for the thermometers -- all and all, an otter-alien abduction scenario.
Who was harassing whom?
4 dives at Breakwater this weekend (3 on Saturday and 1 Sunday morning).
Dive one on Saturday roughly 9:15 AM was on the incoming High Tide. Water to the base of the stairs. Dropped at marker 4. Pretty turned up and max of 10 feet visibility. Lots of small fish but temp was right around 62 at the surface and at 45 feet 52 degrees. 45 minutes down time.
Dive 2 around 1 PM. Tide is out and visibility doubled to nearly 25 feet. Dropped at marker 5. Way more blue water and the kelp was gorgeous. Bigger fish beginning to stir a bit and talked to one guy after the dive who saw few bat rays in the middle reef. Lots of cool Nudi's to see and photograph. 55 minutes down time.
Dive 3 was rough. Went in around 4 PM. Dropped in at marker 7. Glassy surface but GREEN water and maybe 8 feet of vis at the best. Went to the end of the jetty and hung with the sea lions for a while watching them come in and out of the shadows. 68 minutes down time.
Dive 4 (sunday morning around 8:30 AM). Big fish everywhere on the wall. About 15 feet of visibility tops. Again, lots of Nudi's to see. Had to call the dive early due to my daughter having some ear trouble. Dove on the high tide and dropped down at marker 5. Surfaced at 8 and surface swam in... 15 minutes down time.
Great (lightning fast) weekend as always diving in Monterey. Heading back down in a few weeks hoping Monastery is quiet and maybe hit MacAbee (MacAbee looked fantastic from the parking lot at El Torito) and wished we would have hit that too.
Happy bubble blowing all!
Dive one on Saturday roughly 9:15 AM was on the incoming High Tide. Water to the base of the stairs. Dropped at marker 4. Pretty turned up and max of 10 feet visibility. Lots of small fish but temp was right around 62 at the surface and at 45 feet 52 degrees. 45 minutes down time.
Dive 2 around 1 PM. Tide is out and visibility doubled to nearly 25 feet. Dropped at marker 5. Way more blue water and the kelp was gorgeous. Bigger fish beginning to stir a bit and talked to one guy after the dive who saw few bat rays in the middle reef. Lots of cool Nudi's to see and photograph. 55 minutes down time.
Dive 3 was rough. Went in around 4 PM. Dropped in at marker 7. Glassy surface but GREEN water and maybe 8 feet of vis at the best. Went to the end of the jetty and hung with the sea lions for a while watching them come in and out of the shadows. 68 minutes down time.
Dive 4 (sunday morning around 8:30 AM). Big fish everywhere on the wall. About 15 feet of visibility tops. Again, lots of Nudi's to see. Had to call the dive early due to my daughter having some ear trouble. Dove on the high tide and dropped down at marker 5. Surfaced at 8 and surface swam in... 15 minutes down time.
Great (lightning fast) weekend as always diving in Monterey. Heading back down in a few weeks hoping Monastery is quiet and maybe hit MacAbee (MacAbee looked fantastic from the parking lot at El Torito) and wished we would have hit that too.
Happy bubble blowing all!
Dzydvl33
Contributor
Hello you lucky Monterey locals, How are conditions shaping up for this weekend? 10/22-10/23
Thanks
Thanks
elgoog
Contributor
Late report for a dive at Pt Lobos on Saturday Oct 15. We've been really enjoying The Road and headed back there with the intention of spending some time on the back/west side of the reef. Great conditions overall and we saw the usual colorful stuff down there. We also had fly-bys from a handful of molas at the deep site and an angel shark near Sea Mount! I've only seen them in the sand before and it was super cool watching it glide by us.
-> 141ft max, 132ft avg depth at the bottom, 73ft total dive time, 40-50ft vis, 52F at depth
-> 141ft max, 132ft avg depth at the bottom, 73ft total dive time, 40-50ft vis, 52F at depth
Breakwater along the wall yesterday afternoon. 59F at the surface 57F below it, down to 50-ish feet. Vis was 15 feet once I got down past 20 feet but deteriorated toward the end of the dive as the swell came in.
Went out to hang with the sea lions. I set up my camera on a tripod and swam away to get some video of the sea lions playing all around me (I was solo). Before I knew it, they had grabbed the camera and started playing with / fighting over it. I swam at them intermittently purging my other reg, which did the trick. They dropped it and swam off. Got a really fun few minutes of video.
Conditions don't look amazing today, so I'll probably just be diving Breakwater again. Will update and post that video soon. In the meantime, here are some big sea puppy eyes.
Went out to hang with the sea lions. I set up my camera on a tripod and swam away to get some video of the sea lions playing all around me (I was solo). Before I knew it, they had grabbed the camera and started playing with / fighting over it. I swam at them intermittently purging my other reg, which did the trick. They dropped it and swam off. Got a really fun few minutes of video.
Conditions don't look amazing today, so I'll probably just be diving Breakwater again. Will update and post that video soon. In the meantime, here are some big sea puppy eyes.
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