Monterey conditions. (let's keep it going )

[int3]

A friend and I are thinking of diving at the Breakwater Sunday morning. Short of driving down or calling one of the shops the morning of, is there any way to tell what the conditions are likely to be?

 

[bperc]

Have a look at Chuck's website.

Monterey Sea Conditions at a Glance

 

[Ouvea]

Dove at Stewart Cove early this morning and was treated to magnificent 10-15 feet visibility with heavy surge. Entered and exited at the inner most section part of the cove to gain maximum protection and still chose to crawl out of there. Did not go back in again, at this site anyways. I did see North Monastery Beach which was completely out of the question. The southern side actually was calmer than Stewart Cove.

Went in at the Breakwater. Visibility maxed out at 10 feet, but for the most part barely exceeded 5-6 feet. I literally could not see my buddy past my arm. Having said that, the Metridiums were in full bloom and spectacular. Surge was mild to moderate.

 

[uspap]

I heard South Monastery had about 50ft vis today out by the canyon.

 

[Vegan Shark]

Point Lobos opened up to a gorgeous 20 ft blue vis today once out of the cove and down deeper. In the cove was mostly 6-8 ft pea soup, but made for great ambiance when exploring caves.

 

[lostsheep]

We dove Stillwater Cove yesterday.

First dive was to the left and past Pescadero rocks. There was zero swell or surge, temps were approximately 52 degrees, and the viz was about 5' to 15' with the better viz further out.

Second dive was approximately 200 yards to the right of the Pescadero rocks and conditions were similar except the viz was better (15'-20').

The entire cove is inundated with kelp, I have never seen it that thick before. You could almost walk on across the top.

 

[KRL1973]

We dove Stillwater Cove yesterday.

First dive was to the left and past Pescadero rocks. There was zero swell or surge, temps were approximately 52 degrees, and the viz was about 5' to 15' with the better viz further out.

Second dive was approximately 200 yards to the right of the Pescadero rocks and conditions were similar except the viz was better (15'-20').

The entire cove is inundated with kelp, I have never seen it that thick before. You could almost walk on across the top.

How is the beach looking now at Stillwater? Last time I was there the sand was all washed away leaving a pile of big rocks to trip over getting in and out. Hope the sand has returned

thanks
Ken Loomis

 

[raftingtigger]

How is the beach looking now at Stillwater? Last time I was there the sand was all washed away leaving a pile of big rocks to trip over getting in and out. Hope the sand has returned

thanks
Ken Loomis

Last month the sand was partially back. Still a few big rocks to trip over, but also a lot of sand.

---------- Post added May 28th, 2013 at 09:39 PM ----------

A friend and I are thinking of diving at the Breakwater Sunday morning. Short of driving down or calling one of the shops the morning of, is there any way to tell what the conditions are likely to be?

In addition to the "monterey conditions at a glance" site you can check Glenn's Aquarius II on facebook - sometimes there are visibility reports there. And Glenn's also has a webcam looking at Breakwall on their website.

 

[Kimgglenn]

Yesterday at North Monastery we had very good conditions. Even so, entering and exiting as far north as possible really seemed important. Plus, we learned of a path through the woods out to the road that is easier then walking so much over the beach dune. Murky water above 50' or so but at 100' range I was astonished at the clarity. Mind you, I am easy to please. My buddy felt it was not as good as it should be. It was overcast as we dived so it was really dark down deep.

Later yesterday we dived Butterfly House. Lots of kelp and pretty poor visibility, but we remained in the kelp forest along the relatively shallow reef down to only about 50'. Entry is challenging with all the kelp. Pretty calm so while present surge was not much of an issue.

-Kim

 

[lostsheep]

How is the beach looking now at Stillwater? Last time I was there the sand was all washed away leaving a pile of big rocks to trip over getting in and out. Hope the sand has returned

thanks
Ken Loomis

Any response will be subjective but I will try.

There were exposed rocks but I would not say I was tripping over them. There was plenty of sand and entry/exit was absolutely no problem.