Monterey conditions. (let's keep it going )

[raftingtigger]

definitely your regulator. what reg do you use? I had the same thing, it comes and goes. It is a mk25. works perfectly except intermittent whistling

Not 3D diver's regulator. It was mine. The regulator is a MK5 - 109A. It was whistling the day before. As for cupping my ear - I thought I heard whales.

Pictures for those interested https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.mit...13665071231.1073741859.100002278115814&type=1

 

[3D diver]

Whales! That would have been cool to see! Did you see the boat that went over us near the sea lion encounter?

 

[uspap]

When you say you were at the end of the Breakwater do you mean the very tip? I've been wanting to go out that far. I've been dropping at the 13 and working my way back. It would be cool to drop at the 13 and keep heading to the end. I'm wondering if there is a strong current when you get to the point. Has anyone gone around the point and come in a little on the other side before heading back?

 

[griffon]

Current is usually not a issue. Right at the end and just around the point is a pretty fun spot. We take the kayaks out there some times too for a longer dive. I don't usually go to far around though. Not sure with boat traffic, if a ascent is needed for some reason, if that would be a good idea.


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[raftingtigger]

As far as I could tell (by compass heading and the boat that went overhead) we were at the very end. That was our goal. It is a longer swim than I expected. We dropped at #7 (well 6.5 - there was a strong shoreward current) and moised out at 33'. Since out always takes longer than coming back in and we had a runtime of 83 min - my guess is it took close to 50 min of u/w swimming to get to the end of the wall. We surfaced about marker #5 3D had 350 in his 120 and I had 650 in my 100. You need doubles or a low SAC and a big tank to do this. Of course as long as you aren't surfacing at the tip of the breakwall you can surface and swim in if need be.

 

[uspap]

Thanks for the info both of you. That would be a long swim from 6.5 to the end and back. I think next time I have a buddy I will try around the point.

 

[3D diver]

I remember my computer reading 49 minutes when we stopped to film the sea lions. My tank was at about 1700 psi and I was going to signal to return, but went ahead and burned another 200 psi to film. I figured a longer surface swim if, I ran low on air further out along the wall than usual, was worth it. When I turned on my air to rinse my regs that afternoon the gauge showed 250 psi! I hope Anywater doesn't insist on doing a visual when I get it filled.

We covered a lot of ground but it was at a very slow pace, stopping frequently to film, so didn't affect our air consumption. We'd discussed staying at 20feet, but with the surge and currents both just decided to cruise a little deeper.

One interesting sight on the return was seeing a wall of sandy water approaching and enveloping us, reducing the vis from 30+ feet to 15 to 20.

 

[KRL1973]

When you say you were at the end of the Breakwater do you mean the very tip? I've been wanting to go out that far. I've been dropping at the 13 and working my way back. It would be cool to drop at the 13 and keep heading to the end. I'm wondering if there is a strong current when you get to the point. Has anyone gone around the point and come in a little on the other side before heading back?

I have been to the end a few times and have found at the end of the point the visability seems to always decrease dramticly making proceeding farther not very inviting. My favorite area is just before you reach the end, at about 20-30ft deep where you still have some kelp and you typically get swarmed by sea lions that hang in the water there.

If you descend close to the place where the people on the jetty have to stop (forgot what number that is, 13 maybe?) you'll likely be able to make it to the end hang with the lions for 10-15 minutes and then follow the jetty back all the way to the beach and end your dive there. I have done that dive several times on a single AL80.

enjoy

 

[uspap]

Breakwater was pretty calm yesterday. About 20ft vis. There were Sea Hares everywhere in the sand. I think the brown grassy area got destroyed and so they are out in the open. Water temp 57 as you got to 30ft.

 

[Adobo]

As far as I could tell (by compass heading and the boat that went overhead) we were at the very end. That was our goal. It is a longer swim than I expected. We dropped at #7 (well 6.5 - there was a strong shoreward current) and moised out at 33'. Since out always takes longer than coming back in and we had a runtime of 83 min - my guess is it took close to 50 min of u/w swimming to get to the end of the wall. We surfaced about marker #5 3D had 350 in his 120 and I had 650 in my 100. You need doubles or a low SAC and a big tank to do this. Of course as long as you aren't surfacing at the tip of the breakwall you can surface and swim in if need be.

Without consideration for training/experience/gas implications, this is what makes scooters pretty handy. Getting to the end of the wall can be done in 1/3 of the time. And when you get there, you don't feel like you just ran 2 miles. Plus, you spend more of your bottom time looking at stuff at the site rather than swimming to the site.

The last time I dove the breakwater, we scooted down the wall to about 13. It took less than 10 minutes to get there. Then we scooted to the barge. Again, less than 10 minutes. We hung out at the barge for 15 minutes. From there, we meandered to the metridium fields. Hung out at the metridium fields, followed a mola mola around. After that, we scooted back to the breakwater wall and exited.

With doubles and a scooter, you can pretty much check out all the main spots at the breakwater in one dive.