Monterey conditions. (let's keep it going )

[griffon]

15-20ft vis at breaker over by the pipe Friday mid morning. The storm started to break just as we got out around 12:30.


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[3D diver]

D'oh! Read that as 15-20ft breakers...

 

[raftingtigger]

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.

Not to diss scooters (I've never used one) but taking 1/3 the time to get there means you miss seeing more than 2/3 the stuff on the way. It is all in what you want from the dive. Mostly I like to mosey slowly and see all the little stuff that many divers miss. YMMV.

I recently took a dive (90 min RT) that started at the Breakwall corner stairs, headed straight to the Metridium Fields, then back. Some of the best stuff I saw on that relaxing dive was in the sand flats between the 'dive sites'.

Now if I had a destination I really wanted to see and spend time at I can see where a scooter would be handy.

 

[Adobo]

Not to diss scooters (I've never used one) but taking 1/3 the time to get there means you miss seeing more than 2/3 the stuff on the way. It is all in what you want from the dive. Mostly I like to mosey slowly and see all the little stuff that many divers miss. YMMV.

I recently took a dive (90 min RT) that started at the Breakwall corner stairs, headed straight to the Metridium Fields, then back. Some of the best stuff I saw on that relaxing dive was in the sand flats between the 'dive sites'.

Now if I had a destination I really wanted to see and spend time at I can see where a scooter would be handy.

It's true that you can miss a lot while you are on a scooter. If you are traveling 3x as fast as you swim, things happen at least 3x as fast (probably faster). But if your desire is to get to the end of the breakwater and play with the sea lions, surface swimming to marker 13 and then kicking from 13 to the end of the wall is a lot of work. Your using up bottom time and gas just getting to the dive site.

Don't get me wrong. If your desire is to look at whatever you happen to run across, then scootering over the breakwater wall is not really the best way to go.

 

[griffon]

It's true that you can miss a lot while you are on a scooter. If you are traveling 3x as fast as you swim, things happen at least 3x as fast (probably faster). But if your desire is to get to the end of the breakwater and play with the sea lions, surface swimming to marker 13 and then kicking from 13 to the end of the wall is a lot of work. Your using up bottom time and gas just getting to the dive site.

Don't get me wrong. If your desire is to look at whatever you happen to run across, then scootering over the breakwater wall is not really the best way to go.

Destination tour buss vs walking trip. Both of their place


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[absaav]

Metridium Fields: Rained today kept the masses of divers away. Lots of surge in am, but cleared up by 10 am. Poor vis for first half of the pipe, however 2nd half was clear. Metridium field was very clear w good vis about 30 ft, lots of wildlife. Great dive.

Brian

 

[chris_the_brit]

Metridium Fields this morning was good, bit of surge but nothing terrible. Very poor vis at times along the pipe but around the fields was 15-20 ft. Lots of fish, nudis, and the biggest sea hares I've ever seen!
After lunch we went along the breakwater hoping for sea lions. Dropped down at #8, swam out a bit then back in. Surgey and very variable vis, 5-25ft. We'd never been out there before and were surprised at how lovely it was. The kelp was beautiful, fish and inverts everywhere. No sea lions though. 58F was the low temp for the day.
I know it's just the Breakwater, but what a great pair of dives! Loved it!

 

[raftingtigger]

I know it's just the Breakwater, but what a great pair of dives! Loved it!

"just the Breakwater", if you get away from the hordes of students, has more life per sq meter than most of the other places I have dived in the Monterey/Carmel area.

As for the sea lions, you have to get almost to the end.

 

[NorCalDM]

"just the Breakwater", if you get away from the hordes of students, has more life per sq meter than most of the other places I have dived in the Monterey/Carmel area.

As for the sea lions, you have to get almost to the end.

There lies the problem I don't want to dive in rush hour traffic! Since I'm only able to dive weekends I stay away from Breakwater because so many people are there and parking can be a pain. I have a few hundered dives in the Monterey/Carmel area only two have been at Breakwater and I feel there are other less crowded dive sites with equal or better life. Just my two cents but I do have a question of the dives you have done in the area how many or what percentage are at Breakwater? I'm not putting down Breakwater just wondering I did enjoy the my dives there.

 

[uspap]

Breakwater is my fall back site. My favorites are North Monastery, Wedding Rock and Butterfly House. However, conditions don't always permit. A majority of my dives have been at Breakwater lately. I try and get out every week if I can. I find there is a lot of diversity but I only will dive there during the week. In my opinion it is an under rated site and likely because of looking at it from a weekend perspective. Last weekend I dove there was several years ago and I had to park on the street.