Monterey Oct 10, 2010

[blewgrass]

Chuck,

Have you seen molas in the "closer in" shore dive locations or mostly in the deeper, outer areas accessible by boat for the most part? I'd be curious to know how close they come to divers too..

 

[Ben_ca]

Want to see Molas? Look up!

I've seen them at the metridium fields. Often though the sealions get to them and then it's a sad sight. But to see them intact look up occasionally as they don't hang out where most divers kick around.

 

[janeothejungle]

We see them more down near catalina, but the few I've seen here have usually been off monastery and have let us come pretty close....

Rogue Biology on Vimeo


Regardless, you'll have a blast diving in the kelp. Always good stuff to see!!

Cheers,
Kat

 

[kathydee]

Kathy: Come and dive in Bali again! I'm there every August so drop me a line if you're heading there, maybe we can dive together. Here's a little something to whet your appetite

Thanks! It would be hard to keep me away from Bali ! Hope to meet you one of these days! Or perhaps when I drop through Singapore, or head back to Bunakan!

We get lots of mola mola up here in Northern California,

Want to see Molas? Look up!

I've seen them at the metridium fields.

Sure we get Mola Mola. I've seen the little one but wonder if ours get as big as the Mola Mola in Bali?

 

[deadbilly]

I've only seen the littler ones up here, but I saw a pretty huge one while diving the Yukon in San Diego this summer. What a treat.

(warning, terrible picture)

 

[blewgrass]

Wow Kathy!! That thing is huge! I'm not sure if the camera angle is helping that fish look bigger but the diver is dwarfed by that thing!

Awesome... I also like the faint outline of the mola in the next reply!

Cool stuff. It looks like the molas are not spooked by the divers.

 

[neve]

I have never seen a small mola-mola, I don't think I'd even realize it's a mola-mola if I see a small one! The smallest I've seen is probably about 5ft fin tip to fin tip. They come very close to divers and the viz is usually a minimum of 60ft so the measurements shouldn't be too far off. They come to the shallows to be cleaned, so they stick around. I've seen 3 molas (at the same time) myself, but I've seen a friend's video with 14 molas (I counted them!!!). In July and August, they show up 1 out of 3 dives, always at the same site (Crystal Bay, Nusa Penida island, just off Bali). They are also frequently sighted in sites off Padangbai, Bali. I have encountered mola-molas underwater maybe 10 times out of about 100 dives in Bali. I've also seen them on the surface a few times, and once when it was breaching (very scary! There were some fishermen on tiny outrigger canoes around where it breached. If the truck-sized mola had landed on one... *shudder*)

Here are some pics taken by my friend Wolfgang to illustrate the size:

Anyways, mola or no mola, I'm really looking forward to the kelp forest!

If ever any of you is in Asia, or need some info about Asia, do drop me a line.

Cheers!

 

[pacificgal]

I've seen them boat diving in Monterey Bay, near the aquarium, also found a mola graveyard where there were dozens laying about dying with their fins chewed off, that was disturbing. I saw one leap out of the water as I was on the boat on that same dive, presumably being chased by a sea lion, that thing was hauling!
Another time I was at the barge at Breakwater (shore dive) and saw one about 10 feet away.
I'm hoping we start seeing a lot more of them now that the sea nettles are back.

 

[SKD]

Fun reading your stuff everyone. I'm kinda from (meaning "inland of" in divespeak) Fort Bragg Ca, (though am at the moment quite near to Monterey Bay and itchin to get in the water..)....Scoring equipment for that impressively cool water up North was kinda the funnest part of the experience...you end up with good gear that fits right by the time your done! (In Cabo I sweat like the dickens in it..) Yeah sounds like yur on track, good booties, good gloves...good hood, good wetsuit...lol you get the idea (yes 7mm I would think).
By the way, are you liking Monterrey? I've looked around a lil, there's a long list of stuff (sunken stuff too) that's supposed to be out there to see....At least that's what the divemap says.