North coast marine ecologies are a little different from Monterey/Carmel, but there are big similarities too. We have no otters, more urchins, more bull kelp, lots more red abalone, and it's harder to get really deep on the N Coast. We have metridiums below about 40 feet, and fields of coraline algae along with the usual big ambush predators, fisheating anemone, sunstars, bat stars, and rock fish. No hydrocoral that I've ever seen and fewer big invertibrate blooms, but the rocks are alive with stuff.
NCoast dive spots tend to be more exposed and are more easily messed up from wind and swell, while there is almost always somewhere in Monterey that you can dive, except on very bad days. Acesss to shore diving is very nice, with Ft Ross, Stillwater Cove, and Gerstle Cove the more popular spots because of easy access and some facilities. Small boats launch out of Ocean Cove and lots of divers from northcoastdivers.org can be found diving from private boats up and down the coast. There are no dive charters at this time.
In summer and fall you can get big plankton blooms that can hurt vis, and there are longshore currents now and then that make dive planning and good navigation a must.
But the best way to find out is to come up and dive, see for yourself. See you there.
