OW in Monterey

[Scuba-dooby-doo]

My wife and I have never been scuba diving before, but signed up for OW certification so that we can dive while on our trip to Cancun/Cozumel this September. Our training OW dive is in Monterey in two weekends. I am looking forward to this whole experience like a little kid anticipating Christmas morning, but my wife seems to be just as nervous as she is excited. She has developed phobias and fears since her younger days, and I think a few of them are about to come up.

We live in the San Francisco east bay area, so we know that there are sharks in the bays and along the coastline. How scary is it to see a shark for the first time while on a dive? I'm going to try to do my homework before we get to that point so that I can identify the types of marine life that we encounter, but I'll have to cross my fingers that my wife doesn't freak out. I guess we'll have to come up with a signal for "go to your happy place", "relax and breathe" and "Goosfraba", just in case. We know that Jaws was just a movie, but we also don't want to underestimate a potentially dangerous situation.

A few years back, some friends of ours were diving in Monterey, and one of them got snagged by a fishing hook while on the dive. I'm sure that's pretty rare occurrence. Are there any specific concerns or things to watch out for when diving around the kelp?

Low visibility may also be an issue. Some people say that you can see pretty well down there, while others are talking about not being able to see more than a foo or two in front of your face. Does that just depend on the dive location or the time of year? We know that it will be mid-August while we are there, but still don't know which of the three potential dive areas the instructor will choose for the OW dive.

Any information or reassurances about diving in Monterey Bay would be appreciated.

 

[zinmaker]

You have a lot of very good questions. Good decision to do your open water dives in Monterey, in general it will make you a better diver, your dive site will probably be San Carlos Beach (the Breakwater). Your fear of sharks is a good one, I haven't seen a shark in the Monterey or north coast yet, I want to see a Leopard shark. There has never been an unprovoked shark attack on a scuba diver. You will probably see a reef shark or two in your warm water dive locations like Cozumel. A web site that I use when I see something new is http://www.metridium.com/ click on pictures. You have some other questions that other people can probably answer better than myself.

 

[TSandM]

Your instructor should be able to help you with specific issues about diving in Monterey, and in the kelp.

Visibility where we are varies from day to day, and certainly from week to week in the summertime, depending on the algae blooms. I would assume it's something similar in Monterey, although it sounds as though they can have better visibility then we ever get in the central Sound.

I think you would be very lucky to see a shark, given how shallow and brief OW dives are.

Your wife might enjoy reading the journal of my OW class. It might help relieve some anxiety!

 

[RalphJr]

My wife and I just dove San carlos Beach Saturday 7-29-06 12:30 pm. Surface temp was 66F High fog some drizzle light wind from WSW. and bottom temp @ 46 ft. was 56F. Surf was gentle @ 1 ft. We submerged at the bend in the breakwall and followed the breakwall out to it's end and then back in to the beach. visability was 15 to 20 feet with a greenish cast to the water from an algie and plankton bloom. The wonderful thing about diving here is that there is sooooooo much variety of sea life flora and fauna. that no matter how bad the vis gets you just jet closer to the subject and you will see things that you swim past on days with high vis. I have made 50 minute dives here on a five square foot area of bottom without being able to take in all of the life that lived there!

I have been diving here for years and have never seen a shark bigger than an 18 inch Leapord. I have been startled by the sudden appearance of a sea lion.

This is one of the best places in the world to get your OW cert. Learning shore entry and mastering cold water diving (come back and log some more dives here ASAP before your Mexico trip.) will make you a truley qualified diver. Then when you go on vacation in Cozumel and boat dive that warm water you will be so comfortable in the water with your light gear you will be able to really take in the wonder of those fantastic reefs. Be sure to tell your dive master your true skill level, he/she will plan the dives around your abilities. My favorites are Houreshoe Palancar (deep) and Paradise Reef (shallow).

My wife and I are a team, either one of us can call off a dive - no reason required, and we have both done this. Follow your instincs. If something does not seem right then it is Miller Time.

Good Luck and welcome to the world of sport diving.

Ralph Dillard aka Randy

 

[mweitz]

<SNIP>There has never been an unprovoked shark attack on a scuba diver. <SNIP>

This isn't correct. All the reported GW attacks that I have seen written up were unprovoked. Since GW are ambush preditors most victims never see the shark coming so there would be no way to provoke it.

<SNIP>I think you would be very lucky to see a shark, given how shallow and brief OW dives are.

If you follow California shark sightings, there are quite a few sightings in fairly shallow water. While you would be "lucky" to see one, don't think that they won't come in the shallows. The last shark fatality we had was in Aug '04 in a depth of 15' of water on the North Coast.

With all that said, there are VERY few attacks on scuba divers on the Monterey Peninsula. There have been 13 recorded attacks on scuba divers in California, none of which were fatal. There have been a total of 9 recorded GW attacks in Monterey County, 1 on a swimmer, 3 on freedivers, 3 on surfers and 2 on scuba divers.

I have had 2 freedivers give me accounts of seeing a GW in the water this year, one in Monterey a few weeks ago and one at Ft. Ross a few months ago.

Sources, CA DFG:

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/whiteshark.html

Pacific Coast Shark News:

http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/pacific_coast_shark_news.htm

Mark

 

[zinmaker]

Ok, I will correct myself and say a fatal unprovoked shark attack on a scuba diver.

 

[dsafanda]

This is one of the best places in the world to get your OW cert. Learning shore entry and mastering cold water diving (come back and log some more dives here ASAP before your Mexico trip.) will make you a truley qualified diver. Then when you go on vacation in Cozumel and boat dive that warm water you will be so comfortable in the water with your light gear you will be able to really take in the wonder of those fantastic reefs.

I couldn't agree more. I think more NorCal divers should take the time to get cetified in their backyard and see what amazing diving it has to offer. If you're comfortable and safe diving in heavy wetsuits in cold water with limited viz, you'll be well prepared for the gin clear waters of the tropics. By the same token, if your significant other ends up hating everything about diving in Monterey(it wouldn't be the first time ), don't give up hope. Mexico will be a different experience.

 

[--tom--]

Talk to your instructor about your concerns, but realistically, you won't see a shark at San Carlos Beach, you will see lots of really cool life you have never seen before.

You asked about being hooked, that will be addressed in the preliminary speech before you go into the water. Fishing is done primarily from the breakwater, so an experienced instructor will avoid those areas. As to kelp, that will be specifically addressed, usually with a short "workshop" in the water. I like kelp diving the best.

And by the way, congratulations on learning how to dive, I hope you enjoy it for decades to come.

 

[dannobee]

One more relevant thing to add. If you dive here regularly, then go on a dive trip to timbukthree, the DM will ask you a couple of questions-like when was your last dive, how many dives do you have, where do you usually dive. When you say last week, about a hundred or so, and Monterey/Carmel area, they normally answer "oh, wow," and ask the next person on the boat the same questions. And on the dive? They leave you alone to do your own thing if you wish. When you get good at diving here, you can dive ANYWHERE in the world.

 

[Dive 'N' Dolphin]

I can understand your wife. My Fiancé and I both got certified and did our check out dive at Break water in Monterey. The vis was bad Sat morning because of all the students on the bottom. In the kelp forest is was much better. Sunday it was pretty good also. I had a lot of concerns about diving. My fiancé and I are getting married in Sept and taking our honeymoon in Cozumel. I cant wait. I had some fears. So he signed us up for the national geographic class which is a 3 week class. You get 2 days a week in the pool On day at the lake then back to the pool to deal with any issues then the next weekend to Monterey. I was able to deal with a lot of the issues that i had during that time. The fast crash weekend courses I don’t think are a good idea for people that are worried about freaking. It’s a fast pase class and you don’t really have time to work out issues. One of my worst was taking my mask of under water and clearing it. I choked water so bad but I was able to work it out in the pool so that time we got to the ocean I was calm and even though i took in a little water was able to clear and move on. I was scared about coughing under water but you can do it right into your reg and not a problem. You can even puke and just flush it out and its all good. Even brings out some cool fish I think you guys will love it. We are looking at going back to Monterey in a couple of weeks to do some diving in lovers cove. That’s supposed to be really nice. Sharks now that is something I haven’t had to deal with yet. I am sure it will be a little freaky at first but from what I hear they usually try to avoid us. Unless we are spearing fish of course

Good luck,
Stacy

My wife and I have never been scuba diving before, but signed up for OW certification so that we can dive while on our trip to Cancun/Cozumel this September. Our training OW dive is in Monterey in two weekends. I am looking forward to this whole experience like a little kid anticipating Christmas morning, but my wife seems to be just as nervous as she is excited. She has developed phobias and fears since her younger days, and I think a few of them are about to come up.

We live in the San Francisco east bay area, so we know that there are sharks in the bays and along the coastline. How scary is it to see a shark for the first time while on a dive? I'm going to try to do my homework before we get to that point so that I can identify the types of marine life that we encounter, but I'll have to cross my fingers that my wife doesn't freak out. I guess we'll have to come up with a signal for "go to your happy place", "relax and breathe" and "Goosfraba", just in case. We know that Jaws was just a movie, but we also don't want to underestimate a potentially dangerous situation.

A few years back, some friends of ours were diving in Monterey, and one of them got snagged by a fishing hook while on the dive. I'm sure that's pretty rare occurrence. Are there any specific concerns or things to watch out for when diving around the kelp?

Low visibility may also be an issue. Some people say that you can see pretty well down there, while others are talking about not being able to see more than a foo or two in front of your face. Does that just depend on the dive location or the time of year? We know that it will be mid-August while we are there, but still don't know which of the three potential dive areas the instructor will choose for the OW dive.

Any information or reassurances about diving in Monterey Bay would be appreciated.