Point Lobos - Whaler's Cove with 13 year old

[dannobee]

...And if we do this route, how far should we surface swim at the beginning before dropping down?

The further, the better. One thing about Point Lobos, if you don't have a boat or scooter, be prepared to do some surface swimming. Stay parallel to Cannery Point, then sink down before you start getting to the rocks. If you're going to do the square pattern, I'd save a little more gas in case you need to swim under the kelp in Middle Reef.

There's a LOT more kelp here than in Laguna, so keep a lookout. The stipes and holdfasts are quite a bit bigger here, too. No lobsters though. :depressed:

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[emttim]

I've seen MacAbee completely blow out a couple months ago, and the breakwater was flat; it was bizarre

I've seen the same thing. Me and my girlfriend went to McAbee to go play with the seals one morning, McAbee was getting slammed by 6-8 foot waves nonstop and then over at Breakwater it was like 2 foot surf. They're right next to each other but they don't always have comparable conditions. The ocean isn't as convenient as we'd like her to be.

That's not been my experience. For dives at less than 40 ft, Lover's can be great; Macabee can be great; the Breakwater can be great; Pt. Lobos can be great (and there are others as well.) It's not true that Lover's or Macabee has consistently more surge than anywhere else. I brought them up because they are excellent alternatives if you didn't swing a Lobos reservation, and you don't feel like diving after a bunch of classes at the Breakwater.

Whether any site is "not as enjoyable" as any other will be entirely due to the idiosyncrasies of the conditions on a particular day, and to personal taste.

Well, one thing that hasn't been mentioned as far as surge or not at Lover's and McAbee is surface swims I suppose. I have never swam out that far at McAbee and I understand the surge does get better if you're willing to swim out to BFE before you drop down. Also, Lover's entirely depends on again the surface swim and which site you hit up since there's three of them.

Don't get me wrong though...I would still rather dive either of those sites any day over not dving. Priorities.

Well thanks, everyone. I've read your posts and checked out the links from dannobee and ben_ca (I wish I could find maps like that of Laguna!), and it looks like a good route might be to head generally NW, following the wall to the left of the entry, out until my son gets to 1500 psi, make a 90 degree right hand turn and swim to the middle reef, make another 90 degree right turn and follow the reef back SE, make another 90 degree right hand turn and head back towards the boat ramp at 15 fsw, surfacing when he gets to 500 psi. I think this is essentially the clockwise version of emttim's "square" route. Thoughts? And if we do this route, how far should we surface swim at the beginning before dropping down?

Sounds like a plan. I never do too far of a surface swim, I'm lazy, but I'd imagine the further you go out then the more bottom time you'll get looking at cool stuff. Although honestly, I've only swam out maybe NW about 100 yards before and had great diving once I got down there. You really only need to get to the edge of the kelp beds since that's where the action typically is.

The further, the better. One thing about Point Lobos, if you don't have a boat or scooter, be prepared to do some surface swimming. Stay parallel to Cannery Point, then sink down before you start getting to the rocks. If you're going to do the square pattern, I'd save a little more gas in case you need to swim under the kelp in Middle Reef.

There's a LOT more kelp here than in Laguna, so keep a lookout. The stipes and holdfasts are quite a bit bigger here, too. No lobsters though. :depressed:

.

This brings up a safety point actually. Around this time of year, kelp is going to start growing again and peak in the summer as it always does, so be sure to have a cutting tool of some sort (either knife or shears) in case you get tangled up in the kelp...they don't always easily break when you twist them with your hands.

 

[Gombessa]

I've seen MacAbee completely blow out a couple months ago, and the breakwater was flat; it was bizarre

Me and my girlfriend went to McAbee to go play with the seals one morning, McAbee was getting slammed by 6-8 foot waves nonstop and then over at Breakwater it was like 2 foot surf. They're right next to each other but they don't always have comparable conditions. The ocean isn't as convenient as we'd like her to be.

I've seen this as well. I've also seen waves slam against the stairs at Breakwater and barely break above knee-height at the SE short entry of MacAbee. What's more important, I haven't found MacAbee to be consistently worse (or better) than Breakwater in terms of surge, viz or surf. Remember, the "convenience" of the ocean swings both ways!

 

[mposin]

Thanks again for all the advice. Can't wait.

 

[fdog]

(the square box pattern) That would be a good plan for a buddy team on foot. I would turn earlier than 1500, though...because....

As much as I love Point Lobos, my personal experience is that vis inside Whaler's cove generally sucks. Generally, at any single point in time, I'd expect it to have the worst vis of most Monterey dive sites.

"Outside" the cove, this trend reverses, and Point Lobos has usually the best vis of the shore sites. The plan you've outlined spends about half the time in the cove, so, as an out-of-towner not intimately familiar with the cove, I'd reserve a bit more gas to navigate back home.

Also, take a look at the tides, and if you can, plan your dates/times to bracket high tide. The ramp is way easier when the tide's up.


All the best, James

 

[mposin]

(the square box pattern)
As much as I love Point Lobos, my personal experience is that vis inside Whaler's cove generally sucks. Generally, at any single point in time, I'd expect it to have the worst vis of most Monterey dive sites.

"Outside" the cove, this trend reverses, and Point Lobos has usually the best vis of the shore sites. The plan you've outlined spends about half the time in the cove, so, as an out-of-towner not intimately familiar with the cove, I'd reserve a bit more gas to navigate back home.

So, do you think we would be better off, say, surface swimming along the wall until we are outside the cove, dropping down, continuing NW from there for the rest of the dive, and forgetting about returning along the middle reef? If so, is there a particular place where we should aim for (like for instance, parallel with a particular building or landmark) before we drop down?

 

[mposin]

So, do you think we would be better off, say, surface swimming along the wall until we are outside the cove, dropping down, continuing NW from there for the rest of the dive, and forgetting about returning along the middle reef? If so, is there a particular place where we should aim for (like for instance, parallel with a particular building or landmark) before we drop down?

I think fdog and dannobee both are recommending staying as far out of the cove as possible for as much of the dive as possible. I guess my question is really, then, if we do this, and bearing in mind that we want to stay at or above 40 fsw, are we better off doing Cannery wall, or the middle reef?

 

[KRL1973]

I think fdog and dannobee both are recommending staying as far out of the cove as possible for as much of the dive as possible. I guess my question is really, then, if we do this, and bearing in mind that we want to stay at or above 40 fsw, are we better off doing Cannery wall, or the middle reef?

Depends on conditions. I have had awesome diving 10 yards from the entry seeing schools of Blue rockfish, moon jellies, and even a little leopard shark. Check the forecast the day prior Monterey Sea Conditions at a Glance
I agree with fdog that high tide makes for much easier entry/exit. If things are calm and clear everything will be beautiful in/out of the cove. If it's rough it will be better outside the cove but be very careful around cannery point as surge is very strong close to shore there and should be avoided, safer to stay out on middle reef. have fun!