Pt. Lobos Advice

[liberato]

Using the same building forensics the Salinas picture shows a building built this year. So, both the resolutions and capture dates are all across the board. Where I live it is just low res filler made up of old topo maps probably worse than 100ft resolution. I could see individual telephone lines in Cambridge. I just checked and it was imaged at 6 inch resolution!

 

[PeterWF]

Back on topic, if you can manage to get across the cove and the conditions are good there is a pretty cool cave worth checking out and chances are good that you'll run into some friendly harbor seals. If you go along the parking lot side of the cove there are some outstanding rock formations to explore towards the mouth of the cove. Regardless, at this time of year it is important that you are comfortable in kelp.
Enjoy!

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

It's a cavern not a cave. And it would not be a cool place to be when it's sloshing.

 

[97fxdwg]

.........this advice list is adding up nicely. Thanks.

 

[dsafanda]

The California Dive Center has a hand drawn topo that may be useful to see...

http://www.cadive.com/maps/topo-whalers_cove_lg.jpg

 

[PeterWF]

Be advised that during this time of year the visibility is highly variable and can change quickly. My son and I went to Whaler's mid-week last month after checking conditions only to learn there was less than 3 ft. vis extending from Stillwater to Whaler's. We ended up doing Breakwater of all places where the vis was excellent. Perhaps I am repeating the obvious but that kind of vis can disturb a newbie. We avoided the experience by asking the early bird divers coming out of the cove.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

Vis is highly variable by location at Pt. Lobos. I'll bet those folks
with the 3' vis were diving in close to the launch ramp, and that it
was a good deal better out at the mouth of the cove, and even
better at the Great Pinnacle.

 

[Kayak Diver]

The mouth of the cove would probably be OK for a newer diver...just a longer surface swim down the sand channel. The viz is usually way better out there. It can be dark in the thick kelp, so a light is really nice to have. But the Great Pinnacle is a really long swim and not very easy to find on the surface. I've dove it off my kayak, locating it with GPS and SONAR.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

The mouth of the cove is about 75', which may be deeper than a newbie wants to go.

I wouldn't even think of trying to swim to the Great Pinnacle. It's about a half mile, one
way. It's actually pretty easy to find with GPS. And from July until the first big storms,
there's surface kelp on it. There was this past Saturday.

 

[Kayak Diver]

I don't remember the Great Pinnacle being that far out, but I'm sure you're right. Everything seems so closer when paddling out on the kayak...