Report 3/12: breakwater -wall.

[KRL1973]

Did a dive this morning. 10ft viz and rather snotty. Still had an enjoyable dive poking among the wall rocks and filming with a new light attachment I made. Had some sea lions check me out and rounded the end of the jetty for the first time. It had a current running out there amongst some big rocks with large crevices/cavities big enough to duck into. Found a nesting ling there. Enjoyable dive and topside afterwards. Wind was really picking-up when I was leaving. Glad to have gotten there early.
Ken L.

 

[3D diver]

Wow, I've never made it to the end. Did you do a beach entry? Stay shallow? Just not breath? Guess I'm just slow.

Sounds like a lot more fun than going to work, eh?

 

[KRL1973]

3D,
Yes beach entry. Trick is to do a long surface swim and start your dive out near the '9' or '10' painted on the jetty. On a standard AL80 from there I can reach the end at a liesurely pace and often get sea lion encounters, turn and return along the wall surfacing near the '4' where it gets shallow. I prefer the 20-30 fsw depth range but will usually check out the ~40fsw sandy bottom for a while. during the 1st part of the dive just for variety.

 

[Jak Crow]

I've done that before. Unlike a lot of people I've dived with, I don't mind a long surface swim as long as I can get where I want to go under water.

 

[nickjqz]

Well I have rental gear reserved for this weekend, for my first dive in the ocean should I cancel and wait for a better weekend? My girlfriend and I are going to go on Saturday.

 

[Peter_C]

Nick, especially since it is your first ocean dive it would probably be best to pick a different weekend. First it is raining hard, and the runoff will muck up the water in multiple ways. Great time for sewage dumps with E. Coli. Second they are calling for pretty rough conditions. You want your g/f to enjoy her first dives, trust me on that one.

Read thru this page by Chuck if you haven't already.
New Monterey Diver Information

Here is the NOAA site most of us use as a crystal ball.
NDBC - NWS Forecast

The outer buoy at Point Pinos tells the story of what is coming and how rough it really is. The inner bay buoy paints the picture a little calmer than it sometimes is. South swells can randomly combine with the West swells kicking them up pretty big.

PZZ565-162230- POINT PINOS TO POINT PIEDRAS BLANCAS TO 10 NM- 833 AM PDT FRI MAR 16 2012

SAT NW WINDS 10 TO 20 KT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. W SWELL 9 TO 12 FT AT 12 SECONDS AND S 3 FT AT 14 SECONDS. SHOWERS IN THE MORNING. SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE DAY. SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE AFTERNOON.

PZZ535-162230- MONTEREY BAY- 833 AM PDT FRI MAR 16 2012

SAT NW WINDS 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. W SWELL 5 TO 7 FT AT 12 SECONDS AND S 3 FT AT 14 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY AND SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS.

 

[nickjqz]

Aww man well thank you for the info and I hope that this next weekend is super clear and sunny!

 

[3D diver]

3D,
Yes beach entry. Trick is to do a long surface swim and start your dive out near the '9' or '10' painted on the jetty. On a standard AL80 from there I can reach the end at a liesurely pace and often get sea lion encounters, turn and return along the wall surfacing near the '4' where it gets shallow. I prefer the 20-30 fsw depth range but will usually check out the ~40fsw sandy bottom for a while. during the 1st part of the dive just for variety.

That'll work.

I usually drop at the admiralty anchor, cruise near the rock/sand interface til 1500lbs in the al80 then return at 25 to 30 feet. I've hit 50 to 60 feet depth that way, but never reached the end of the jetty.

 

[Jak Crow]

I've found where the sand meets the wall is one of the most interesting parts of the dive location. Lots of variety of nudibranchs and almost always 3 or 4 octopus, if not more.

 

[3D diver]

I've found where the sand meets the wall is one of the most interesting parts of the dive location. Lots of variety of nudibranchs and almost always 3 or 4 octopus, if not more.

You've got a better eye than me, I go a long time between octopus sightings. I spotted something jetting water out of some rocks the last dive, but digging didn't reveal anyone---either well camouflaged or a good escape route.