San Francisco (Monterey) 9/11/04 AM

[rab]

I'm going to be in San Francisco for a week on business and my only opportunity to dive will be Saturday morning. I'm looking at the 3 dive trip by Cypress Charters which is scheduled for Carmel Bay. Some other info I found on the net said Carmel Bay is more exposed to weather (which probably explains the Cypress Charters note about *weather permitting on Carmel, but not Monterey trips).

There seems to be a fair number of divers on the board who have been pleased with trips they've taken with Cypress. I'm going to be staying near the Bay Bridge in SF so I'll have about a 2 hr drive to get to the 7am departure.

-Rob

 

[scubasean]

I'm going to be in San Francisco for a week on business and my only opportunity to dive will be Saturday morning. I'm looking at the 3 dive trip by Cypress Charters which is scheduled for Carmel Bay. Some other info I found on the net said Carmel Bay is more exposed to weather (which probably explains the Cypress Charters note about *weather permitting on Carmel, but not Monterey trips).

There seems to be a fair number of divers on the board who have been pleased with trips they've taken with Cypress. I'm going to be staying near the Bay Bridge in SF so I'll have about a 2 hr drive to get to the 7am departure.

-Rob

Nice!

Keep in mind that many dive boats appreciate divers being suited up at the dock prior to boarding...I'm not sure about Cypress..

As for the "weather permitting" issue, whether they go around to Carmel probably depends on whether there has been a recent storm or something else kicking up waves, etc.

Also, there is alot of kelp right now...If you've never dived kelp, get a briefing from the divemaster, and maybe even consider going with a local person or two...

 

[Burner]

you might be able to get a cheap hotel off priceline or orbitz for the night before which is usually nicer then getting up at 4am.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

No problem suiting up on board the Cypress Sea.

Carmel Bay isn't any more exposed than Monterey Bay,
but the ride TO Carmel Bay is 100% exposed.

I'd figure on more like a 2.5 hour drive from the
Bay Bridge. Get on 101 south, to 156 west, to 1 south.
And note that the boat LEAVES at 7. You'll need time to
load and park. Bring LOTS of quarters. Each will get
you 15 minutes on the meter. Run the meter up to 3:00
p.m. to be safe (Monterey meter maids are very, ah,
efficient).

 

[lee3]

>>Bring LOTS of quarters. Each will get
you 15 minutes on the meter. Run the meter up to 3:00
p.m. to be safe (Monterey meter maids are very, ah,
efficient).<<<

the flipside is if you don't have $9 is quarters and the change machine isn't working, the fine is only $25. much better that the $75-$100 nonsense we deal with in san francisco. I'd second the opinon to just grab a cheap hotel room nearby from orbitz so that you don't have to deal with a 2 hour drive and 1 hour boat ride to arrive at your first dive site.

 

[rab]

Thanks for the info. Cypress has another trip on their schedule for 2pm so I'd hope they'd be back before then. Is there really no marina parking?? I guess I'll bring a roll of quarters (and load $8 or so into the meter -- I assume it'll take that much since that's what you're suggesting!)

As for the early time, I'm on EDT so my typical wakeup time is like 2:30am PDT. Getting up at 3:30-4:00am PDT to drive doesn't sound too bad to me. However, depending on how I arrange transportation (rental car for the week or just for a day/weekend) may influence my decision to stay locally on Friday night.

-Rob

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

There is marina parking. It has meters. There's also
some attended parking, but it's farther away.

I'd still load the meter to 3 p.m. Sometimes they get back
late. And you need time to organize and load your gear.

 

[CALI68]

If you see my "sliverish" I believe they call it "pewter" colored Tahoe with a couple scuba stickers on it stop by and say hi. My Licence pLate says CCTCB

 

[rab]

Dang! OK, called AnyWater Sports (Cypress Charters) over the weekend and their web site isn't up-to-date for the 9/11/04 dives. They have an all-day trip to Punta-del-Sur with deep (i.e., tri-mix) diving so they're out.

I guess I'll be calling some other places today... One I'll be looking into is Sanctuary Charters.

-Rob

 

[melfox26]

Dang! OK, called AnyWater Sports (Cypress Charters) over the weekend and their web site isn't up-to-date for the 9/11/04 dives. They have an all-day trip to Punta-del-Sur with deep (i.e., tri-mix) diving so they're out.

I guess I'll be calling some other places today... One I'll be looking into is Sanctuary Charters.

-Rob

Rob,

A group of about 30 divers, including myself are getting together on that day for a couple of fun dives and pot luck bbq down in that area on 9/11. PM me if interested and I'll forward you details.

Mel