Suggest me a Monterey area shore dive (or two)

[mpenders]

I'm vacationing in central CA with family, and am heading to Monterey for a day of diving with my buddy.

A little background on us: We're both from the Seattle area, and are used to diving cold water in drysuits (which we've brought with us). Warm-water diving is a little bit alien to us. I'm a Divemaster, he's a Rescue Diver. We've logged well over 100 cold-water dives together over the past year and enjoy taking our time and shooting pics.

We plan to dive 1 day only - on Sunday the 10th. We're planning on taking a dive charter in the morning, and would like to also get in a couple shore dives in the afternoon. We'd love to head out to Pt Lobos, but it's booked solid. Ideally, we'd like to find a location or two that are not terribly deep (to avoid deco issues with the multiple dives), but give us some great photo opportunities of local wildlife - we're used to shooting more macro due to the limited viz in Puget Sound.

I welcome and appreciate any suggestions you might be willing to throw out.



Oh - anyone know where my buddy can rent LP95's in the area?




Mike

 

[Akimbo]

Pt Lobos is about the only place that would require advanced planning. Since you will be on a dive boat in the morning, why not ask the skipper and the other divers? Maybe you will make some friends and they will join you? It would be a drag to waste your time driving all the way to Carmel if conditions are bad.

When conditions are good, Monastery in Carmel Bay is probably second to Lobos. The surf can make it a meat grinder though, especially if the winds come up. The closest spot to the harbor (and charter boats) is the Breakwater and you will see it on your way out of the harbor. There is a dive shop across the parking lot on the pier you can probably rent a tank from. You can also get quick fills for a second jump.

 

[Drewpy]

I'd stay away from BW on a sunday.Mcabee is close and can be a good dive..fairly shallow as well? If its calm South Monastary can be great..but I would be too spent after boat diving to do that dive-Its a workout!

Have a great trip!

 

[Thalassamania]

Lovers Point, Breakwater, Carmel River, Monastery Beach, Butterfly House, Pt. Lobos, Three-two-five, there are many, many, many .... Akimbo's giving good advice, ask on the boat in the morning.

 

[mpenders]

Thanks to all. Talking with the skipper and crew is now part of my plan. Are you suggesting avoiding BW on Sunday due to crowds? I know that the winds usually pick up in the afternoon, does it affect Monastery? Will divers generally avoid it late in the day?

I know of that shop near the BW - I ended up booking a tour with them last year out at Lobos when I was buddy-less. I'll give them a call in the morning. We normally dive steel 95's, and I brought my tanks down with me. My buddy would like to find something larger than 80's, if possible.

 

[bbianchi]

I know Aquarius on Del Monte rents HP100s. If you're nitrox certified they also bank 32%.

The current NOAA forecast looks really nice for diving this weekend. Assuming it holds you options should be wide open.

Breakwater Shouldnt necessarily be off your list. While it's crowded by classes in the morning it thins out around noon to one pm. The pipe and metridium fields are filled with great things to take pictures of. But if you want dramatic underwater geography then Carmel is the place for you. Most of Monterey is sandy bottoms. Rock scapes can be found but nothing like Carmel.

 

[skynscuba]

If you do Lovers Point, it will have to be "lovers 3" on the west side of the point. No dives on the beach in the cove after (11? 11:30?) during the summer tourist season.

 

[bbianchi]

If you do Lovers Point, it will have to be "lovers 3" on the west side of the point. No dives on the beach in the cove after (11? 11:30?) during the summer tourist season.

I'm pretty certain this rule is now gone. Almost positive even Chuck confirmed this, but I could be wrong. If I wasn't on my phone id try to do a quick search to validate this... Maybe Chuck or someone can confirm.

 

[aquaregia]

Aquarius's HP100s are all DIN (not sure if that's a consideration). They do have LP80s with K-Valves. If you're for some reason near Santa Cruz, you can get LP95s up here with Ks.

 

[bbianchi]

Aquarius's HP100s are all DIN (not sure if that's a consideration). They do have LP80s with K-Valves. If you're for some reason near Santa Cruz, you can get LP95s up here with Ks.

Depending on if you got the "rentals" vs. Personal tanks they may have been initially configured for DIN. However they all have pro valves. Which means they are DIN until you screw in a plug that adapts them over to yoke.