Summary of our God's Pocket Trip

[Merry]

Awesome pictures. I leave on Thursday for a week with Bill and Annie

We envy you! Have a wonderful time...I bet the vis will be great. If you think of it, please tell them "Hi" from Merry & Phil.

 

[Merry]

Thanks @Merry ... It is on our list! We had wanted to go on the Swell but alas it sold. I have heard great things about Gods Pocket so we will just have to get out butts up there. Is there much current? or surge?

Well, they time the dives so you dive between tidal exchanges. Bill reads the water and advises what to to at each site...from 2 people who dislike trying to photograph in current, it's not really an issue. There's lots of bull kelp to hold onto during your safety stop if a little current comes up. There's one intentional current dive to Cotton Bay, where Bill drops you in and you shoot uncontrollably along a wall for 19 min., then get dumped into a totally calm bay. Next year, we'll ask him to just drop us into the bay.

Mercifully, there's no surge to speak of, just a little at 6 feet and above. For the most part we're diving in channels where there's no swell. Nothing remotely like the surge we have to endure in Southern California!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

One more report that Merry wrote earlier from the same trip.
Not Your Everyday Dive Site

 

[Akimbo]

Thanks for the images. I noticed the dive benches. How did you like them? I am working on the design for replacement benches on the Monterey Bay Veteran's boat, The Freedom.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

They work very well. Plenty of room for milk crates underneath to store your fins, mask and anything not attached to the tank. The only issue was the small space between the bench sections. My spg continuously got snagged in the space, finally getting yanked off the hose one day. Bill duct taped the spaces for the remainder of the trip. A solid bench of smaller spaces between the sections would be great.

 

[Merry]

Also, the height and depth of the bench was perfect for ease of standing up and sitting in full gear. Perhaps Captain Bill could supply you with the dimensions.

 

[Akimbo]

Also, the height and depth of the bench was perfect for ease of standing up and sitting in full gear...

I was planning on making each bench height adjustable to accommodate the wide range of divers who may or may not have physical limitations. I was also thinking about having vertical grab bars on both sides of each seat. The thought is to help all divers get up, sit down, separate seating, and provide grab bars for anyone on the deck who needs it. We can transit some fairly sloppy seas on the way to the best dive spots.

My apologies for hijacking the thread.

 

[Merry]

Not hijacked at all, it's a wonderful thing that you're doing.

 

[stronj1]

Absolutely beautiful photos! I really appreciate your posts!