Thanksgiving Weekend

[mweitz]

Wow, got a lot of great diving amongst some not so great conditions.

Thurs, quick run up the coast for some abs. Had my abs by 9:15 or so, fairly decent; 2 x 8.5" and 1 x 8.75". Conditions were perfect, and the North Coast was like a lake. A good 6 - 8' vertical vis made finding em easy. Make it back in time for a 12:30 turkey dinner / lunch.

Friday, a single beautiful dive out to Beto's reef at Lobos. Vis in the 60' range at depth.

Saturday, a single hardcore dive out to Beto's reef at Lobos, vis from 2 - 30', some big surge and a gnarly surface swim.

Sunday, back up the coast for some more abs before the end of the season. Crazy day. It was as cold as 27F topside on the drive there, and was 41 when we got into the water. The waves were ... generous . It really paid off to sit for a while and get a feeling for the sets. We got in right at high tide, at +5.5 and vis was about 2'. After a few exploratory dives I found an area with some abs. I limited fairly quickly, but my wife wasn't so lucky. Those rocky entries / exits with some wave action are exhilarating, to say the least! Finished the morning off with a nice breakfast at The Tides Wharf Restaurant, and headed home. I think I'll make The Tides a regular part of my North Coast diving!

All in all, a great weekend, man am I tired. Right about 1,000 miles on the truck over the weekend. Time for another oil change .

Mark

 

[BrianM]

Mark,

Where did you ab dive?? Just curious where you hit that surf. I was up at Salt Point on TG-day with a friend and we had a great time... the ocean was awesome, 54F and at least 20' vis, it was beautiful. I have 2 empty spots on the card this year but no way to get off work before the season ends this week.

Brian

 

[mweitz]

Hey Brian,

We were at Reef on TG day, which was awesome. I was talking with one of the other guys yesterday and he said he had about 25' vertical on the outside of the reef. It was Sunday am that was a bit more interesting. I bet Salt Point was awesome on TG, I really like S. Gerstle cove, lots of stuff in the 20 - 30' range.

Mark

Mark,

Where did you ab dive?? Just curious where you hit that surf. I was up at Salt Point on TG-day with a friend and we had a great time... the ocean was awesome, 54F and at least 20' vis, it was beautiful. I have 2 empty spots on the card this year but no way to get off work before the season ends this week.

Brian

 

[BrianM]

When you say reef, do you mean the Ft Ross Reef campground area? Yeah that is really exposed there and sure isn't much fun when things get rolling. I have only dived there once and it was ROUGH so I would like to go back and try it when it's calm.

I usually dive the south area outside of Gerstle as well, near the Norlina wreck. This friend I was with had a different plan though. We were on kayaks and we went north out and around the rocks and kept going till I thought my arms were going to fall off...then we went a little further and found a great reef area that was deeper than my usual comfort level but it was a great spot.

Hey Brian,

We were at Reef on TG day, which was awesome. I was talking with one of the other guys yesterday and he said he had about 25' vertical on the outside of the reef. It was Sunday am that was a bit more interesting. I bet Salt Point was awesome on TG, I really like S. Gerstle cove, lots of stuff in the 20 - 30' range.

Mark

 

[mweitz]

Yeah, Reef was pretty nice. I've only been up freediving a few (well, 8 times to be exact :05: ) so my experience is limited to S. Gerstle, Van Damme and Reef. I plan on doing some exploring up there over the next few months. I really like freediving up there, and looking for new ab spots while hunting urchin will be fun.

Mark

 

[pchelp]

Hey Mark, whey you are freediving for abs, are you in a drysuit with jet fins, or wetsuit and long fins?

Hope all is well, have to go diving after I get rid of the flu. I'll be up on the north coast (arcata) over the week between christmas and new year, and thought about trying to get wet.

rusty

 

[mweitz]

Hey Rusty,

Wetsuit with Jets currently. Mostly anywhere North of Jenner where you can get coastal acces and there is Kelp. We have done Salt Point State Park, Van Damme and Reef Campground.

I don't know much about diving that far North, but I bet ZKY, Justin and Renpirate here on the boards does.

Flu sux. Hope you feel better soon.

Mark

Hey Mark, whey you are freediving for abs, are you in a drysuit with jet fins, or wetsuit and long fins?

Hope all is well, have to go diving after I get rid of the flu. I'll be up on the north coast (arcata) over the week between christmas and new year, and thought about trying to get wet.

rusty