Video: Scootering Lesson at Lobos
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I find it amusing that Monterey diving has a pretty predictable evolution . . . First you single tank the breakwater, and then you discover Lobos, and then the tanks get bigger, and then you either get doubles or a scooter, and shortly after getting one you get the other, and then it isn't long before you need some technical training because it gets deep when you can go further . . . I got introduced to scooters at Lobos, and if that were where I routinely dived, I would have owned one long before I did.
GregSaiz
Contributor
Peter_C
Contributor
There are some places I would consider a scooter a safety net while boat diving. IE: Arena Rock, where the current often rips. Of course anywhere the current can kick up stronger than you can swim a scooter would be good to have.
For Lobos a scooter can reach "most" places a boat can go without having to haul the boat down there, launch and recover it, pay $5.00 to get the boat into Lobos, for us Northerners $15 to cross the bridge, and the time spent prepping and cleaning the boat. Scooters cost about the same as a cheap boat, require almost zero maintenance, and can be used from most any beach or rocky shore entry.
Greg, so what kind of scooter are you going to get?
GregSaiz
Contributor
Peter, I'm afraid Santa doesn't have a scooter on the list for me this year. If I can build up the courage to launch at Lobos and dive doubles from the boat, it might be easier to avoid the temptation. As you pointed out, boat launching at lobos is a serious undertaking where the scooter just looks so...well, simple. On the other hand, a scooter motor locking up over at Bluefish Cove might change my outlook!
Are you going the scooter route?
Are you going the scooter route?
Peter_C
Contributor
I have a Mako scoot already that I have been using for years. Often I take it to Lobos and just tow my buddy out if they don't have a scooter. We don't venture out to sites like Blue Fish Cove nor Thumbs Up etc, but it can get two people out past Hole In The Wall fairly quickly.
At the Sonoma Coast I mostly use my scooter as launching a boat is near impossible, and expensive. Mendocino I pretty much boat dive exclusively.
Launching at Lobos is a pain, and the trailer has to go up top. You also have to pay attention to the tides carefully. Well I don't, but we can recover with transom wheels, which is the benefit of a smaller boat. That is what we did on Tuesday afternoon as the trailer would have been high and dry. We just used the pickup to pull the boat up the steep ramp. Once on level ground I can move it around by myself. The fire dept was out there doing drills and seeing how their engine was running. Of course they always use wheels to launch their rescue boat.
At the Sonoma Coast I mostly use my scooter as launching a boat is near impossible, and expensive. Mendocino I pretty much boat dive exclusively.
Launching at Lobos is a pain, and the trailer has to go up top. You also have to pay attention to the tides carefully. Well I don't, but we can recover with transom wheels, which is the benefit of a smaller boat. That is what we did on Tuesday afternoon as the trailer would have been high and dry. We just used the pickup to pull the boat up the steep ramp. Once on level ground I can move it around by myself. The fire dept was out there doing drills and seeing how their engine was running. Of course they always use wheels to launch their rescue boat.
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