Advice on Shore Dives South of Pt. Lobos North of Big Sur

[Farty]

Here are few snaps we took...

 

[ScubaBumps]

I'm beginning to think Farty and I are just a couple of wimps. We checked out Malpaso Creek yesterday. I'm not sure whether it was the bungee jump from the bridge into the canyon, the stroll through the poison oak, or being chased down the beach by that rich guy's rottweilers, but something made me think we should look elsewhere for that great south of Point Lobos dive spot.

Steve

 

[btroxell]

I haven't walked the path Mal Paso in a few months so I'm not sure about the poison oak. but here's no reason to act like Tarzan; you can easily walk from your car to the beach. If you look on Google Maps, you can see the path between the houses on Yankee Pt Dr. at the top, wind around behind them, pass through the trees and end up on the beach. You have to really look for the public beach access, it's between houses 112A and 111.
The few times I have been there, I have not been bothered by the owners but it's pretty obvious that they don't want this public access (and it is a public easement) to become public knowledge.

Ben

 

[Farty]

Would this be the correct translation using my amazing graphical skills?

 

[btroxell]

Would this be the correct translation using my amazing graphical skills?

Yes.

Ben

 

[ScubaBumps]

Looks like we'll make a return trip early next week. I'll bring a good bottle of wine for the rich guy and chew bones for his rottweilers.

Thanks for the details.

Steve

 

[Farty]

Looks like we'll make a return trip early next week. I'll bring a good bottle of wine for the rich guy and chew bones for his rottweilers.

Thanks for the details.

Steve

I will walk first with the bottle, you can follow me with the chew bone

 

[ScubaBumps]

Farty and I made it to Malpaso this week and last. Last week, the swells were too high, so we didn't dive. This week, we did not dive either. We decided to return to do a free dive survey before we lug our gear down the hill.

Malpaso looks like it has potential, with intermediate to advanced diving and a surf entry. It's exposed to the ocean, but there is a wide main cove enclosed by two points. The beach is a couple 100 yards long with several entry spots. To the north, it looks like there are some narrow deep coves to explore. To the south, there's a large kelp bed. Our only concern is that it's not very deep in the area protected by the points, which is why we want to free dive it first.

To the south and offshore, there are some wash rocks that look interesting. These are a fair kick from shore and the longshore current looks very strong. We plan to stay in the cove until we understand how strong that current is. I'd rather drive to Big Sur than float.

 

[btroxell]

I finally got around to describing Mal Paso on my website and have included an underwater topo map. No details of the bottom relief of the inside of the cove but out by the wash rocks looks pretty interesting.
Monterey Dive Infomation- Mal Paso site

Ben

 

[ScubaBumps]

Ben,

Nice website! You and Farty should join forces. You are both cartographers by nature. By the way, thanks for pointing us to this dive site. It'll be a pleasure exploring it over the next few months.

Steve