Monterey & Carmel pics 7-17-10

[Larry C]

We did our first dive in Carmel but came back to Monterey for the second as the wind was expected to come up. Looking at the color of the pics from Monterey after the one from Carmel will demonstrate why we like to get around the corner whenever possible.
I put the dome on and shot all wides with the 10-17 set at 10mm (I don't have a gear yet), determined to work out my lighting issues with the dome...eh, not so much. It's getting a little better, but I've still got a lot to learn.

Carol on Jawdropper Pinnacle in Carmel.

Humongous Lingcod we found at Trevors Pinnacle, near Point Pinos.

Dionna with a Lingcod

Sunflower star with Metridium Anemones

The crack that we call the Rockfish covention center

 

[FrankPro1]

Awesome set! Thanks for sharing

 

[Larry C]

Thanks, FrankPro.

 

[ccohn2000]

Actually, that's Guy's crack. The RCC is at Shale Island. There are still alot of fish in there though!

 

[fuggler]

I really like that sunflower star + metridium pic.

I'm also waiting for my zoom gear in the mail. If I get it Friday, we'll go diving this weekend off a friend's boat. Hoping for good conditions.

 

[Larry C]

I really like that sunflower star + metridium pic.

I'm also waiting for my zoom gear in the mail. If I get it Friday, we'll go diving this weekend off a friend's boat. Hoping for good conditions.

Thanks, Fuggler. Looks like it's going to be nice again this weekend. Foggy this week, too, so maybe the vis will be better in the bay.

 

[MikeMarlow]

You all need to quit teasing me...the temptation is going to cost me a trip to Monterey very soon. Between the diving and the area in general, I could spend a week there and still not want to leave.

 

[Larry C]

If you don't need to stay in a fancy place, you can do it on a budget. Check with the lower priced places like Travelodge and Super 8, and make sure you pick a week when there's no big event in town. They triple the prices for the music festivals, the car races at Laguna Seca, the Motorcycle grand prix, and events like the Sea Otter classic bicycle event and the marathon. Monterey has it's own airport, but flights are really limited. I think you can book all four of the popular dive boats from one website now. Most of them just do weekends, but I think the Beach Hopper is doing some weekday dives. This is typically the worst time of year for visibility in the bay. The sunnier it is, the greener it gets, but it changes day to day and if conditions are good, the boats will get you to Carmel where there's more water exchange due to proximity to open ocean and better visibility. Beach diving is available in both Monterey/Pacific Grove and Carmel, and there are several shops in town for rentals.
It's generally about 48-52°f, so you'll need a 7mm wetsuit or a drysuit and the appropriate weighting. If you don't have that stuff, you can rent it locally. Monterey dive shops include Aquarius on Del Monte, Glenn's Aquarius II in the Breakwater parking lot and Bamboo Reef, right up the hill from the Aquarium.
If you get lonely, you'll usually find several Scuba Boarders, myself and my lovely wife (who corrected my picture description above) included, in the Breakwater parking lot on most weekends.
A couple of the boats cater to tech divers, too, so if you want to go deep, you can. Trimix is available locally, but you'll probably need to give some notice.