Monterey conditions. (let's keep it going )

[3D diver]

Fun dive with Stilldivin' at Lobos' Middle Reef today:

Bottom time: 44 min.
Max Depth: 50 feet
Visibility: 30-40 feet
Temperature: Air 77F, Water 51.4 to 59.4F
Surface: glassy with a hint of a swell coming in

The tide was lapping the bottom of the ramp and rising when we arrived at Point Lobos this morning. The water was glassy, but there was a building swell apparent outside the cove. The kelp is thick, but the boat channel was clear, except for a 5 to 10 foot stretch that was easy to wind through. A large herd of youngin's attending a junior lifeguard camp hiked into the parking lot while we were gearing up and unloaded a kajillion surfboards onto the boat sheds. There was talk of snorkeling, but they had wandered to another beach for drills by the time we finished our dive.

We dropped after clearing the boat channel in about 25 feet of water and wandered out along Middle Reef. The water seemed hazy, but the surface was crystal clear looking up from 35 feet and still visible at 45 feet. There weren't a lot of fish about, but we did encounter a big, lime colored, Lingcod and Vermilion or Canary rockfish having a confab. I also rose up into a skittish school of Blue Rockfish before we turned around.

Heading back, we followed the clear water in the boat channel and surfaced in Whaler's exactly where I thought we were (for a change).

 

[3D diver]

Did one at the Breakwater this morning. From the surface the vis looked great in the shallows...during the dive itself, not so much.

Bottom time: 69 minutes
Max depth: 49 feet
Visibility: a consistent 15 feet
Temperature: Air 74.5F, water 54.3 to 57.9F
Surface: flat! Biggest waves appeared to be boat wakes.

We kicked out to the 10 1/2 and dropped into big schools of Blacksmith and lots of small jellies. (Not sure of the species, 2" translucent bells with a white cross in them and 3 to 5" tentacles extending from the bell.) We cruised at about 30 feet for about 12 minutes when I chased a school of fish while my buddy was checking out something in the kelp and we got separated. We popped up a minute or two later near the sea lions and I said Hi to a cormorant while waiting for my buddy to surface.

Buddied back up, we dropped and cruised further out until the boat noise, decreasing vis, and current let us know we were starting to curve around onto the harbor and we turned around. We had a nice visit with the sea lions then wandered back along the wall, with me filming a Ling that swam up to me, more shy Blacksmith, and lots of Surfperch.

Eventually, I spotted the admiralty anchor in about 10' of water, shot a clip, and surfaced at 5 1/4.

 

[djp]

Two dives at S. Monastery on Sat. Walk out exits with only a little excitement. Viz was a greenish 20-30ft. on both dive. Many dozens of fire trucks on Hwy. 1 going back and forth to the Soberanes fire. Depending on the wind direction, you could sometimes smell the fire and sometimes not.

 

[chris_the_brit]

Two dives at Monastery on Sunday, one at each end. Vis was mostly 10-15 and green, but lots of fish kept it interesting. It was our first time diving the north end and we loved it, even with poor vis and challenging surge. Dropped to 100 fsw (dark down there!) and slowly worked our way back up. Saw more big lingcod than I've ever seen on a single dive before. Crawled out. Great fun.

 

[dshorwich]

Did a pair of dive at Pt Lobos this morning; my buddy and I were the first ones in after they reopened the park. First dive, to the west of the sand channel not far outside the cove, was nothing special: 10-15' of pea-soupy vis, kinda dark at times. Water was warm, though (55F), and fairly calm.

Second dive, on Middle Reef, was excellent - the vis opened up to 30-35', and we spent the last half hour of the dive being followed and finned by a young harbor seal, who then escorted us back to the entry ramp after we surfaced.

 

[3D diver]

Dove Breakwater this morning:

Heavy drizzle on the drive down & overcast.
No waves, low tide
Viz 15 to 20 feet
Temperature: air 72, water 58.6 to 60.8F !
Bottom time: 52 minutes
Max depth 40 feet

Funny, three people stepped up to us and asked if we were there yesterday, 'cause it was great. First guy said 30 to 40 feet viz, next lady said 30, last fellow said he'd been out to the Barge and saw 20 feet, maybe 30. Oh well...we were there today and saw a hazy 15 to 20 feet.

We dropped near the 8 cruised out, cruised back and surfaced near the 4 in about 6 to 8 feet of water. I was trying out using a tripod with my 360 view cameras, with mixed success. There were lots of fish...but they all wandered away while I set up the cameras, d'oh! I noticed lots of nudibranchs while putzing around letting my wide angle lenses do their thing. The water was very warm and flat, with a low tide exposing the rocks near the beach.

Fun dive.

 

[andrewy]

go diving. lobos @ 40 ft u get solid 40ft viz.

 

[uspap]

Did two dives yesterday afternoon at Breakwater. Along the wall was 20+. Second dive was going to be along Metridium pipe but vis was green and 5ft or so. Went back to wall and water was still good and looked blue. A pretty noticable thermocline at 40 feet.

 

[3D diver]

Did two dives at Lobos today with Raftingtigger. It was overcast when we arrived clearing to hazy sunshine as the day progressed. The water was glassy with a small swell at first, but dead flat by the time we left. The vis was 10 to 15 feet in shallower water but opened to 25 to 30 feet when we got into deeper water.

First Dive: Hole in the Wall and Lone Metridium

Dropped in 40 feet of water to 10-15 feet of visibility. Headed left intending to cruise the channels west of Cannery point wall, but due to poor vis ended up passing Hole in the Wall. We continued on to Lone Metridium, where vis had improved to about 25 feet, and turned around. There weren't many fish 'til we passed HITW, but then saw lots of rockfish and some Lingcod. I saw a couple of Sheephead during our return and we encountered a cooperative Cabezon as well. I exceeded my NDL a bit, but it cleared during my safety stop and I did an extra three minute hang to be safe. We surfaced in the boat channel under the bluff.

Bottom Time: 66 minutes
Max Depth: 67 feet.
Visibility: 10-15 feet shallow, 25 feet in deeper water.
Surface conditions: Overcast, rising tide, glassy water with small swells
Temperature: Air 75.7F, Water 55 to 60.1F


Second Dive: Middle Reef

Kicked out through the boat channel and dropped into 30 feet of water with 10-15 feet of visibility. Followed the west side of Middle Reef to the end then headed east for a while and returned. There was a lot of kelp over the reef, but the deeper rocks beyond were an urchin barren. We saw 30 feet of vis toward the far end of the reef. There were more fish than the first dive---lots of Vermillion and/or Canary Rockfish, Lingcod of various sizes and colors, a big Cabezon, etc. We followed the boat channel and surfaced well into the cove, close to the ramp.

Bottom Time: 64 minutes
Max Depth: 66 feet
Visibility: 10-15 feet shallow, 30 feet deep
Surface conditions: Hazy sunshine, dead flat water, tide just beginning to ebb.
Temperature: Air 84.6F, Water 54.3 to 60.8F

Note: there is some kind of car function happening in the area so traffic was a mess in and out of Monterey.

 

[mobeeno]

Lobos 8-21-16. Did a couple of dives with Broadreach. (Mid reef and then Hole in the wall to Lone Metridium) Visibility was 15' shallow and 30' deep. Temp was 53F. Saw two big sheepheads. Even though the dives where dark, the color of the reef really popped when shone with a light.