ChadK
Guest
Hi guys, I don't post much here but I follow many of the threads and hear alot about monastery and how dangerous it is. Why is monastery so dangerous? Is it the surf entry and exit?
Monastery
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That's a lot of it. This should get you started:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/norcal/238755-surviving-monastery-beach-diving-video-snippet.html
It's well worth watching the video linked in the first post.
House Gecko
Registered
Yes the surf can go from flat to huge while you are on your dive. Plus the gravel bank in the surf zone's exit is super steep and breaks away as you climb out. If you fall the the waves have a way of tumbling you over and over again at this beach. This is due to the shape of the sea floor in the surf zone. Save this site for the calmest of days.
Another issue is that there is virtually no bottom as far as a recreational scuba diver is concerned. The wall seems to just drops into infinity.
Another issue is that there is virtually no bottom as far as a recreational scuba diver is concerned. The wall seems to just drops into infinity.
Bogie
Contributor
For me, it is the exit. You can be 12 feet deep 10 feet off the beach. The beach is steep. This causes the waves to break suddenly within a 5 foot area slamming directly down on the beach.
On a beach with the ocean floor rising at an easy slope to the beach the waves break more gently and it is much easier to walk up to the beach. At Monastery it is a sudden rise to get out. The waves cut a trough with a 1 to 2 foot loose sand step to get out. The beach has large grain sand that sinks so every step you take is like a 1/4 step. It takes lots of effort to walk out with 60 lbs on your back. Many people crawl out.
If you don't time your exit correctly, a wave can slam you on the beach and are very dangerous. These waves have extra power because they are not slowed down by a gentle rise of the ocean floor. Water weighs 8.35 lbs per gallon. I don't know how many gallons a wave contains but if it was only 50 gallons that would have over 400 lbs of energy.
You must be smart and respectful of Monastery or it will kick your A##.
On a beach with the ocean floor rising at an easy slope to the beach the waves break more gently and it is much easier to walk up to the beach. At Monastery it is a sudden rise to get out. The waves cut a trough with a 1 to 2 foot loose sand step to get out. The beach has large grain sand that sinks so every step you take is like a 1/4 step. It takes lots of effort to walk out with 60 lbs on your back. Many people crawl out.
If you don't time your exit correctly, a wave can slam you on the beach and are very dangerous. These waves have extra power because they are not slowed down by a gentle rise of the ocean floor. Water weighs 8.35 lbs per gallon. I don't know how many gallons a wave contains but if it was only 50 gallons that would have over 400 lbs of energy.
You must be smart and respectful of Monastery or it will kick your A##.
fuzzybabybunny
Contributor
A few points:
1. Unlike easier beaches that have a long, gentle slope where the energy of the waves can dissipate over a greater distance, Monastery's beach is very steep. You can be in water too deep to stand in as little as 5ft off shore. The energy of the waves has very little room to dissipate, so it breaks with heavy force in a very short distance. This can easily knock you over, drag you around, rip off gear that's not positively attached to you (ex. fins, mask, snorkel, regulator), and pull you back underwater.
2. The waves break hard and recede, only to break hard again. If you get caught up in this surf you can be caught underwater very close to shore in water too deep to stand and tumbled end over end. Always have your regulator and mask on your face and hold them in place when entering/exiting. When you tumble you can and will lose sense of up and down and will have no idea which way is to the surface. Always have your regulator in your mouth. A snorkel is not enough. I've had the dry valves on the top of dry snorkels get stuck in the *closed* position when they get tumbled. When this happens you can't breathe in air even if the snorkel is above the surface because the flap at the top is stuck closed.
3. The sand is very course and the grains are big. If you're standing on the beach and the water rushes up past you, the receding water will actually wash the sand right from under your feet, compromising your balance to a large degree. It will do the same when you're trying to crawl or walk out.
In general, do whatever you can to get out of the surf zone as quickly as possible. When you're in the water, just swim swim swim and don't worry about anything until you're out of the surf zone. If you drop something, forget something, whatever, just GO. Swim away from the surf.
If you're exiting the water, as soon as you touch shore it's the same procedure. Go go go to dry sand and don't stop until you do.
Waves come in sets. A set of big waves for a certain amount of minutes and a set of smaller waves for a certain amount of minutes. Sit there and watch the beach for 15-30 minutes to get a good idea of the wave sizes, and time entry during the smaller waves. Same with the exits. Try to time it so you ride the crest of a wave (during the period of smaller waves) that plops you as far inshore as possible, and go go go.
If you get caught in the surf and can't make it to shore, consider swimming back out where the water's calmer outside of the surf zone and recollect yourself for another attempt.
Enter and exit on the far north or south ends. Never the middle.
If the waves rise above your kneecap, consider not going in.
The area around the pinnacle that you can see offshore is around where the underwater canyon is located. It drops almost vertically to thousands of feet deep.
1. Unlike easier beaches that have a long, gentle slope where the energy of the waves can dissipate over a greater distance, Monastery's beach is very steep. You can be in water too deep to stand in as little as 5ft off shore. The energy of the waves has very little room to dissipate, so it breaks with heavy force in a very short distance. This can easily knock you over, drag you around, rip off gear that's not positively attached to you (ex. fins, mask, snorkel, regulator), and pull you back underwater.
2. The waves break hard and recede, only to break hard again. If you get caught up in this surf you can be caught underwater very close to shore in water too deep to stand and tumbled end over end. Always have your regulator and mask on your face and hold them in place when entering/exiting. When you tumble you can and will lose sense of up and down and will have no idea which way is to the surface. Always have your regulator in your mouth. A snorkel is not enough. I've had the dry valves on the top of dry snorkels get stuck in the *closed* position when they get tumbled. When this happens you can't breathe in air even if the snorkel is above the surface because the flap at the top is stuck closed.
3. The sand is very course and the grains are big. If you're standing on the beach and the water rushes up past you, the receding water will actually wash the sand right from under your feet, compromising your balance to a large degree. It will do the same when you're trying to crawl or walk out.
In general, do whatever you can to get out of the surf zone as quickly as possible. When you're in the water, just swim swim swim and don't worry about anything until you're out of the surf zone. If you drop something, forget something, whatever, just GO. Swim away from the surf.
If you're exiting the water, as soon as you touch shore it's the same procedure. Go go go to dry sand and don't stop until you do.
Waves come in sets. A set of big waves for a certain amount of minutes and a set of smaller waves for a certain amount of minutes. Sit there and watch the beach for 15-30 minutes to get a good idea of the wave sizes, and time entry during the smaller waves. Same with the exits. Try to time it so you ride the crest of a wave (during the period of smaller waves) that plops you as far inshore as possible, and go go go.
If you get caught in the surf and can't make it to shore, consider swimming back out where the water's calmer outside of the surf zone and recollect yourself for another attempt.
Enter and exit on the far north or south ends. Never the middle.
If the waves rise above your kneecap, consider not going in.
The area around the pinnacle that you can see offshore is around where the underwater canyon is located. It drops almost vertically to thousands of feet deep.
Additionally the berm rises a long way above the water level. Standing on the berm, the waves look much smaller than they really are. If you've already geared up by the time you realize this, you might go anyway.
I always time the sets, but I don't get in unless I'm certain I can get out at the exact wrong time. I figure there are situations where I mightn't have the luxury of time. Pulling a guy through there even on a good day is downright scary, and I hope to never do that again.
A particular danger to my demographic (mid-20s, male) is the depth. Some of my friends have talked up max depth numbers, which is something I stay out of. A few fin kicks will drop you 5-10' in depth. I remember looking across and seeing an anemone that I knew was well beyond my depth comfort, despite it being a few seconds kick away. It is easy to go "just a bit deeper" here. I believe that the depth hits [-]1000'[/-] >250' within a long but doable surface swim.
I always time the sets, but I don't get in unless I'm certain I can get out at the exact wrong time. I figure there are situations where I mightn't have the luxury of time. Pulling a guy through there even on a good day is downright scary, and I hope to never do that again.
A particular danger to my demographic (mid-20s, male) is the depth. Some of my friends have talked up max depth numbers, which is something I stay out of. A few fin kicks will drop you 5-10' in depth. I remember looking across and seeing an anemone that I knew was well beyond my depth comfort, despite it being a few seconds kick away. It is easy to go "just a bit deeper" here. I believe that the depth hits [-]1000'[/-] >250' within a long but doable surface swim.
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This is the key point. When following this advice, most exits will be doable, if not a piece of cake (weather conditions permitting). If you make a beeline from the edge of the kelp and head straight for shore, you are most likely going to be in an area of heavy surf and have to crawl out if you are not rolled by the waves. Take your time, have patience, and swim around the the left (for N. Monastery) or right (for S. Monastery), following the kelp as it parallels shore. Then exit.
Not to nit-pick, but to get to >1000ft of depth from Monastery Beach, one would have to be at least 2.5nm off shore. Consulting nautical chart 18686 and referring to the BAUE webpage (Point Lobos Underwater Maps), one can see the maximum depth close to shore is between 200-400ft. That's still plenty deep to serve the point I believe you were trying to make.
Yes, the entry and exit because of the steepness of the beach and lack of traction in the "sand." Because of the shape of the shoreline and the sharp rise from deep to shallow, the ocean's power gets funneled onto the beach. The waves aren't so much a breaking wave as you see in Hawaii or something, but more like a vertical wall of water that hits you.
A few people (not all of whom are divers) die here every year. Be careful.
Farty
Contributor
my 2 cents... really not much to add to very good points many posted
Monastery is great dive site (both North as well as South and even sandy patch between where I saw 6ft angel shark), I dove them many times, South even as a night dive - this was really magical dive.
But ...
It is not for everybody and if you dive it for the first time go there with somebody who knows that place or even better pay few bucks for guided dive (send PM to Jotho, he can show you around), it looks innocent but the steep entry with gravel makes the exit very very hard. I was really surprised for the first time and if I remember correctly tasted some salty water as well.
Monastery is great dive site (both North as well as South and even sandy patch between where I saw 6ft angel shark), I dove them many times, South even as a night dive - this was really magical dive.
But ...
It is not for everybody and if you dive it for the first time go there with somebody who knows that place or even better pay few bucks for guided dive (send PM to Jotho, he can show you around), it looks innocent but the steep entry with gravel makes the exit very very hard. I was really surprised for the first time and if I remember correctly tasted some salty water as well.
JimJam2
Contributor
Most concern at North Monastery IMO: Seductive is The Deep. Once you hit the boulders there is this certain itch to go further and explore!
I dove it once as a solo diver; great experience. Once with a buddy who ran OUT at 35 ft; this still was a great dive experience thanks to a 100 HP tank
The south end is shallower.
I dove it once as a solo diver; great experience. Once with a buddy who ran OUT at 35 ft; this still was a great dive experience thanks to a 100 HP tank
The south end is shallower.Similar threads
