Rainer
Contributor
Jennifer (jenth), Nicole (ligersandtions), Stephen (xstephenx), and I headed up to Monterey this past Thursday for four days of diving (three at Point Lobos State Reserve).
We had an agenda.
Our goal was to hit some of the more distant reefs still in recreational depths out of Whaler's Cove (Three Sisters, Beto's Reef, Granite Point Wall/Pinnacles, etc). These sites are a good distance from shore. We brought plenty of gas and scooters.
Thankfully after poor weather/sea reports earlier in the week, conditions turned out to be relatively decent for our entire stay. Sure, some occasional light showers, but the 12' swells stayed away, and we enjoyed 30'+ visibility on every dive once outside the cove.
Jen and I arrived to the Lone Oak Lodge in Monterey a little after 8pm. Once unpacked, the two of us headed over to the Breakwater for a quick night dive. We took one scooter and towed out. We were greeted with hundreds upon hundreds of 3-6" little sea nettles. I spent most of the dive shooing them away as I tried to make out the various rock fish and loads of fat nudis. After 45 minutes, we got on the trigger and headed for the exit. A nice, easy start to our trip.
Next morning, we made a quick run by Safeway for lunch supplies (and morning coffee!), then over to Lobos. After checking out conditions from the bluff, we started getting ready. Float went in, gear put together, we dressed, swam out the scooters and stages, and then geared up. Our first dive would be to Hole in the Wall, which would serve as the jumping off point for most of the future dives. I led this first trip since I knew where it was. Once there, we followed the wall over to Lone Metridium, before kicking back to HitW. From there, we scootered back to Middle Reef, where we kicked around for another twenty minutes, before heading back to the boat ramp. Great way to get reacquainted with Lobos.
Once back at the trucks, Stephen and Nicole soon realized they'd locked their keys inside. Quick call to AAA, and while the four of us enjoyed lunch, we awaited their arrival. Thirty minutes later all was fixed.
For the second dive, we decided to head to Beto's Reef. Jen and I had been there on our last trip to Lobos back in early January, but this was a first for Nicole and Stephen. Jen and Nicole teamed up, and Nicole led the way. First stop was HitW, from there we took a 330 heading and scootered out past Seamount, until we hit the beginning of Beto's. We clipped off the scooters and proceeded to kick around for the next 25 minutes. This is a gorgeous, vibrant reef, just teeming with life. We then headed to Middle Reef for another 20 minutes, before thumbing the dive and scootering to the exit. Here's a video of our dive at Beto's Reef:
[vimeo]17614890[/vimeo]
Next day we again headed to Point Lobos, arriving at the gate around 7:45am. First dive was to the Three Sisters. Jen and I teamed up, and Jen led. We headed to HitW, then over to Beto's, then made the jump to the first Sister. We played around there for five minutes, before heading to the second, and then, after 10 minutes, onto the third, for another 10 minutes before turning the dive. These pinnacles are quite large (bigger than a good sized house) and are among my favorite sites in all of Lobos. It's just a blast to be scootering out mid-water, waiting for them to appear from the darkness. As you get closer, you start to notice the abundance of color. Fish, invertebrates, nudis. Every inch is covered in life. Again, we head to Middle Reef for the denouement, where we run into Team Bunny heading out on their three hour(!) tour. A video of our dive to the Three Sisters:
[vimeo]17616694[/vimeo]
Another yummy lunch (no lost keys this time) and then it's off to Granite Point Wall. With directions from Ben V in hand, we first make our way to the cavern on the south side of Coal Chute Cove. I'd been here last year with Doc Wong, but without a guide, I gave us little hope of finding it. Stephen, however, did a bang up job leading, and we found it in no time. After a quick swim there, we scootered over to GPW. We clipped off the scooters and proceeded on a leisurely kick for the next 30 minutes. I really like this part of Lobos. The kelp gets nice and thick here, and large schools of blue rockfish circled above us. After finishing there, we scootered back to the east side of Middle Reef, where we continued the dive until we nearly hit min gas, at which point we headed for home.
After dinner, Nicole and I went to the Breakwater for a scooter night dive, while Stephen and Jennifer went for chocolate (yes, we clearly have different priorities). The sea nettles were basically all gone, which made for a much more pleasant and relaxing dive. Once out to about 30', we clipped off the scooters and just kicked for the next 45 minutes. This is such a relaxing dive spot. Really wish we had something comparable in SoCal. Easy access, easy entry, amazing life, all relatively shallow. Once we exited, we had hot chocolate waiting for us!
For our final day at Lobos, we decided to keep it to one longer dive (in part due to Stephen finding out he was called to business back in LA that night). Nicole and Stephen planned a longer dive to Beto's, while Jen and I planned to hit all three Sisters again, then spend some time at Beto's. If we were all able to meet up there, we planned to then scooter together directly to Granite Point Wall. Well, plans worked out, and that's exactly what we did. For me, this was the highlight dive of the trip. We managed to see several large lings out on the Sisters, plus a juvenile mola mola, before finding a fat harbor seal that had hidden himself in a cavern near GPW. We also found a 5' leopard shark on Middle Reef (alas, after I'd run out of video tape). Just a great dive. Some video:
[vimeo]17626842[/vimeo]
Topside shots can be found here: monterey 2010 these days
Thanks to those who helped make this trip possible and so pleasant: Blackwood for the spare scooter battery and charger, Ben V for superior directions, Gombessa for help pulling scooters and stages, Ben V and Ted for showing us the monkey faced eel, all the divers we had the good fortune to chat with, Aquarius for the fast and fat fills, the Lone Oak staff, and of course, my excellent dive buddies.
We had an agenda.
Our goal was to hit some of the more distant reefs still in recreational depths out of Whaler's Cove (Three Sisters, Beto's Reef, Granite Point Wall/Pinnacles, etc). These sites are a good distance from shore. We brought plenty of gas and scooters.
Thankfully after poor weather/sea reports earlier in the week, conditions turned out to be relatively decent for our entire stay. Sure, some occasional light showers, but the 12' swells stayed away, and we enjoyed 30'+ visibility on every dive once outside the cove.
Jen and I arrived to the Lone Oak Lodge in Monterey a little after 8pm. Once unpacked, the two of us headed over to the Breakwater for a quick night dive. We took one scooter and towed out. We were greeted with hundreds upon hundreds of 3-6" little sea nettles. I spent most of the dive shooing them away as I tried to make out the various rock fish and loads of fat nudis. After 45 minutes, we got on the trigger and headed for the exit. A nice, easy start to our trip.
Next morning, we made a quick run by Safeway for lunch supplies (and morning coffee!), then over to Lobos. After checking out conditions from the bluff, we started getting ready. Float went in, gear put together, we dressed, swam out the scooters and stages, and then geared up. Our first dive would be to Hole in the Wall, which would serve as the jumping off point for most of the future dives. I led this first trip since I knew where it was. Once there, we followed the wall over to Lone Metridium, before kicking back to HitW. From there, we scootered back to Middle Reef, where we kicked around for another twenty minutes, before heading back to the boat ramp. Great way to get reacquainted with Lobos.
Once back at the trucks, Stephen and Nicole soon realized they'd locked their keys inside. Quick call to AAA, and while the four of us enjoyed lunch, we awaited their arrival. Thirty minutes later all was fixed.
For the second dive, we decided to head to Beto's Reef. Jen and I had been there on our last trip to Lobos back in early January, but this was a first for Nicole and Stephen. Jen and Nicole teamed up, and Nicole led the way. First stop was HitW, from there we took a 330 heading and scootered out past Seamount, until we hit the beginning of Beto's. We clipped off the scooters and proceeded to kick around for the next 25 minutes. This is a gorgeous, vibrant reef, just teeming with life. We then headed to Middle Reef for another 20 minutes, before thumbing the dive and scootering to the exit. Here's a video of our dive at Beto's Reef:
[vimeo]17614890[/vimeo]
Next day we again headed to Point Lobos, arriving at the gate around 7:45am. First dive was to the Three Sisters. Jen and I teamed up, and Jen led. We headed to HitW, then over to Beto's, then made the jump to the first Sister. We played around there for five minutes, before heading to the second, and then, after 10 minutes, onto the third, for another 10 minutes before turning the dive. These pinnacles are quite large (bigger than a good sized house) and are among my favorite sites in all of Lobos. It's just a blast to be scootering out mid-water, waiting for them to appear from the darkness. As you get closer, you start to notice the abundance of color. Fish, invertebrates, nudis. Every inch is covered in life. Again, we head to Middle Reef for the denouement, where we run into Team Bunny heading out on their three hour(!) tour. A video of our dive to the Three Sisters:
[vimeo]17616694[/vimeo]
Another yummy lunch (no lost keys this time) and then it's off to Granite Point Wall. With directions from Ben V in hand, we first make our way to the cavern on the south side of Coal Chute Cove. I'd been here last year with Doc Wong, but without a guide, I gave us little hope of finding it. Stephen, however, did a bang up job leading, and we found it in no time. After a quick swim there, we scootered over to GPW. We clipped off the scooters and proceeded on a leisurely kick for the next 30 minutes. I really like this part of Lobos. The kelp gets nice and thick here, and large schools of blue rockfish circled above us. After finishing there, we scootered back to the east side of Middle Reef, where we continued the dive until we nearly hit min gas, at which point we headed for home.
After dinner, Nicole and I went to the Breakwater for a scooter night dive, while Stephen and Jennifer went for chocolate (yes, we clearly have different priorities). The sea nettles were basically all gone, which made for a much more pleasant and relaxing dive. Once out to about 30', we clipped off the scooters and just kicked for the next 45 minutes. This is such a relaxing dive spot. Really wish we had something comparable in SoCal. Easy access, easy entry, amazing life, all relatively shallow. Once we exited, we had hot chocolate waiting for us!
For our final day at Lobos, we decided to keep it to one longer dive (in part due to Stephen finding out he was called to business back in LA that night). Nicole and Stephen planned a longer dive to Beto's, while Jen and I planned to hit all three Sisters again, then spend some time at Beto's. If we were all able to meet up there, we planned to then scooter together directly to Granite Point Wall. Well, plans worked out, and that's exactly what we did. For me, this was the highlight dive of the trip. We managed to see several large lings out on the Sisters, plus a juvenile mola mola, before finding a fat harbor seal that had hidden himself in a cavern near GPW. We also found a 5' leopard shark on Middle Reef (alas, after I'd run out of video tape). Just a great dive. Some video:
[vimeo]17626842[/vimeo]
Topside shots can be found here: monterey 2010 these days
Thanks to those who helped make this trip possible and so pleasant: Blackwood for the spare scooter battery and charger, Ben V for superior directions, Gombessa for help pulling scooters and stages, Ben V and Ted for showing us the monkey faced eel, all the divers we had the good fortune to chat with, Aquarius for the fast and fat fills, the Lone Oak staff, and of course, my excellent dive buddies.
Funny thing, as we were swimming by, I didn't even notice you had a camera.
