Monterey diving question: Where to dive off of McAbee beach?

[shoelessone]

For what it's worth, I've only done 3 dives thus far in Monterey (3 different days), and this was my first time at McAbee beach.

Anyway, today (7/27/2013, ~11am) the visibility was not so great, but I figured "oh well, we'll just swim out until we start to hit kelp and head down and find some of that 25+ improved vis I've read about." But we had a hell of a time finding anything much deeper then 20 feet. In fact, for a while we kept swimming out and it seemed like we were shallower if anything.

So, the question is basically, can anybody describe where the best diving is McAbee beach? Is the trick to swim out past the kelp beds? Obviously I'm sure I could keep swimming and find all SORTS of depth (eventually, miles! ) but I'd love to know if there are any specific areas that are interesting.

We ended up swimming with our first seals which was AMAZING for us (my wife and I), so it was still a great day, but even with the mild swell it can get a bit annoying swimming around at 10 feet being dragged around by the tides!

Thanks for any tips/help!

 

[MbWaterdog]

McAbee is generally a very shallow dive. The bottom has a very gradual decline for a couple hundred yards out. When I dive McAbee, I like to head straight off of the beach and descend when I am in-line with El Torrito, and the Fish Hopper restaurant. I will take a heading straight off the beach and then do a simple turn around when I am half way through my air. Max depth out here is 35~40 feet if you are lucky. The structure does change a little bit from shallow flat reef to more small pinnacle-type boulders. If conditions are right, I will even swim straight back to the beach head until I can pretty much stand up. On many occasions I have been able to see the hotel from underwater. If the verticle vis is good enough, you can almost use the hotel as a land mark. Sometimes I will head out of the cove and make a left towards the fish hopper. This is even more shallow this way, so it can get a little surgey. McAbee is a fun place, there always seems to be a little bit of everything there. I have seen Wolf Eel's, Mola's, many species of inverts, and of course the normal fish. Cheers

 

[shoelessone]

Thanks for the reply MbWaterdog. We'll give McAbee another shot, maybe our next trip to Monterey (we live up in Oakland, so it's a bit of a trip).

It's hard to ask this next question without you having actually been diving with me that day, but I felt like the swell, while very mild above, was a bit "annoying" in such shallow depths. It wasn't so bad I wasn't still able to enjoy the dive, but there were times when I definitely felt like I was playing the "avoid the ocean floor while being thrown about" game. Is this normal?


Thanks again for the help - I'm really excited about diving in Monterey and want to make sure I'm getting a good feel for what's "normal," etc.

 

[KRL1973]

hi shoelessone,

There is a spot about 100 meters straight out from El Torrito called Sammet's spire and is done as a boat or kayak dive commonly. It is feasable to reach it or get close from shore and the topography and depth are very nice and more what you are looking for I think. I recall getting depths of as much 50ft there.

See these links for location info and video I took there:
GPS For the Monterey Diver
sammets spire shore oct 2012 v2 - YouTube


good luck getting out over the kelp, it takes patience, especially this time of year when it is thick (tip: higher tide is a bit easiar)

 

[zf2nt]

I always go straight out from the beach as far as I can, but hugging the right side of the beach as I go out. There are rocks that come up and break the surface about 100 yds. out on the west side, so I stick to the east. When you go down, take a heading of 045 and just go straight out. You will hit alternating patches of clear sand and rock piles, and each patch of sand is a little deeper than the one before it. You will finally find a wall that drops down about 8' to a bare sand bottom at 65', and after that there is nothing of interest. I have gone out maybe 200 yds past that wall on the heading of 045 and didn't see a thing, so your best bet is to go west for a bit on that wall, then start in on your reciprocal heading (225). Once you get to a bottom at about 20', I call the dive "over". It really is quite a nice spot, and I have had some good times at McAbee. There are hazards of which you need to be aware, though. See Seal Abuse at MacAbee - YouTube for a graphic explanation!

Bruce

 

[Ben_ca]

Just follow the harbor seals

 

[MbWaterdog]

Thanks for the reply MbWaterdog. We'll give McAbee another shot, maybe our next trip to Monterey (we live up in Oakland, so it's a bit of a trip).

It's hard to ask this next question without you having actually been diving with me that day, but I felt like the swell, while very mild above, was a bit "annoying" in such shallow depths. It wasn't so bad I wasn't still able to enjoy the dive, but there were times when I definitely felt like I was playing the "avoid the ocean floor while being thrown about" game. Is this normal?


Thanks again for the help - I'm really excited about diving in Monterey and want to make sure I'm getting a good feel for what's "normal," etc.

Looks like you have a lot of great suggestions above. Surge is a regular thing, some days stronger than others. Many days, especially during summer, you will feel very little to absolutely no surge. This is because the NW long period swell tends to lay-down during the summer months. Welcome to Monterey, it has a lot to offer.