Beginner Boat Dives - Monterey

[blewgrass]

Monterey Divers!

I will be heading down to Monterey in Early August with my Boston Whaler work/dive equipped boat for some basic dives to introduce me to Monterey boat diving. I plan to launch at Breakwater and stay close and gradually work my way out to an intermediate level site. I need one or two good dive buddies that hopefully can dive a Monday/Tuesday/ Wednesday during the first half of August. Two August trips are not out of the realm of possibilites.

I am looking for tips from experienced divers here. I have Done reading on BA diving, Chuck's diving pages and many pages here. Very few others post (boat) dive reports other than Chuck, so information is pretty minimal.

I am still a relative newbie at diving, so Ideally I would like to exchange guide services for some boat diving in Monterey. Please feel free to comment, discourage me from attempting this, etc. I have tons of boat operating experience in nasty waters around Bodega Bay, and feel that this is a realistic undertaking for me in Monterey based on weather in the protected areas of the Bay.

I live in Sonoma County and am open to hooking up with neighbors here, or anywhere in between here and the Breakwater. I had a couple of great dives with a SB diver last summer.

Thanks for any input/ideas
Steve

 

[openhelix]

you might wanna shoot Chuck an email. He's the guru of boat dive sites off the Breakwater and I've always found him to be very willing to help. He might play virtual guide or let you follow him out sometime.

 

[Anti-Hero]

On the ba_diving site there is a list of sites by GPS coordinates, that may help you to find some of the more popular sites.

 

[blewgrass]

Yes, Thanks

I have that printout of the dive sites (nice job on that map!) and the Franko map and all the dive sites from Bruce Watkins. I think I have all the paper and electronic resources dialed in. I just need to find some locals who want to dive in the meantime. I'm sure it will all work out and at the last minute I'll find some takers. I've had good luck hooking up with divers here, so I'll wait a while and see what happens.
I'm mostly thinking of staying inside the protected parts of the bay not too far past lovers beach depending on recommendations from local divers.

 

[fisheater]

All that, plus check out North Coast Divers.

We're a unique dive club, having neither dues, officers nor meetings, just monthly dives, which we set up through our forum on our website, Welcome to The North Coast Divers!.

We welcome new divers and divers new to the North Coast.

 

[blewgrass]

way ahead of ya fisheater.. in fact we've talked a few times. I've dove with some of the NC divers. Cool club. I've also posted a request there..

Steve

 

[fisheater]

way ahead of ya fisheater.. in fact we've talked a few times. I've dove with some of the NC divers. Cool club. I've also posted a request there..

Steve

Cool!

You coming to our August dive?

 

[dannobee]

Since most people here don't have access to private boats, and subsequently are at the mercy of the local dive boats, I don't usually post dive reports, but I do know the vast majority of the local boat spots. I'd say the majority of that experience is in Carmel though (the diving there is simply better), so if/when you feel more comfortable going around the point, get in touch with me. I have plenty of NICE waypoints stored.

Dan

...Very few others post (boat) dive reports other than Chuck, so information is pretty minimal.

I am still a relative newbie at diving, so Ideally I would like to exchange guide services for some boat diving in Monterey...

Thanks for any input/ideas
Steve

 

[blewgrass]

Dan,

Since I am very confident with my boat operating skills, as long as one or two divers were on board and willing to do an intermediate dive, I would be delighted to round the point and dive Carmel. Would you say it is about a 1/2 hour boat ride from breakwater to Carmel, or would it be better to launch in Carmel? I remember reading on Chuck's site that the launch ramp at Lobos is horrid, but perhaps there are boat launching facilities in Carmel that are available.

I will probaby dive the first day of my trip at Breakwater and do two or three dives around the Aquarium/Preserve area, get my bearings, and then look for the better boat dive sites depending on weather. I would really love to hit the Lobos preserve or an equivelant dive with the kelp columns to try out my new camera and strobe setup.

I will be monitoring email/internet daily during my visit

I appreciate very much the responses.

Steve

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

The Lobos ramp sucks, but it's very doable when the tides are right
(+2.5 to +3.5 to load, anything over +2.5 to launch). To dive Lobos, you have
come in through the gate (OK, yes, there's an alternative procedure, but
it's more trouble than it's worth).

There's a hoist at Pebble Beach that's open in the summer only. I have to
have your own sling.

30 minutes would about right on a really good day to get down to Carmel.