OP
We had three feet vis on the first dive, ten on the second and a couple of black water dives. The crew said they had blue water last week.
Big Disappointment at Big Sur
- Thread starter MaxBottomtime
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The Big Sur area is a crap shoot...
Like SoCal it is "generally" best in the fall during the Santa Anna winds.
sdm
Like SoCal it is "generally" best in the fall during the Santa Anna winds.
sdm
Buoy_A
Contributor
Bummer there were such poor conditions. I went last year about this time and we had great conditions. Avg 20-30 ft of viz and pretty flat seas. There was only one moment on one afternoon that I thought my head was going to get bashed into the boat on the swimstep. Still not sure how it didn't happen. And the crew was nice enough to shout directions at me at the top of their lungs while they stood firmly on the deck of the boat...LOL.
Rob Wilks
Contributor
Well, Max. I'm sorry you had a bad experience on your Big Sur trip. I was on the trip before yours, and it was a very adventurous experience to say the least. Our first day (of 4) was spent at Von Helm Rock off of San Simeon. The 7 to 10ft. seas and 30-40kt. winds held us back from much progress further than that. The dive was beautiful! We didn't expect much of the site, but we found 35-45ft. vis all the way to 100fsw. We dove it twice, then we headed back to the peir in San Simeon and shelter from the gail. The next morning we departed north again with hopes to make it to tide rock. We arrived there with very windy conditions, swell, a cold 50deg. ocean (46 at 110fsw), and blue 60+ft. vis. Again, surprised it was such great vis in such bad surface condition. This was just the first of many dives ranging from 30-70ft.vis with depths ranging from 65-130fsw. The current was almost non existent. Come the end of the trip i was exhausted and dead on my feet, but, if I had it all to do over again, I'd not change a thing. I was looking for adventure, and thats what I got. Over and over...
My experience with the Vision swim step is a love/hate relationship. Hanging at the safety stop and watching it looked much like a steal beast waiting to devour me, and by no means did one want to get close to the anchor line. Lucky for us, we could see it well. Pea soup and green water ascents are not much fun:/ Especially in the condtions and sites you saw. I do have to say though, with all due respect to a fellow diver, Kevin Lee's tank looks bigger than he is. Its gotta be a HP130? No doubt its a struggle. Those things weigh a ton...
I've been mostly lucky on my Vision trips to Big Sur, and sometimes not so much. The place is indeed remote, and having lived and worked in the area for the past 12 years, I have seen her live some darks days of late. For me, these trips are an expedition and I never know what it will be like. No one does. Much thanks to Ian, Skye, Troy, Walker, Eric, Cory and Jessica for making this adventure possible for all of us. I've always appreiciated your work, though Ive only see it on the board, and would love to see what you and Big Sur could do together. I look forward to seeing those images when you find the right conditions here. Glad you were all safe...
My experience with the Vision swim step is a love/hate relationship. Hanging at the safety stop and watching it looked much like a steal beast waiting to devour me, and by no means did one want to get close to the anchor line. Lucky for us, we could see it well. Pea soup and green water ascents are not much fun:/ Especially in the condtions and sites you saw. I do have to say though, with all due respect to a fellow diver, Kevin Lee's tank looks bigger than he is. Its gotta be a HP130? No doubt its a struggle. Those things weigh a ton...
I've been mostly lucky on my Vision trips to Big Sur, and sometimes not so much. The place is indeed remote, and having lived and worked in the area for the past 12 years, I have seen her live some darks days of late. For me, these trips are an expedition and I never know what it will be like. No one does. Much thanks to Ian, Skye, Troy, Walker, Eric, Cory and Jessica for making this adventure possible for all of us. I've always appreiciated your work, though Ive only see it on the board, and would love to see what you and Big Sur could do together. I look forward to seeing those images when you find the right conditions here. Glad you were all safe...
I did this trip in 2015 and 2016. 2015 was sunny and flat for 3 days, with decent viz and great diving. 2016 was a rockin and rollin time, with big swells and limited viz. We too questioned them even going out last year based on the swell and wind reports, and after talking with the group that was on the trip ahead of us, they didn't have any better conditions. It is a crap shoot up there, and I know the boats have a ton of money invested to go up to Morro, so are not prone to cancelling.
OP
The crew told us about the vis during Rob Wilks' week. I thought they were making it up to keep us hopeful. I have friends who have done the Big Sur trip with the Vision the past few years and they had a great time. I was really looking forward to it. I've had incredible luck in The Carmel/Monterey area. Each time I've dived Monastery it's been a lake. I guess my luck finally ran out.
I've been thinking about the dives and decided the worst part was the vis during the ascent. If we lost the chain we could surface in the fog away from the boat. If we hung onto the chain we could get an embolism or rip an arm off. The swimstep on the Vision is always hard enough to climb but even worse when you can't see it and it's bouncing.
I've been thinking about the dives and decided the worst part was the vis during the ascent. If we lost the chain we could surface in the fog away from the boat. If we hung onto the chain we could get an embolism or rip an arm off. The swimstep on the Vision is always hard enough to climb but even worse when you can't see it and it's bouncing.
OP
I've dived the Vision in better conditions and still hated that swimstep. After the first dive last week I told Kevin that it makes us appreciate the dive ladder and shower on my boat even more.
chris_the_brit
Registered
I had a similar experience last year, although it sounds like you had much rougher conditions. I think I did 3 dives in total. On the second day, the swim step was a serious danger. The captain said that's all the diving for the day and let us decide if we wanted to cruise around and hope for better conditions somewhere - but all the divers voted to go home a day early.
I'm sure the Big Sur coast can be a great place to dive, but I'm not going to risk my limited money and vacation days doing a trip like that again. I'm honestly surprised they keep going back there.
I'm sure the Big Sur coast can be a great place to dive, but I'm not going to risk my limited money and vacation days doing a trip like that again. I'm honestly surprised they keep going back there.
OP
I hear ya. Merry couldn't make the trip so I spent $280 per dive. The next time I dive Big Sur will be from a day boat in Monterey when the sea is calmer.
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