I usually post my dive reports just on BA Diving, but thought I'd branch out this week because conditions have been so nice & also to give Light Monkey's a kind mention- as said below, they rock. If you read both, this will be a repeat.
Larry and I arrived at the Breakwater at 7:45 to a totally full parking lot.
All fisher-folk in the lower lot. We parked up top. We left the dogs at home
as the weather looked like a definite Carmel day. Got ready and off we went.
Had a smooth ride around, looking for whales the whole time. Didn't see any but
did see some small dolphins of an unfamiliar variety around Cypress Pt.
Continued on and settled on Jaw Dropper for site #1. I was diving my spare
"drysuit" which has never actually been dry, as the good suit is still being
repaired at DUI. Also with doubles for the first time with that suit so I was a
little worried about weighting, and without my can light which is on it's way
back from Light Monkey's in FL. ( They are amazing!! I can't say enough good
things about those guys!) Anyway with all that going on I was not expecting
much from the dive. We rolled off the boat and down we went. Vis was around
50'. Larry says less, but his mask kept flooding so I think his vision was just
impaired. That is one of my all time favorite sites. Beauty everywhere you
look. Elephant ear sponges, yellow nipple sponges, lots of multicolor
corynactus, hydro coral...... just gorgeous. Lots of juvie rock fish on the
dive, and some very nicely posed gophers, The usual nudis. My suit did in
fact leak so we cut the dive short. 40 min, 97' max, 50 degrees. An awesome
dive! After pulling the hook we started the run back. This time I saw a
whale! As I got closer Chuck radioed to us. I had thought the boat near the
whales was drift fishing, but it turned out to be him. We sat with those whales
for quite some time hoping they would bring their tales or flukes out of the
water, but no luck. Some time during the whale visit John arrived with Brenna
and Brian and all the guys spent time trying to get good pictures. After a bit
Larry and I continued our journey back around to Monterey. At Cypress Pt we ran
into a big pod of dolphins (they looked like common dolphins) with some whales
in the middle of them. Some of the dolphins streaked right under the boat.
They are incredibly beautiful! We abandoned the dolphins in favor of following
the whales. There were three distinct individuals, all of whom obliged by
putting their tales out of the water multiple times. They have very
identifiable patterns on their tales. No wonder that's how scientists ID
them. After getting back to Monterey we called it a day, had lunch and headed
home. All in all an excellent dive day.
Oh yeah, upon washing the gear I noted I had flooded my backup light. It's a
twist on and I over twisted it off. It was totally stuck closed, so Larry took
it in the garage to see if he could open it up and it literally exploded. Like
boom! exploded. Fortunately he didn't get hurt. So a word of caution when
opening a flooded light, at least one with lithium batteries; safety glasses and
gloves might be a good idea. Such a drag too, that was a bright little light.
I had two, now down to one. Let's hope I can keep that one around longer.
Carol Cohn
Larry and I arrived at the Breakwater at 7:45 to a totally full parking lot.
All fisher-folk in the lower lot. We parked up top. We left the dogs at home
as the weather looked like a definite Carmel day. Got ready and off we went.
Had a smooth ride around, looking for whales the whole time. Didn't see any but
did see some small dolphins of an unfamiliar variety around Cypress Pt.
Continued on and settled on Jaw Dropper for site #1. I was diving my spare
"drysuit" which has never actually been dry, as the good suit is still being
repaired at DUI. Also with doubles for the first time with that suit so I was a
little worried about weighting, and without my can light which is on it's way
back from Light Monkey's in FL. ( They are amazing!! I can't say enough good
things about those guys!) Anyway with all that going on I was not expecting
much from the dive. We rolled off the boat and down we went. Vis was around
50'. Larry says less, but his mask kept flooding so I think his vision was just
impaired. That is one of my all time favorite sites. Beauty everywhere you
look. Elephant ear sponges, yellow nipple sponges, lots of multicolor
corynactus, hydro coral...... just gorgeous. Lots of juvie rock fish on the
dive, and some very nicely posed gophers, The usual nudis. My suit did in
fact leak so we cut the dive short. 40 min, 97' max, 50 degrees. An awesome
dive! After pulling the hook we started the run back. This time I saw a
whale! As I got closer Chuck radioed to us. I had thought the boat near the
whales was drift fishing, but it turned out to be him. We sat with those whales
for quite some time hoping they would bring their tales or flukes out of the
water, but no luck. Some time during the whale visit John arrived with Brenna
and Brian and all the guys spent time trying to get good pictures. After a bit
Larry and I continued our journey back around to Monterey. At Cypress Pt we ran
into a big pod of dolphins (they looked like common dolphins) with some whales
in the middle of them. Some of the dolphins streaked right under the boat.
They are incredibly beautiful! We abandoned the dolphins in favor of following
the whales. There were three distinct individuals, all of whom obliged by
putting their tales out of the water multiple times. They have very
identifiable patterns on their tales. No wonder that's how scientists ID
them. After getting back to Monterey we called it a day, had lunch and headed
home. All in all an excellent dive day.
Oh yeah, upon washing the gear I noted I had flooded my backup light. It's a
twist on and I over twisted it off. It was totally stuck closed, so Larry took
it in the garage to see if he could open it up and it literally exploded. Like
boom! exploded. Fortunately he didn't get hurt. So a word of caution when
opening a flooded light, at least one with lithium batteries; safety glasses and
gloves might be a good idea. Such a drag too, that was a bright little light.
I had two, now down to one. Let's hope I can keep that one around longer.
Carol Cohn
