Monterey conditions. (let's keep it going )

[Divenomad]

20 ft of vis at Metridiums, 15 along the wall. In 18 years of diving in Monterey,I have never seen so much life than today. 11 octopuses, hordes of bat stars, the largest cabezon I've ever seen, five and six sea lions at a time, saw a healthy Mola Mola, lots of deceased as well. Crabs everywhere. It was a very, very good day. Something is clearly unusual is happening right now, with lots of whales, orcas spotted, tons of seals, pelicans everywhere offshore. Sea nettles everywhere (times of season, pretty normal)
Dive it. You may never see it like this again.

 

[sffrenchman]

Friday Nov 29

Stillwater cove: 5-10 ft vis , moderate surge
Chase pinnacle: 5-10 ft vis, strong surge

 

[3D diver]

My word(s) for the day: Mola mola!!!

Had a pleasant dive today at the breakwater. Vis varied from 10 to 20 feet, water temperature was logged by my computer at 51F (add 3 to 4F to that) and I saw 56F on my tiny console thermometer. There was a bit of a swell coming in at an odd angle, but the entry & exit were easy enough.

Saw a few cormorants and pinipeds buzz by but only had one of each linger long enough to attempt filming, we'll see what I got.

The high point was a healthy (fins intact) Mola mola that let us approach closely twice and film for a while. I tried to get ahead of it for a face-on shot but it matched me stroke for stroke and turned repeatedly to present a profile. It had two other fish accompanying it, but they swam away when we approached & rejoined when we left.

There were a few Sea Nettles, but most were dead and the live ones were in sad shape.

 

[Drin]

We dove the breakwater and middle reef this morning. Viz was 25 feet or so, water temp 51. Otter and seal swim-by, juvenile mola mola with no fins, lots of sea nettles. Swell of about 2'.

-Adrian

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

It had two other fish accompanying it,

The other two fish were Sharp-Nosed Perch, which were cleaning the Mola.

---------- Post added November 30th, 2013 at 07:33 PM ----------

We dove the breakwater and middle reef this morning.

Breakwater and Middle Reef (which is at Pt. Lobos)? That's a strange combination.

 

[Drin]

Breakwater and Middle Reef (which is at Pt. Lobos)? That's a strange combination.

The kelp forest to the left of the breakwater is also called Middle Reef, or so I've been told. Not the Middle Reef at Lobos.

-Adrian

 

[KRL1973]

Unable to get into Lobos this morning to look for leopard sharks so took a look at Monastery. It was do-able but could tell it would be surge city and a guaranteed crawl out so went to breakwater instead in hope of catching some molas before they are all de-finned.

No luck mola wise but still had a nice couple dives along the wall. Sea lions put on a great show as usual. Tried to interact more with them, tried clacking 2 small stones together and it seemed to generate some interest. I am tempted to bring a couple anchovies with me next time and try feeding them. I wonder if that would be in violation of the marine protection act?

There are still huge numbers of nudibranch in the area. Both on the sand and rocks saw Hermissenda crassicornis in the hundereds. They seem to like to feed on downed nettles

Noticed a number of little dime sized baby sunflower stars. Perhaps they will re-populate the reef after all the adults disintegrated due to the wasting disease.

Also, a first time for me, a pair of large striped bass cruising the shallows. I mean really shallow, like waist deep right at the entry point.

Also in the shallows an aggregation of sea hares, 5 or 6 of them bunched together.

Good day, not so good traffic getting back to Santa Clara. Folks heading back a day early from thanksgiving break??

 

[Drin]

Dove the Middle Reef at San Carlos Cove today (aka the Breakwater). Viz was about 25', water had quite a bit of surge. Saw three intact juvenile molas swimming around near the surface. One swam right up to the camera lens as we were filming it. Three areas with abalone and quite a few spiny urchins. A good dive.

The only downside was seeing someone skin diving with a Hawaiian sling and spearing fish in 12-15 feet of depth. Can anyone confirm for me that the Breakwater is a sanctuary and closed to spearfishing so that I can say something if I see him again?

Thanks!

-Adrian

 

[lostsheep]

The only downside was seeing someone skin diving with a Hawaiian sling and spearing fish in 12-15 feet of depth. Can anyone confirm for me that the Breakwater is a sanctuary and closed to spearfishing so that I can say something if I see him again?
Thanks!
-Adrian

Monterey & Carmel Underwater Maps

The breakwater is the boundary. I highly recommend the above link for anyone who spears. Keep in mind that they all have different rules WRT what can be taken (if anything).

 

[Drin]

Monterey & Carmel Underwater Maps

The breakwater is the boundary. I highly recommend the above link for anyone who spears. Keep in mind that they all have different rules WRT what can be taken (if anything).

Thank you. I suspected as much, but it's nice to have it confirmed so I can bring it up if I see anyone spearing there again.

-Adrian