My Sister in Law just moved to Monterey and naturally I'm looking forward to diving there. I've gotten the impression that late summer or early fall is the best time to dive, but my wife wants to plan a trip in February (or thereabouts).
Is the dive community still very active at that time of year ? I'd like to hook up with some of you for some beach dives but I'd also like to try and go out on a charter. Looks like the boats only go out on weekends throughout the year, correct ? Are charters more likely than not, going to get blown out in Febuary ?
I'm figuring water temps are in the mid to upper 40's that time of year. I'll be bringing my 7 mm FJ. Is there a thermocline to look forward to on your ss ?
boat
We dive throughout the whole year in Monterey, and it's really not possible to justify a statement that one time of year is the "best" and another is the "worst". However, you can defensibly speak in terms of probabilities. Storms and the big seas they bring are more likely during the winter, but because of the indirect angle of the sun and the reduced hours of daylight there is generally less plankton growth during the winter. In other words, the water is often clearer during the winter months, supposing you catch it between major storms. BUT...the clearest water I have ever seen (>100' of visibility) has been in July, immediately following an upwelling event. Upwelling is most likely in the late spring, which means that the water temperatures tend to be the coldest in the late spring. However, upwelling can occur at any time of year and bring up cold, clear water.
If this sounds confusing, it's because it is. I've tried explaining this to the people who call me and demand to know, e.g., what the visibility will be at Lover's Point next Sunday afternoon, but then they just become indignant when I won't "give them the information". One dive shop I know has a script they read for the people asking for visibility projections which admits every possibility. You can hear anything you want to hear in this script, and yet they never mislead you. (In other words, they used a lot of words to say absolutely nothing.) The wonderful thing about California diving is that it's very unpredictable. You can get a great day at absolutely any time of the year. The opposite statement is also true, however. And conditions can change very quickly.
The water temperatures are fairly constant throughout the year. Right now is the warmest. Absent any upwelling, temperatures at depth are now about 53F, and you won't even see that unless you go down to Carmel and go deep. In Monterey Bay I think the minimum is going to be about 56F. A "normal" temperature is about 50F, with the very lows following upwelling being about 46F. Occasionally I hear somebody claim 44F, but I suspect their thermometer needs calibrating. Temperatures below 50F don't tend to last very long. Also, I should mention that we rarely have a termocline. Temperatures do go down a bit as you descend, but there is rarely a well-defined boundary between warm and cold water.
Re boat diving... Yes, they generally run only on weekends. But there are occasional exceptions. You need to check their schedules on the web pages to see when they are going out and how many openings they have.
Bruce
