New diver at Pt. Lobos

[NVE]

Hi there,

I'm new to the board and new to diving as well...just got my OW certification in Thailand in May. I've been itching to dive ever since, but haven't had the opportunity until this weekend.

I've reserved a spot to dive at Pt. Lobos over the weekend with a friend who is a relatively experienced who has dove at Pt. Lobos in the past. (don't know how many dives he's logged...he is OW certified).

Personally, I've only logged 4 dives in warm water in Thailand with light weight, great visibility, and an experienced instructor leading the way.

The main reason I'm diving this weekend is to get some more experience under my belt. I won't be able to go on a vacation where I can dive for awhile, so diving close to home is my best option.

That said, I have reservations because I'm a newbie and will be diving in an environment/situation that is completely different from what I trained in.

Specifically,

Trained: warm water, boat diving, light gear, with an instructor
Planning to dive: cold water, shore diving, heavy gear, without a dive master/instructor

Sooo...(sorry to be long winded) I'm wondering if this is a good idea. Is Pt. Lobos a relatively easy place for a beginner to try cold water/shore diving...or should I wait to dive again in an environment more akin to how I was trained?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mweitz]

Hey NVE, Pt. Lobos is a perfect place for a newbie to cold water. It is a protected cove, with depths from 12 to 30ish feet inside the cove, and depths of 30 - 70 right outside the cove. Personally I won't take new divers past around 40'. It seems to be fairly easy to pop to the surface the first time you have that much weight on. Just remember to exhale on the way up if that happens.

On a good day there is tons to look at there, but this weekend is so far looking ...not great. Since Lobos is protected, it may be an easy entry / exit, but I'm guessing visibility will be fairly low in the cove. I could be wrong though, you never know till you actually get there.

http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/swell/wamglance.html

I've taken a couple of people out at Lobos who were new and had never dived cold water. They loved it.

Couple of quick tips. The Kelp is cool, but if you get tangled up in it you can just work yourself out slowly. It breaks easily if you fold it in half, be careful using a knife on it. Could be easy to mistake a regulator hose for Kelp if you are tangled. Do a weight check at the end of the dive. Wear your weight in such a way that you can remove a few pounds at a time. Drain your tanks to about 700 PSI, then drop down to about 15' and see how much weight you need to stay there. You may want to add 2 or 3 to that # until you become more comfortable in cold water.

Everyone had to do their first cold water dive at some point. If you aren't comfortable with this arrangement you can always do an Advanced Open Water class in Monterey, or do a guided tour with one of the dive shops.

Mark

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

The biggest mistake most divers new to Lobos make is diving the area in front of the
Ramp. It's a big sandy yawn. Walk up on top of the hill and have look. Note large
area of macrocystis (giant kelp) in Whalers. That's where you want to dive. Pat
Lovejoy put some good info on the Pt. Lobos website.

Find out how much cold water experience your buddy has.

And read http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/ba_diving/newmontereydiver.html and
http://www.garlic.com/~triblet/ba_diving/kelpdiving.html

Be VERY careful on the ramp. The lower part is VERY slippery. Somebody broke an
arm on it recently. I've done a couple of butt plants myself, and not even wearing
any heavy gear.

Which day?

 

[clampinator]

Oh Ya you will love it at point Lobos. You can see alot and if you take your time, get good air consumption. I have really enjoyed it there and Im sure you will to. Be cautious of your depth cause it drops off out by the mouth quickly. After a dive or two there go over to the far side and check out the caves. Get some experience first though just to play it safe. Enjoy your dive Clampinator

 

[Drewpy]

I did my first cold water dive there...youll love it!
I dove with Mark and a few other buddies last sat and it was incredible-you never know it changes day to day.
It is definitely a lot different than the tropics though..
Some great advise has been given, but Ill add,you might want to just go out and snorkel for a few moments before you don your tank and weights just to get acclimated so to speak.
Good luck and have fun!
Welcome to the board by the way!
Drew

 

[dannobee]

You didn't mention it, and nobody seemed to bring it up yet, so I will ask. You do have a 7mm wetsuit and a hooded vest, right? And your booties and gloves are 5mm, or thereabouts? And you'll need a lot more weight here than when warm water diving-might be up to 30 lbs.

When shore diving we normally swim backward and occasionally look behind. Some of the sites might be quite a swim for a newbie, so be prepared and just relax and take your time. It's not like boat diving.

You'll want to swim away from the entrance because, as Chuck stated, there's nothing to see right there. The Point Lobos website beautifully shows most of the dive sites. I'd stick with "Middle Reef," and maybe the Cannery point wall, if you're feeling comfortable going deeper.

Also, there's no facilities at Point Lobos except for a bathroom, so bring all of the food and drinks you'll need for the day (don't forget the obvious, like gear and all the tanks you'll need for the day). Don't forget sunscreen.

Other than that, read up on Chuck's website and have a great time. It really is a nice place.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

There is fresh water, both to drink and clean up your gear.

And your don't HAVE to have a 7 mm wetsuit. Somebody once posted on ba_diving
about a Russian couple snorkling Pt. Lobos in their Speedos. BRRRRRRRR. ;-)

 

[NVE]

Thanks everyone! Great advice all around...I'll report back on our dives after the weekend.