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5/16/2012 Pt Lobos by mykle hoban -- [View this report only]

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Bottom Team: mykle hoban, Patrick Webster

Visibility: 20' - 55' Time: 10:00 AM

Temp: 51F - 53F Surge:

Max Depth: 37FSW Avg Depth: 25FSW

Bottom Time: 0:55 Total Time:

Bottom Gases: EAN32 Deco Gases:

Backgas Config: Double HP100 Deco Tanks:
Deco Profile:
Took a (non-BAUE) friend to Lobos today who's been asking me to go with him for a while. Man, am I glad I did. I don't think I've seen the swell model that uniformly dark blue for a long time. We arrived to an empty parking lot, glassy smooth water, and aquarium-like vis inside the cove. I had been wanting to check out the "caves" in Coal Chute cove for quite some time but had not had ideal conditions until today, so we decided to go for it. We dropped at the worm patch into the kelp forest of nature shows: perfectly vertical stipes, vis for miles, and god rays shining down through every break in the canopy. From there we kicked across to coal chute over reef and rubble that is usually obscured by the murky water that tends to prevail inside Whaler's Cove. The highlight of the outward journey was a large male sheephead on the eastern side of middle reef. Arriving at the wall on the outside of Coal Chute, we kicked around to the other side and came across the larger of the two passages. Hovering outside the entrance, the chamber was backlit by the opening at the top and a massive school of blue rockfish (both adults and juveniles) were gathered near the ceiling. We kicked in a little ways and looked around, before exiting and and kicking further along the wall. The second swim-through, more of an arch, was equally epic. We kicked back across the cove, hoping to spot a leopard shark (sadly, none appeared, but we encountered the sheephead again) and surfaced right off the end of the ramp.

For a dive that averaged maybe 25 feet and with a max depth of 34, I consider this in my top 5 best dives at Lobos to date.

4/15/2012 Twin Peaks by John Heimann -- [View this report only]

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Bottom Team: Matt Vieta, John Heimann

Visibility: 10' - 50' Time: 10:00 AM

Temp: 46F - 50F Surge:

Scooter: Halcyon T16 Burn Time: 0:40

Max Depth: 174FSW Avg Depth: 150FSW

Bottom Time: 0:40 Total Time: 1:44

Bottom Gases: 18/45 Deco Gases: EAN50,O2

Backgas Config: Double LP80 Deco Tanks: AL40,AL80
Deco Profile:
6,4,4,4,4,20,6up
Matt and I dove Twin Peaks today. Conditions weren't very promising as there was a good sized swell rolling into Monastery in the morning, and seas at Lobos had been so large Saturday that no diving was allowed. Viz wasn't great at the boat ramp, and we put our bottom stage and deco bottles and scooters on the float knowing that we might just have to turn around pull them out again if viz at the Lone Metridium was low. After scootering out to Hole in the Wall on the surface, however, the water temp dropped to 48F, viz opened up and we knew we were in for a good dive. We scootered out along the ridgeline in increasingly cold water and increasingly good viz, and while the water was a painfully cold 46F at the end of Twin Peaks, we had at least 50' of visibility. The difference in conditions from the last time I did this dive was striking - the encrusting barnacles were all gone, replaced with the usual beautiful anemones and sponges. As we had brought bottom stages in addition to our 85s, we were able to spend 25 min or so just swimming around and enjoying the marine life and scenery, before turning the dive and scootering back along the ridgeline, through schools of fish and krill. Especially considering that our expectations for the day were low, we had a really great dive.

4/8/2012 Ed's Wall aboard Escapade by John Heimann -- [View this report only]

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Bottom Team: John Heimann, Nick Radov

Visibility: 50' - 80' Time: 10:00 AM

Temp: 48F - 50F Surge:

Scooter: Halcyon T16 Burn Time: 0:25

Max Depth: 234FSW Avg Depth: 190FSW

Bottom Time: 0:30 Total Time: 1:32

Bottom Gases: 15/55 Deco Gases: EAN50,O2

Backgas Config: Double LP104,HP120 Deco Tanks: AL40,AL80
Deco Profile:
2s,7,5,5,5,5,20,6 up
Sue, Beto, Dionna, Mark, Nick and I went out for a nice Easter dive today. Conditions were very flat and we discussed the possibility of heading to Midway Pinnacle, but given the gas mix in our tanks and the fact that it was an hour closer to home, we decided to dive Ed Cooper's wall. This was my first time at the site and it was truly a spectacular dive. The water was cold, dark blue and very clear as we dropped down to the top of the wall. TAhe sponges, schools of bluefish, ling and various rockfish decorating the wall, which stretched out as far as the eye could see, made for a spectacular scooter experience. 20 min into the dive turned in to a chute and gradually ascended the reef to 110', where we began our deco among salp and Scrippsia Pacifica. It's hard to imagine a more beautiful setting in which to appreciate a fine Easter morning!

3/31/2012 Mile Buoy aboard Escapade by Alberto Nava -- [View this report only]

Bottom Team: Susan Bird, Alberto Nava

Visibility: 5' - 40' Time: 9:30 AM

Temp: 50F - 51F Surge: 6'

Max Depth: 140FSW Avg Depth:

Bottom Time: 0:40 Total Time: 1:20

Bottom Gases: 18/45 Deco Gases: EAN50,O2

Backgas Config: Deco Tanks:
Deco Profile:
Our tech trip on Saturday started with the following forest-cast (notice the mention of a train of steep waves???):

SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE OVERNIGHT AS A STRONG COLD FRONT
APPROACHES THE COAST. THESE STRONG WINDS WILL GENERATE STEEP FRESH
SWELL. IN ADDITION...RAIN PLUS A LARGE SWELL UP TO 20 FEET WILL
BUILD IN FROM THE WEST SATURDAY AS AN ASSOCIATED LOW PRESSURE
SYSTEM PUSHES INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. THIS LARGE SWELL TRAIN
WILL BE STEEP AND IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST INTO SUNDAY. AT THE SAME
TIME A SOUTHERLY SWELL WILL MOVE INTO MOST OF THE COASTAL WATERS.
THIS COMBINATION WILL LEAD TO VERY HAZARD CONDITIONS.

However, the 35 knot winds were from the south which was supposed to make the bay flat. As we motored out we saw white caps inside the harbor and there were some wind waves from the south at Mile Bouy. Capt Jim took a look at the condition and monitored the wind and waves for a while, and as we hanged it there the waves coming from the south diminished quite a lot, so he gave the go ahead for the team of divers: Doug, Eric, Clinton, John, Susan and Beto.

We descended following the down-line and had great vis all the way to 100ft. Once we reached the bottom we found about 5-10 vis with a lot of sand in suspension. No the best conditions.... however, we just relaxed and zoomed into the invertebrate life at the site. We found tons of nudibranches, some of them trying to climb into the gorgonias, 3 nice basket starts and a lot of lingcods in the sand and crevices. The top of the site had very nice colonies of metridiums.

During deco vis was nice and we had tons of salps to look around.

Capt Jim said there were about 15min during the dive were the weather was totally crazy. It rained very hard, with 35knot winds and the waves came back. He could not have pick up any divers during that interval :-0. However, it didn't lasted very long so divers were not aware of it. I think we squeezed a dive in but probably not the smartest things to do after all.

Today the the bay is covered with NW white caps and I can see the train landing over Point Pi~nos ;-)

Here photos from Clinton.

3/17/2012 East Pinnacle aboard Escapade by Allison Lee -- [View this report only]

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Bottom Team: Allison Lee, Robert Lee, Clinton Bauder

Visibility: 30' - 40' Time: 9:00 AM

Temp: 50F Surge: 8'

Scooter: X-scooter Burn Time:

Max Depth: 85FSW Avg Depth: 65FSW

Bottom Time: 0:45 Total Time: 0:50

Bottom Gases: EAN32 Deco Gases:

Backgas Config: Double Deco Tanks:
Deco Profile:
1,1,2,1
Saturday's recreational boat was a little bit questionable earlier in the week, with a really bad forecast. But as we approached the weekend, the forecast moderated to just kind of bad, and with good viz reports from the bay, the trip was a go. We decided to try to sneak one dive in Carmel and then head back to the bay, since conditions were supposed to build quickly in the afternoon. We made it to East Pinnacle without too many theatrics from Neptune, and were ordered to get things moving since conditions were supposed to deteriorate.

We were greeted with pretty good viz, maybe 30 to 40 feet, though there was definitely a decent amount of particulate stirred up in the water. Stirred up by the mighty surge, which would periodically kick in and drag us around for a tour of the various sides of the reef. Though there were periods of calm in between, which made it possible for Clinton to line me and Rob up for some photos. Rob didn't even bother trying to shoot macro. We didn't see anything particularly unusual, but it was just a nice dive with good viz, pretty hydrocoral and a small school of blue rockfish atop the pinnacle. And after a week in Florida, the water didn't even seem that cold (and the tanks sure seemed light).

For the second dive, we hurried back to Monterey Bay and ended up at Hopkins. The viz was stellar and blue in the top 30 feet, and then there was a distinct layer where it switched to green, but still quite good viz. Very good viz for the bay. I definitely saw more of Hopkins than I have ever seen (at once) before. Aside from the nice Metridium-dotted vistas, we found a couple of nice critters too: a small wolf eel, a not-so-small and not-too-shy red octopus, and a big friendly cabezon. We surfaced to wind and torrential downpours, which made unloading the boat the roughest part of the day.

Rob and Clinton posted pictures here and I posted a full report here.

3/17/2012 Pt Lobos by Alberto Nava -- [View this report only]

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Bottom Team: Alberto Nava, Jim MacDonald, Sandra Tullis

Visibility: 10' - 20' Time: 7:30 AM

Temp: Surge: 3'

Max Depth: 30FSW Avg Depth:

Bottom Time: 0:45 Total Time: 0:50

Bottom Gases: EAN32 Deco Gases:

Backgas Config: Double Deco Tanks:
Deco Profile:
Diving today with Sandra and Jim MacDonald to collect creatures for the Camel Mid-School kids. We had a great time collecting and playing with a nice harbor seals that wanted to take our catch. Not way ....

On the swim back we found a nice leopard shark on the sand, and we were able to hang around with it for a while. I could read Sandra and Jim minds... bag in front, push the tail, close the bag ;-)

It felt really good to shared with the kids!

3/9/2012 K2 aboard Escapade by Alberto Nava -- [View this report only]

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Bottom Team: Jim Capwell, Alberto Nava

Visibility: 20' - 30' Time: 10:30 AM

Temp: 46F - 48F Surge: 3'

Max Depth: 220FSW Avg Depth:

Bottom Time: 0:40 Total Time: 1:30

Bottom Gases: 18/55 Deco Gases: EAN50,O2

Backgas Config: Deco Tanks:
Deco Profile:
On the Escapade today with Capt Jim for a little fun dive. Water looked very green all the way to Lobos, and a little less green in the K2 area. We jumped in to find green water on the shallow and a night dive at depth. Where did last weekend water went??

We enjoyed the south end of K2 for little bit, while scooters in and out of a school of juv rockfish, then headed for the canyon and the arch. This is my favorite part of the dive. The canyon is covered with red gorgonias, and there is a fun arch to go under.

We had a crazy sea lion playing with us at about 150ft.

We headed to K2 peak and enjoyed a large school of blue rock-fish .

Water was 46F at the bottom, and 48 almost all the way to the surface. That felt like a cold water shower!!!

3/2/2012 K2 aboard Escapade by John Heimann -- [View this report only]

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Bottom Team: John Heimann, Nick Radov

Visibility: 20' - 50' Time: 10:00 AM

Temp: 45F - 48F Surge:

Scooter: Halcyon T16 Burn Time: 0:35

Max Depth: 230FSW Avg Depth: 185FSW

Bottom Time: 0:25 Total Time: 1:32

Bottom Gases: 15/55 Deco Gases: EAN50,O2

Backgas Config: Double HP120 Deco Tanks: AL40,AL80
Deco Profile:
1,1,1,2,2,2,2,2,7,5,5,4,4,25+6 up
Dionna, Mark, Nick and I had the boat to ourselves for a great dive on the west wall of K2. Weather was doubtful earlier in the week, and we weren't sure if we'd get out of the bay, and only decided Thursday to take a chance on getting in a deep dive. To our pleasant surprise, the swell settled down to the point where we had nearly flat conditions all the way to Yankee Point. Given the NW wind, K2 seemed like a good option, so we dropped into the chute on the SE side, scootered S to the sand, and W along the wall, spotting several boot sponges and many elephant ears and big ling on the way. After a few minutes, we turned back and started ascending the chute, where we remained until we hit the top of the pinnacle at 70', decoing along the pinnacle, with pretty sponges, anemone, rockfish, and big ling (and no barnacles!) to look at for our deep stops and 70'-60' nitrox stops. Mark's first words back on the boat summed up the experience for all of us: "That was a REALLY fun dive! It went by really fast as I was enjoying it so much!"

1/29/2012 Ed's Wall aboard Escapade by Alberto Nava -- [View this report only]

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Bottom Team: Susan Bird, Alberto Nava

Visibility: 40' - 60' Time: 10:00 AM

Temp: 48F - 50F Surge: 3'

Max Depth: 220FSW Avg Depth:

Bottom Time: 0:40 Total Time: 1:30

Bottom Gases: 18/55 Deco Gases: EAN50,O2

Backgas Config: Deco Tanks:
Deco Profile:
I was suppose to teach a Fundamental class Frid,Sat, and Sunday but due to a reduction in class size, I was able to get Sunday free :-). What a better way to spend that extra day than diving on the Escapade. Jim said he also had a last minute cancellation on his morning charter, so Jim, Joe, Sue and myself decided to do a quick dive before his afternoon trip.

Conditions were good for a BigSur trip marathon however, we had to be back by 1:30pm so we reduced our expectation and headed out to Ed Cooper's Wall. This is a great dive site with a very long wall running South East, and it has great terrain and marine life. We saw tons of lincods, and large school of blue rock fish, as well as some health hydrocorals on the cracks. We could not find the resident wolf eels, neither the shallowest peak, but everybody had a great time.

Visibility was about 50ft, but a little milky. There were some nice brown jellies during deco, and grey whales on the way back home.

Loved to put a free day to good use :-)

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