So I have already introduced the crew and some of the characters on the home page, but also along for the ride were Mike, Dennis, and Tim.  I hope that everybody enjoyed the trip as much as I did.  Full dive report below the pictures.

 

It is not very often that I let discretion override my sense of valor or my crazy need to dive alone late at night, however, the terrible events in Japan and the wash through of the remains of that tsunami hitting the CA coast just 10 hours before I arrived at the Breakwater at Monterey left me looking at the water with my chin resting on my fist going hmmmmmm.  The beaches were still closed with tsunami warning signs posted at all the beach entrances and many beach areas were actually closed. The fact that the wave made it to the west coast and caused damage in some ports is testament to the force of the earthquake and left me with a better understanding of the utter destruction in Japan.  For once I did the sensible thing and did not dive.

 

I was at the dock an hour before the Silver Prince was due to dock and fussing with stuff as usual, setting up my gear, checking tank pressures, deciding what to take and what not to take.....but it keeps me occupied!

 

There were two boats loading and I watched all the dark dry suited tech divers with all their tanks and black accessories loading onto one boat.  Their talk was of deco times, gas mixes and SAC rates.  The other boat was a Newton 46 cattle boat with a bunch of newbies loaded shoulder to shoulder with rented wet suits, snorkels and yellow accessories.  Those that were left on the dock would be the divers on the Silver Prince, and we were starting to meet each other - all feeling a sense of being the rejected few, no boat and not fitting into the mold for either of the other boats.  Tim, Dennis, and I watched, drawn together by being left behind - "You on the Silver Prince?  Yes".  I did not realize how far we would break the mold until Eric 'The Pirate' and Jeff 'Captain Chaos' turned up.  At that point I realized that the Silver Prince needed to be a little shorter than the other dive buses that were by now leaving the dock. 

 

On the tech divers boat, they were a mass of darkness; silent, meditating and motionless.  On the Newton cattle boat there was motion, much more motion, bags being opened and closed, flashes of bright PADI colored accessories, and much nervous chatter.  Eric adjusted his dude-rag and Captain Chaos scratched at his beard.  

 

After the other boats left and right on time Captain Mike nudged the Silver Prince up to the dock and deck hand, Todd, bounded onto the dock to greet us.  If there was ever a good reason for banning all caffeinated drinks, it was Todd but, like a sheepdog, he had us rounded up and on the boat in no time and we were off.  The Silver Prince turned out to be a comfortable and well equipped and well organized dive boat (albeit the short bus for the day).  What I liked was the professional but relaxed dive atmosphere, and that contributed to us all mixing and getting to know each other quickly.  Details of the boat can be found on the Silver Prince Charters web site http://www.silverprincecharters.com/boat/ 

 

I already introduced you to Eric the Pirate and Jeff ‘Captain Chaos’ co-presenters of Dive Talk Now on Pirate Radio AM 1240, but I would have to say that they entertained me all the way to the first dive site.  I appreciate that Captain Mike was prepared to make the effort to go and look for good, but safe, sites even though the sea was rough and there was still the tsunami warnings hanging over us.  He could easily have chosen lesser sites. 

 

So why was Jeff  (owner of Otter Bay Wetsuits) referred to as ‘Captain Chaos’?  Take a look at the wetsuit!  Red, white and blue farmer john with stars!  If you have not met Jeff – you need to – but I will admit that when he arrived at the dock and met up with Eric I was wondering if I should not have brought my tech gear and gotten on the other boat!  If you want a wet suit that makes a statement for the cold weather or a hood that actually provides some insulation for the part of your body that loses the most heat in a dive, go to his web site!  We wear 7 or 10mm wet suits and expensive dry suits, but then most of us (me included) put on a 3mm hood!   We knew about, and some people used, Otter hoods in the PNW when I was diving regularly in WA. Check out the web site.  Why is Eric ‘The Pirate’ – well he turned up in a doo-rag and presents the Scuba Now show on Pirate Radio 1240 in Monterey, and, well, he just fits the pirate mold!   

 

Our first dive was on a pinnacle called Honeymoon.  I was so excited to get into the water in an area that I had never dived.  As I dropped down the line, the viz was in the region of 40 ft, and we landed right on the pinnacle which started at 65 ft and ran down to a sandy bottom at 110 feet.  There was quite a bit of surge, but the structure was magnificent and a great opportunity to look for critters that are stuck on the walls!  I saw lots of different corals, sponges and anemones.  I started at the bottom and worked my way up the structure circling slowly, checking out all the crevices and deep cuts in the rock.  I was determined to use my computers in the correct way and managed my no-deco time carefully as I slowly made my way back to the boat via the anchor line, then the kelp. 

 

I hate to say this, but I do tend to judge a dive boat by its food and use that to estimate how much they care/think about their customers, and I have to say that the CARNE ASADA on the Silver Prince ROCKED!!    Also, lots of hot water for coffee and hot chocolate as well.  I bet that newbies on the Newton got chicken noodle soup, and the tech divers brought their own special pre-prepared deco enhancing food in black containers.  I know that I am bashing techies today, but I admit that I am one of their ranks and will be doing more tech diving later this year – see what I have to say then! 

 

For dive two we went to look at Monastery Beach.  This is a famous site that I have always wanted to dive.  There is a monastery (well duh) overlooking the short, steep sandy beach.  From the beach, divers can reach the edge of the submarine trench that runs almost to the beach, a shear drop to hundreds of feet.  However, Captain Mike judged the surf and surge to be too great, and after taking a good look, we moved away to the north to Butterfly House.

 

The site is named after a butterfly-shaped house just up on the cliff that was once owned by Clint Eastwood.  The dive terrain consisted of rocky fingers, separated with sandy bottomed swim throughs.  Again viz was good, but there was also plenty of surge.  For me, managing surge is very simple - relax and go with it, don’t fight it or you will be out of air in minutes.  Good buoyancy is important in order to remain calm and relaxed.  By the nature of surge, it will normally bring you back to where it took you from!  As I have said before, I am a little weird in that I like cold, dark, difficult and surge-y diving.  BRING IT ON!  Between dives, the banter between all on board continued at a hilarious and furious pace, not always politically correct or even printable, but fun all the same!

 

We moved one last time to Still Water Cove for our last dive.  From that site, we could look back and out over the Pebble Beach Golf Course – all those people that spent $500 each for a tee time that they booked a year ago and a cart and a caddy that will cost them another $250 – JUST TO WHACK A LITTLE WHITE BALL ABOUT!  Who would ever spend that much money on a trip to do the sport that you love, spend more money on equipment than could ever be considered, drive and fly hundreds of miles toting their equipment with them….I mean, WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD DO THAT???!!! 

 

Errrrr……hang on a minute - let me rethink that last paragraph.  On further consideration, I see no issue with this type of behavior.  In fact I wholeheartedly support it.  But I do think that there should be some sort of therapy available to help people who are afflicted in this way! 

 

The last dive was essentially a wall that started shallow (out of the water in fact), a wall that leads off into the deep.  Again, lots of structure to have fun with, lots of surge, and overwhelmingly at this site and the others, I was struck by the color and types of coral, sponges and anemones.  With the dive done and the late afternoon sun lending that yellow glow to the seascape, we raced back towards K dock in the Breakwater Marina.

 

Was all the fun over – not quite!  Otter Bay Wetsuits, in conjunction with Silver Prince Charters, had a drawing to give away one of those 12mm Otter Bay wet suit hoods, and I was lucky enough to be drawn as the winner.  Part of receiving the prize was to be videoed receiving my gift certificate from Eric and Jeff, and I cannot wait to see the video clip.  It is just amazing how looking at a video cam can cause brain seizure!  Thank you once again to everybody on the trip.

 

My duty before leaving town was to return my rental tanks and weights to Bamboo Reef (http://bambooreef.com/cms/).  I thank them for being bright, cheerful, and eager to help me when I walked in the store again.  That makes a difference to me, and I will go back there for equipment when I am in town.

 

Dive 1, Honeymoon, 102 ft for 41 minutes

Dive  2, Butterfly House, 92 ft for 48 minutes

Dive 3, Still Water Cove, 72 ft for 51 minutes

Viz was 40 feet, and the coldest temp I show on my watch was 48 degrees.