Boat dives are sites that are either only accessible by boat, or that are much easier/safer to get to by boat even though they may be accessible from shore. These descriptions are meant for those of you with your own small boats. As such, I've rated all dives at least "experienced" since small-boat diving involves a little more than diving from shore does. You have to worry about different emergency plans, other boats, currents, correct anchoring, etc. Some of these dives might rate a lower classification if you're diving with an experienced and reputable dive charter.
Boats can be launched from either the Coast Guard Breakwater, at the south end of Cannery Row, or from the boat ramp at Wharf #2 (not the tourist wharf). Parking at both places is metered and strictly enforced. Try to get your gear squared away in the boat either before you launch it, or quickly once it's in the water. There tends to be a lot of usage of both these launch areas, and people are not going to want to wait 20 minutes while you block the ramp getting your shit together.
A popular saying where I used to live was that all you needed to drive a boat were the keys and a six-pack. This was a reference to the idiotic, and down-right dangerous, behavior of weekend tourists with new boats and no brains. DON'T LET THIS BE YOU! Learn how to operate your boat properly and safely. Take a Coast Guard course or something before you start trying to prove you're at least as good a sailor as Gilligan. Also, diving from a boat is not simply a combination of knowing how to drive a boat and how to dive. Go with someone who is experienced, and have them go through the specifics of boat diving with you before you head out on your own.
LOCATION: Between Monterey Bay Aquarium and
Lover's Point.
LEVEL: Experienced.
ENTRY: Boat only.
DEPTH: 15-60ft (4.5-18m)
Hopkins Marine Life Refuge is located just off shore of Hopkins Marine Station. It runs from in front of Monterey Bay Aquarium all the way around China, or Cabrillo, Point, and out from shore to a depth of 60ft.(18m). It is marked off with large yellow buoys.
HMLR is a marine life refuge. Fishing, collecting, or otherwise disturbing the flora and fauna is STRICTLY prohibited. Also, this is an area of active research by scientists from several different institutions. If, while diving or boating here you come across anything that looks like it was placed there by someone, LEAVE IT ALONE!. Don't touch it, don't even go near it. You risk destroying someone's research that could have taken great time and effort on their part. For these reasons, I strongly suggest that you not dive here. It is open to public access, and you may dive here if you want, but there are just as nice places nearby where you can spearfish if you like, and where you don't run the risk of disturbing someone's work.
The only reason I've included this site in the guide is to suggest that you not dive here. I know it's tempting, but it's really not particularly special.
LOCATION: Between the red Mile buoy and the
Hopkins kelp bed.
LEVEL: Advanced
ENTRY: Boat only
DEPTH: 75-90ft (23-28m)
Hopkins Deep Reef is a deep granite reef with no kelp cover. Anchor your boat about halfway between the edge of the kelp at HMLR and the big red mile buoy where the sea lions hang out. Line up straight with the back of the yellow wooden building at Hopkins Marine Station.
Deep Reef is actually a series of large granite reefs that run parallel to shore. The reefs are surrounded by a sandy bottom. If you land in sand, with no rock in view, look at your depth guage. If you're below 80ft., you're seaward of the reef. Head toward shore at a NW bearing and you should hit the reef.
This is the best place in the bay to see the giant white anemone Metridium giganteum . They cover the reefs, giving the whole place an eerie feel. It's also a good spot to see the sea pen Stylatula elongata , and, in the summer, the eggs cases of the market squid Loligo opalescens . If you're lucky, you may see the adult squid spawning.
Visibility here tends to be 15-30ft. (4.5-9m). It can get extremely dark and murky here, and bringing a light is a good idea. I have seen it so clear here that you could spot the Metridium while floating on the surface, but that was only once. If you ever see it that clear here, e-mail me right away, 'cause I wanna go.
The biggest hazard here is the boat traffic. To dive here you more or less have to anchor in the boat channel. Fly your dive flag prominently so that even the big boats can see it. It's highly advisable to try to surface along your anchor line. Your boat, with it's dive flag, is your best protection against getting hit, so it would be nice to come up right beside it. Also, there is often a current running here that can carry you quite far from the boat during your ascent and safety stop. If you do surface away from the boat, just keep an eye out for boat traffic.
One word of warning. Divers and dive flags is one area where that "keys and six-pack" syndrome is highly likely to come into play. Despite having a prominent dive flag, I've been buzzed by boats a number of times in the bay. Anytime you're diving around here, and especially at Deep Reef, LISTEN for boats as you're making your ascent. Don't surface if it sounds like one is near, unless you're coming up your anchor line right next to your boat. Boat operators, especially if there's any swell, can't see a diver in the water very well, and could run you down without knowing it till you foul their prop.
LOCATION: About 1 NW of Lover's Point.
LEVEL: Experienced.
ENTRY: Boat.
DEPTH: 30-60ft. (9-18m).
Otter Point is the next point down from Lover's as you head out towards the mouth of the bay. Anchor just inside the kelp forest.
The site is characterized by large boulders, with lots of vertical rock faces. During late summer the kelp canopy here gets really thick, and can really make for a spectacular scene when the sun is out and the viz is decent. Invert cover here is really good, and fish are abundant.
Some people dive this spot from shore when the sea is calm, but it's a long swim, and a pain-in-the-butt entry.
LOCATION: Off shore of Coral Street Beach.
LEVEL: Advanced.
ENTRY: Boat.
DEPTH: 50-100ft. (15-30m)
Chase Reef is similar to Otter Point, only more so. The vertical relief is even greater here, with 30ft. rock faces covered with inverts, particularly the coralimorph Corynactis californica , not uncommon. Anchor at the edge of the kelp, and head either into or out away from the kelp forest, depending on how deep you want to go. The outer part of the reef is one of my favorite sites when the viz is good.
LOCATION: Just south of Asilomar Beach.
LEVEL: Advanced.
ENTRY: Boat only.
DEPTH: 40-80ft. (12-24m)
Point Joe is a very exposed site with a large kelp bed in the summer. It is only divable when the sea is really flat. Anchor about halfway into the kelp forest.
This is another site with great vertical relief. The giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera , tends to be attached to the tops of the large boulders, giving the site a more open feel than some of the other kelp forests around. There is a well developed understory of the stipitate kelp Pteragophora californica here as well. Since this site is so exposed to heavy wave action, especially during winter storms, it has a different look than kelp forests inside the bay.
There are also a couple of wrecks here, although I've never dived on them. The roughness of conditions here quickly reduces such wrecks to little more than debris rather quickly, so don't expect to find an intact hull or anything like that.
LOCATION:North end of Carmel Bay.
LEVEL: Advanced.
ENTRY: Boat.
DEPTH: 40-80ft. (12-24m)
Cypress Point is the next big point as you head south from Point Joe. It is marked by a large red Coast Guard buoy like the mile buoy off Hopkins and the Point PiŅos buoy. The bottom here is much like that of Point Joe, large boulders interspersed with sand and large cobbles. Like Point Joe, this area is rarely dived. Also like Point Joe, there are a couple of wrecks at Cypress. I hate to give the impression that Cypress and Joe are exactly alike, 'cause they aren't, but it's hard for me to describe the differences in an understandable way. It suffices to say that they are similar, and if you like one, you'll like the other.
I have only dived the south side of the point, but this is only possible when it's exceptionally calm. The other spot that is supposed to be good are the wash rocks far away from the shore on the north side. They are not as treacherous, and can often be dived when the south side can't. Like I said, I've never dived the wash rocks, so I'm only passing on what others have told me.
LOCATION: Carmel Bay, between Cypress Point and
Pescadero Point.
LEVEL: Advanced.
ENTRY: Boat only.
DEPTH: 15->100ft.(4.5->33m)
The Pinnacles is, without reservation, my favorite dive site in Monterey. After passing Cypress Point, heading south, look for the "Castle House". Lined up with that, about a mile offshore there are two large kelp beds (sometimes there's only one). These mark the Pinnacles. The inner pinnacle rises at one point to a depth of only 15ft. (4.5m), while the outer pinnacle goes down to depths over 100ft(32m). The Pinnacles are huge granite outcrops, with large channels cut through them. The walls of the channels are often as high as 40ft (12m) or more, creating the feeling of swimming through a submarine canyon.
The life here seems particularly rich and vibrant, even for this area. Some particular things to look for here are the pink and purple hydrocoral Allopora californica , the stipitate kelp Eisenia arborea , and the Chestnut Cowrie, Cypraea spadicea . While all of these can be found in other places, this is the best place to see them all. This place is just magical on a day with good viz.
Since this is essentially an open-ocean environment, it is not unusual to get big pelagic animals coming through. Keep an eye out for the big jellyfish Chrysaora melanaster and Pelagia colorata , some of which can reach lengths of 30ft. (9m). Also, blue sharks, and, on occasion, basking sharks. Often the surface water here is filled with gelatinous zooplankters. If this is the case, take time during your safety stop to look at all the different forms.
LOCATION: Just outside and south of Whaler's
Cove.
LEVEL: Advanced.
ENTRY: Boat.
DEPTH: 10->130ft. (9-40m).
Bluefish Cove is the only other place, besides Whaler's Cove, where diving is permitted in Point Lobos. Launch your boat from the ramp at Whaler's Cove and drive around the corner. Bluefish is much more exposed than Whaler's. It is surrounded by steep cliffs that continue underwater to a gently sloping rocky bottom. At the mouth there are pinnacles that are some of the most popular spots for UW photography on the West Coast.
This is one of the most spectacular dive sites anywhere, and shouldn't be missed if at all possible. Remember that this is an exposed site. Conditions may be rough, and it's real easy to get deep here.