Experienced level dive sites are not much different from the novice sites, except they are a little more challenging because of tricky entries, long swims, currents, or greater depths. After you've done a couple of novice dives around Monterey, you might want to try one of these. You should feel comfortable with the local water conditions and your gear before moving up to these sites.
LOCATION: Off shore of Del Monte Beach.
LEVEL: Experienced.
ENTRY: Beach or Boat.
DEPTH: 30-50ft. (9-14m).
PARKING: Along Del Monte on the street.
The Shale Beds is an interesting change from most of the diving around Monterey. The bottom composition here is low shelves of sedimentary rock, instead of granite. Since the rock is much softer, you get a slightly different fauna. In particular, this is a good place to see the pholad, or boring, clams, Chaceia ovoidea and Parapholas californica . Another great sight here is large congregations of the hooded nudibranch Melibe leonina , though I haven't seen this happen for about 7 years now.
The swim from shore can be long (about 200m) and the viz here tends to be poorer than elsewhere around the bay due to the softer bottom. Swim out about 200m from shore, and about as far north of the municipal wharf, till you reach the rather sparse kelp bed on the reef. It's better to take a boat, and launch it from the breakwater or the wharf.
LOCATION: South of Pescadero Point, by the
Pebble Beach Tennis Club.
LEVEL: Experienced.
ENTRY: Beach (long swim) or boat.
DEPTH: 20-90ft. (6-28m).
PARKING: Some parking by Beach Club.
Stillwater is another of the sites that can usually be dived when others can't because of bad conditions. To get there you have to enter Pebble Beach, which charges a small fee. You also need to call ahead (408) 625-8507 for permission to dive from the beach. Either that, or bring a boat around from Monterey Bay. The swim out from shore is really long, but the conditions are usually quite calm, so it's no big deal. The bottom is a mix of sandstone and granite reefs and pinnacles separated by sand channels. At the mouth of the cove is the Wash Rock, which offers some of the best sights, and deep water.
This is another site where research is frequently carried out, so leave any man-made stuff you see underwater alone. Don't go near any areas where you see markers or equipment.