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37
As we’re packing our gear into the
car, we get a phone call that turns
my worry into pure excitement.
Miraculously, some spots are
available on a local charter boat that
is headed to the
Carmel Pinnacles
,
the area’s Holy Grail dive site. The
pinnacles are a remote but integral
part of the marine reserve, though
their exposed location means the
days leading up to a charter can
be occupied by anxious scrutiny of
weather and swell forecasts.
We can hardly believe our good
fortune as we explore the spectacular
dual structures that rise from depths
of hundreds of feet to 15 feet at their
shallowest point. The invertebrate
life here includes one of the most
mind-blowingly colorful arrays of
branching hydrocoral in the region,
and the fish life is every bit as
incredible here as in the rest of the
reserve. To top it all off, the site’s
isolation and the presence of the
nearby underwater canyon means
that all manner of pelagic life can
also be seen here.
Knowing that this site will be
tough to beat, we decide it’s time to
shift our attention toward
Monterey
Bay
. The difference is striking.
While Carmel Bay seems embraced
by nature, Monterey Bay is steeped
in history. Many shore-diving sites in
the city of Monterey are immediately
adjacent to historic Cannery Row
and are marked by defunct remnants
of the sardine fishing industry.
Monterey Bay (referred to locally
as “the bay”) has a silty seafloor
that does not commonly permit the
degree of water clarity that can be
found in Carmel Bay. However, the
presence of protected dive sites and
varied marine life draws large groups
of divers from surrounding areas.
Underwater, the difference
between the bays is even more
remarkable. Carmel Bay’s riotous
colors are contrasted by Monterey
Bay’s giant metridium anemones,
mystical green water and astounding
macro life. We follow old cannery
pipes out from shore to a depth of
60 feet to reach
Metridium Fields,
a low-profile rocky reef inhabited
by a small school of surfperch
and populated by clusters of giant
metridiums and neon-orange
sunflower stars. Nearby
McAbee
Beach
, which requires a slightly
longer swim, is next up; it’s a lovely
kelp site lined by granite boulders
dotted with colorful starfish and
fish-eating anemones.
Feeling a little lazy, we decide
we’re in the mood for a few boat
dives. We anchor on
Ballbuster
, a
pinnacle that plunges from 65 feet to
deeper than 110 feet. When we peer
into the water we see something
we’ve been hoping for all week: a
jellyfish bloom. Hundreds of pulsing
golden sea nettles are moving
through the water column, and
the visibility is the best we’ve ever
experienced in the bay. My buddy
looks at me sternly and says, “No.
You are NOT going to photograph
jellyfish in 25 feet of water for the
whole dive.” I smile innocently and
backroll in.
When we descend, it is tough for
me to concentrate on the pinnacle
itself, despite its thick layer of giant
metridiums and pink Corynactis
anemones. I am slightly more
interested when we spot a cabezon
guarding a large nest and a giant
pacific octopus crammed deeply into
a fissure, but I can’t stop staring up
the anchor line at the jellyfish. At
last, my exasperated buddy makes
the turnaround signal, and I am
certain that every diver in the water
can hear my whoop of enthusiasm
as I begin my ascent. The current is
brisk, and it is hard work to frame
the jellyfish against the sun (and
even harder to avoid their stinging
tentacles), but we doggedly persist.
For our final dive, we head to
The
Breakwater
, easily the most popular
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