On Saturday, June 8, 2024, club members met at Lovers Cove in Pacific Grove for a combination education and activity event. Dennis Hocker, Director of Training, provided guidance on how to read surface conditions to get an idea of whether the tide is coming in or out, what current might be present at a dive site, underwater visibility, and tips for water entry and exits from the beach. The group walked over to the "blowhole" on the point's right side and decided it was too calm to try swimming through the blowhole.
After the training, Dave Chervin and Mike Barret decided to scuba dive from Lovers 3 toward Otter Cove and back, while Dan Wilcox, Dan Kaplan, his wife Nicole Danna, and I did the snorkel. My initial plan was to snorkel in the shallow reef at Lovers Cove 2, but due to parking availability concerns, I started the event at 9:00 a.m.--several hours before the 1:00 p.m. high tide. When we arrived, we discovered the tide had not yet covered the reef, so I changed the dive plan to enter at Lovers Cove 3 and snorkel around the point to exit at either Lovers Cove 2 or 1 depending on conditions.
This was Dan K. and Nicole's first time snorkeling in cold water, so Dan W. and I gave them some suggestions on how much weight to carry to compensate for not having a tank and BCD. Surf conditions were calm, so we were able to easily get into the water. After Dan K. and Nicole did a quick weight check to ensure they weren't overweighted, we snorkeled out and around the point. We all did at least a little freediving along the way and enjoyed visibility good enough to see the bottom as we snorkeled.
In was interesting getting into some of the nooks and crannies on the right side of Lover's 3 that are usually too rough with crashing waves and surge to explore. As we made our way toward Lovers 2, I saw a patch 100 plus giant green anemones on the north side of the point. It was the largest grouping of anemones that I have ever seen. By the time we got to the reef at Lovers 2, much of it was still above water, so we skirted around it and exited at Lovers 1.
Dan K and Nicole said they were happy with the snorkel and agreed with my observation that snorkeling and diving in cold water provide very different experiences--both enjoyable in their own ways.
Thanks to Debbie Driggers, Dennis, and Patti Hocker who provided shore support and to Jane Call who came out to visit with us. After the snorkel, many of us went to Gianni's Pizza for the traditional post-dive lunch.