September's club dive at Point Pinos was attended by eight divers and three people on the beach. Debbie and Lori & Juan watched keys, supported with zip ups, and watche red out for us all in amd out of the water.
We showed up at Point Pinos a little before 8:30 to assess conditions. We decided that it looked good for us to try some exploratory dives and we made two different dive plans. Oliver, Derek, and Sophia headed out on a dive at Point Pinos (when you stand at the corner to the left side) and reported some bull kelp and lots of fish. Jim, David H., and Lindsay went to the right side in the direction of a large kelp bed, to the site name Sewers. After a surface swim to the kelp bed, we were greeted by otters and harbor seals coming to check us out at very close distance. The kelp bed was the thickest I've been in, and it had so much beauty to show. I had to remind myself to keep looking up, and was rewarded by views of otters diving for food and curious seals. It was honestly one of my favorite dives in a long time. The exit was close to high tide and a little rough, but other good buddies were there to support the exit. Jane and new member Kirsten joined in and tried out some new gear in the Point Pinos cove area and it was Jane's first dive in a long time, happy to have her back in the water again.
Oliver, Derek, and Sophia decided on a second dive because they wanted to check out the Sewers side and unfortunately the timing was during all the otters post-lunch rest so they did not report the same encounters as the first group but still got to enjoy the kelp forest. The rest of us decided one dive was perfect for the day and we wanted to enjoy the beach too. Jim gave me a tutorial on how to use my compass, I'm a slow learner but I'm trying to get it.
Groups reported visibility around 10-20 feet throughout various parts of the dive at temperatures around a warm 58 degrees. My depth at its deepest was 43ft with an average of 30ft at Sewers.
After the dives, Lindsay (Lori & Juan) and Jane went to check out the open house going on at Hopkins Research Station. To cap off the day, Lindsay, Lori, and Juan tried out a new restaurant called Vivolo's Chowder House just a few blocks away from Gianni's Pizza. I would recomed the group to try out this spot some time.