On the warm afternoon of Aug 19, Dan W, David S, Jim D, Mark J, and I slogged through traffic to San Carlos Beach. We were joined by Gary H, who had already done two dives earlier in the day at Monastery Beach with Reef Checkers, and he brought along fellow Reef Checker Ryan who was visiting from SoCal.
Due to traffic the dives started later than originally scheduled. We split up into two buddy groups. For the first dive, Dan, Mark, and Ryan had not been to the Metridium Fields, so Jim and Gary gave them navigational advice and they were in the water by 6pm. Demonstrating excellence as navigators, the trio made it to the Metridium Fields on their first try. Hopefully Dan or Mark will share the details of that dive. Jim and I (David) opted to scout out the wall and see how it changes from dusk to night. For the second dive Dan, Gary, Mark, and Ryan got back into the water after sunset, while Jim and I followed about 45 - 60 minutes later. In fact their group passed under Jim and me while we were swimming out and they were coming back in.
The water was incredibly placid and flat, perhaps a storm effect due to Hurricane Hilary hitting SoCal. Visibility was 10-12 ft, though morning divers reported 15-20 ft further out. Water temperature was 61 degrees F at the surface and no colder than 57 degrees F at the max depths of 45 ft. The first dusk dive along the wall was 1hr 20min, we saw lots of fish feeding, several rainbow nudibranchs feeding on tube anemones, a cormorant that attacked Jim's fins, and a smattering of crabs. The second dive lasted 1hr and started well after the sun had set, and with nary any moonlight the wall was crawling with crabs of all shapes and sizes (and also climbing on kelp, as Gary advised we keep an eye out for), many more rainbow nudibranchs munching on and laying eggs on anemones, and even an octopus on the sandbed.
Jim and I got out of the water at approximately 10:30pm and started to put away gear for the long drive home. While none in the group decided to stay the night, Jane offered great resources for camping in the area. Fortunately everyone made it back home safely.
Seeing the night denizens take over the familiar Breakwater is an incredible experience, and highly recommended for club members of all experiences. Anyone up for a night dive at Monastery Beach next time? (editor: I'm game - It's amazing!)