california
monterey bay national marine sanctuary attracts more than 65,000 divers
each year from around the world. scuba diving magazine has rated
monterey as the best beach dive in the nation, and i am lucky enough to
have it within a couple of hours drive!
there are over 60 dive
spots, with many right along cannery row downtown, including breakwater
and macabee beach (left). breakwater beach is excellent for night
dives.
just south of cannery row are more great spots including lover's cove and monastery beach. monastery beach has a steep wall that is a great place for deep dives over 100 feet, but can be a little intimidating in low visibility conditions.
there are also dive sites accesible only by day dive boat, including the outer pinnacles and aumentos. my monterey dives are included on my logged dives page.
monterey bay is full of diverse life including beautiful fish, sea stars, sea anenomes, sea cucumbers, otters, harbor seals, sea lions, dolphins, eels, sharks, rays and much more.
monterey bay's beautiful kelp forests, pinnacles and underwater canyons are among the best i've ever seen. the only downfalls to monterey are its sometimes poor visibilities and cold water conditions (50-54 degrees F in the winter and up to 60 degrees F in the summer). if you catch monterey on a high visibility day and have plenty of neoprene or a dry suit to keep you warm, you will quickly fall in love with monterey as much as i have.
the channel island chain (below) stretches from just off the coast of santa barbara along the southern california coast. the channel islands national marine sanctuary consists of san miguel, santa cruz, santa rosa, anacapa and santa barbara islands. the islands just south of the channel islands are san nicolas, santa catalina, and san clemente. chumash indians lived on these islands for nearly 6,000 years until the early 19th century. the islands are now a protected marine sanctuary and a delicate ecosystem for a wide variety wildlife.
the
channel islands contain a diversity of marine life ranging from microscopic
plankton to the endangered blue whale, the largest animal on earth. inhabitants
include dolphins, whales, seals, flying fish and more than 25 species
of sharks. the channel islands are also a popular site for lobster hunting.
one of my favorite fish common to the islands is the garibaldi (right).
the channel islands are usually accesible to divers only by live-a-board boat. my channel islands dives are included on my logged dives page. more pictures of fish, coral, etc. from this dive site can be viewed from my snapfish.com underwater pictures page.
the cortes banks is located 100 miles west of san diego and 40 miles southwest of san clemente island. it is a mountain ridge under the ocean that, at areas, comes within 20 feet of the surface.
this dive spot should be reserved for advanced divers - it is often swept by strong open ocean currents and swells, and significant surge can even be experienced at 100 foot depths! it is sometimes impossible to get to if the weather conditions are less than desirable, but divers who experience this site can find few other sites to compete with the cortes banks.
the
cortes banks is a lobster hunters' dream (left) for those who know
where to look and can brave the depths.
underwater naturalists will find this site among the best with visibilites approaching 100 feet and marine life that exists only in the open ocean. huge numbers of tuna, large schools of baitfish, large rafts of sea lions, and the occasional shark are only a few of what can be seen here.
wreck divers also enjoy the abalonia, lying in 40 feet of water and spread over 175 feet. penetration of the wreck is reserved for the extremely experienced and only in pristine conditions.
the cortes banks is accesible to divers only by live-a-board boat. my cortes banks dives are included on my logged dives page.
australia
the great barrier reef is the largest stucture on the planet built by living organisms. it stretches along the east coast of queensland, and is the world's largest coral reef at over 1250 miles long! it actually consists of more than 2800 coral reefs
the
great barrier reef is home to 1500 species of fish, 400 different types
of coral, 400 molluscs (like the giant clam - left), 500 species
of seaweed, 16 species of sea snake, 6 species of sea turtle, and migrating
whales. resident sharks include white tips, grey and silver tip whalers,
leopard sharks, thresher sharks and schooling hammerheads.
the
great barrier reef is accesible to divers by day
dive boat (right), live-a-board boat, and by air. my
great barrier dives are included on my logged
dives page. a video on the great barrier reef by national geographic
can be viewed here.
florida
SCUBA diving off the florida keys (below) offers access to the third largest reef in the world! the water temperature in the florida keys is in the mid-70s in winter, and mid to upper 80s in summer. the sea conditions are considerably rougher in the winter months as well. on my trip, half of my dives were cancelled due to rough conditions! map courtesy of flkeysdiving, an informative site on diving the keys.
another highlight of the florida keys are the easily accessible ship wrecks. unfortunately, the rough conditions made it impossible for me to dive these sites. the wrecks in the tavernier area include: the U.S. coast guard cutter duane, bibb, spiegel grove and the eagle.
the
florida keys have some of the most beautiful and colorful fish i've seen.
a few common fish are the porkfish (left) and blue-striped grunt
(right).
the florida keys are accesible to divers by day dive boat. my florida keys dives are included on my logged dives page. more pictures of fish, coral, etc. from this dive site can be viewed from my snapfish.com underwater pictures page.
