Revision 11/19/2012 9:21 AM by Greg
Cannery Park (also called San Carlos Beach) is just West of
the Breakwater dive site. This is a nice place for a second dive, and to get
away from the crowd at Breakwater. The dive area is mainly sandy, so expect to
see the occasional Halibut. In Monterey, heading West on Del Monte, bear right onto
Lighthouse Ave, then bear right onto Foam St. Make a right onto Cannery Row.
Metridium fields have become our default dive for San Carlos
Beach/Breakwater. We’ve found that the worse the visibility, the more Metridium
are out. Find the large pipe just north of the bathrooms and pump house. There
are several small pipes that could mislead you. The big one is probably 2+ feet
in diameter. Once you’ve found the pipe follow it out until its end. Then, take
a heading directly at magnetic north and you should reach the metridium within
50-100 feet. We’ve seen lots of sea-life along the pipe... many rockfish,
halibut (some several feet long), seals, otters, many nudibranchs.
This is always a long swim. I took the scooter on the first
one and followed the large pipe out to Metridium Fields. Good viz and no surge.
Saw several Sea Nettles and got to photograph them. We decided not to follow
the pipe back in. Instead we took a heading to bring us closer to the
breakwater when we surfaced. It’s a long way but we hit our target. The swim
out and back is what makes this a tougher dive. Watch your air it goes fast. I
use a steel 120 and that gives me a lot more time out there.
http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/USA_West/CalN/Cannery_Park/index.htm