We have designed boat trips to address the differing interests and experience levels of our divers and local community. Below we describe each type of trip and what can be typically expected. Note that all dives are cold water (47 – 56F) dives.
Tanks are provided on all charters; however, you may use personal tanks if you desire (including doubles, stages, and rebreathers). Our onboard compressor provides CLEAN air and NITROX (~32%) fills to 3400psi. Air quality meets or exceeds O2 clean standards and will not compromise the integrity of an oxygen-cleaned cylinder. Learn more about the Cypress Sea.
$75
These trips are designed for more laid-back diving. They feature a later departure time, shorter boat rides, less aggressive dive sites, and fewer people everywhere. They are ideally suited to divers seeking cold water diving experiences, an introduction to boat diving in Monterey, and beautiful dive sites with a max depth of 60 ft or less.
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2-Dive: $88
3-Dive: $105
These trips are designed for divers with more experience and training. Two-dive trips depart at 8:00AM, three-dive trips at 7:00AM. Weather allowing, we travel around the point into Carmel Bay to sites with depths in the 75 to 90 foot range. Divers enjoy these sites because they are virtually inaccessible from shore, featuring diverse terrains and world class diving.
Preparation Level: At least 15 dives (4 within the last 12 months, some in cold water), boat and deep diving training, solid buoyancy control, ease at executing safety stops and solid navigation skills. Advanced diver certification is recommended.
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$165
These are the most advanced trips offered on a routine basis in the Monterey area. Divers aboard these trips are typically the most seasoned divers in our area and are willing to make the up to two hour trip each way to access untouched, natural sites that can have stunning marine life and visibility. While it does not occur on all our trips, some Big Sur trips have had visibility of 100 feet or more comparable to Caribbean waters. (It is still cold, however.) The dive profiles for this trip are aggressive. Depths range 80-150 ft for the first dives, and 60-100 ft for the second and third dives.
Preparation: Due to the nature of the trip, diver skills must be excellent; exceeding the level required for Carmel trips (see above). At least 30 cold water dives and Nitrox certifications are recommended.
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Open Water Training Dives: These skill and confidence building trips can be used to complete dives 3 & 4 in the open water training requirements, while also providing boat diving experience. We keep the travel time to a minimum and pick sites that offer interesting physical structure and marine life in depths not to exceed 60 feet. These trips often are also used by many of the excellent dive stores in Northern California as part of their training because the trips are so much fun!
Advanced training dives are also available to complete the deep dive and boat dive requirements. These dives will feature locations with an 80-100 ft max depth for the first dive and 60 ft or less for the second dive.
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All standard charters can be booked wholesale by individuals, dive shops, clubs and any other organization.
The Cypress Sea is the fastest and one of the most seaworthy vessels operating out of Monterey. Our vessel has a large open-spaced deck that can accomodate up to 20 divers. This ample space also makes the vessel ideal for divers with special needs.
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The Cypress Sea can be outfitted to handle most research projects including the launching and retrieval of AUV/ROV's. Our main cabin display provides real-time bathymetry.
Nitrox is available on every charter to maximize available bottom time for fish counts and reef assessments.
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