Posted by Eric S on December 30, 2004 at 20:37:29:
Here are the dates for the 2005 North Coast Dive Party.
August 11th thru 14th, 2005
At Ocean Cove Campground.
Email me for info at: sedletzky at sonic dot net (convert to correct format-duh)
Or call (707) 538-1276 (Pacific Coast Marine Office)
This is going to be another great shindig!!!
It is the 4th annual already!
I picked Ocean Cove for a change because there is some killer diving right in very close proximity to the campground. A lot of it is kayakable and as usual my boat and several others will be there.
The game hunting is very good and the whole coastline is very rugged for miles offering the best in adventure/exploration in scuba. There are plenty of very good ab coves and overall I think this area is a little wilder and more remote than Mendo.
Ocean Cove is a private campground that is not as improved as say Vandamme but there is TONS of room and they basically let you do what you want. 98% of the campers there are divers and their families so I have never seen any trouble as far as typical A-holes that you may encounter at "other" campgrounds.
Downside: Airfills are a little further, all the way to Bodega Bay to a very small shop called Bodega Bay Pro Dive. Or, someone makes the trip into Santa Rosa to Pinnacles and gets everything filled. The other option of course is to bring an entire arsenal of tanks and milk every last drop of air from them on each and every dive.
The boat ramp is a very steep and tricky dirt road down to a gravel beach that has several hazardous rocks sticking up around where you launch. This means that it is a half tide or higher launch. That is why I picked that particular weekend in August 'cause the tides are the mildest. I have seen people launching everything from small inflatables up to 26 foot fiberglass salmon boats with no problems. A 4 wheel drive is strongly advised. If you don't mind say some of the remote areas down in Baja this would be similar.
The nice thing about this spot is that it offers a lot more freedom than the state park system and they do have great group sites. Everybody could be together for once instead of being spread all over.
Gerstle cove reserve is very close by too and Point Arena is also within reach. Arena Rock anyone?