Originally posted by MTY Freediver
Anyone have any thoughts on the high death toll at this site?
As a longtime local diver, fan of and survivor of Monastery, I'm going to put the blame square on the Instructors/shops that take their open water classes there for the final final, when the weather permits.
After passing the rudiments of the course, the divers know only two places- the Breakwater and Monastery. And seeing as how the Breakwater is nowhere near as nice and potentially intersesting as Monastery, they jump there. "...Gee, it's only a little bigger than the day we went out..." The two are worlds apart in every respect and it's that respect that Monastery isn't given by the neophytes. New divers have no business being there and even for experienced types it's a no-bullshit area for entry/exits. The steep drop just off the beach makes the place one that I tell newbies to try sans gear excepting their weightbelts to get a feel for the place.
I've collected a lot of gear there in the past following a weekend filled with classes and sunk 6 feet worth of fiberglass paddleboard there by not paying attention and the number of times I've waded in to help someone buggered in the lineup is as long.