Breakwater (Beginner)

Anyone who learned to dive in this area, probably did so at Breakwater. On some summer weekends, you can find up to 100+ divers in the water with 15-20 dive floats used for training. Breakwater sometimes gets a bad rap for two basic reasons: 1) it is a training site, so it is considered a "baby" pool by some folks, and 2) people tend to dive in the "wrong" places - like in the sand next to the bathrooms. I have met many new divers who give up on Monterey and Carmel because they "never see anything cool". When interviewed about where they dive, they often describe diving in the sand next to the bathrooms at Breakwater!

Breakwater Location
Underwater Site Map


Image Legend:   Red     - generally uninteresting unless you like sand or surgy rocks.
                         Yellow - better diving but tends to have less fish and invertebrates
                          Green  - best diving at the site

Be aware that the photos "compress" distances as you go from shore to the open ocean. It may appear that there is little good diveable area (green), but that is only because of its distance from shore in the picture.


View from the Steps at the Top of the Parking Lot                                                                          

Generally, the best diving is along the wall. The good diving does not begin until the wall makes its right hand turn. Swim all the way to the turn before dropping down next to the kelp. The water depth (depending on the tide) is only 15-25 feet. The best dive is out along the bottom of the wall at 40 feet, and returning at 20 feet depth in the kelp along the upper part of the wall.

If you dive the kelp beds to the left, make sure you get far enough out from shore -- at least past the bathrooms. The near shore is rocky and there's little to see. The hold fasts in the outer kelp are few and far between, so finding interesting structure can be tough if the visibility is low. If the viz is 30+, the kelp beds to the left can be a great dive. Just keep a look out into the distance for the ghostly appearance of the pinnacles with their kelp communities. Swim between these "islands" of kelp while keeping an eye out in the sand for flatfish and the occasional harbor seal or sea lion zooming through.