Just off the Coast Guard Breakwater, at the north end of Cannery Row, back in the summer. I've just slipped into the water from my kayak.It's Monterey Bay, so I do have a hood. Too cold otherwise, despite the thick head of hair. Actually, on this particular day I am using a squid lid, not a regular hood, but it's enough for about an hour or so of free diving. I'm wearing the surfing wetsuit, the 4/3, so I'll be lucky to last that hour anyway. Still, wearing the surfing wetsuit means that I can really swim, that I have freedom of movement that my other, thicker wetsuits just don't allow, so I'm very happy despite the early chill in store. I can swim, I can swim, I can swim: yes, sometimes I feel that exuberant, that childish, that child-like.
Here, clearing and refitting my mask. I've pulled the neoprene cap back to get a proper seal with the mask. After that's in place, I pull the lid back into position, and then I slide under the water to see what can be seen. Love my kelp-diving, I do.
Slight wind; check the rippling surface. Visibility underwater less than ten feet, unfortunately. Air temps in the mid-to-upper 60s at best; water temps, mid-50s. Got wet and salty: all good.
