Gerstle Cove

This is my most reliable dive site on the Sonoma coast. When its too rough anywhere else to dive, this cove is the only place to get in. On a calm day, it's like a pond. Since the cove is a reserve, I usually do photography here. Visibility tends to be better here than most. Blue rockfish hide under the bull kelp canopy. Invertebrates are everywhere! I've seen more nudibranch here than anywhere else on the North Coast. Sea stars and urchins look like they have been dumped out of buckets across the bottom. Huge abalone sit boldly on the rocks. Be careful of urchins on the bottom and kayakers on the surface. If you want to hunt/pick abalone, there are several coves just to the north and south which are outside the preserve, though they are less protected from the surf.