A healthy alternative to Black Friday shopping insanity

Are you an American or ex-pat living Down Under? If you still celebrate Thanksgiving, do you wait all year to shop the following day on what's affectionately known as "Black Friday"? Are you counting the days when you’ll fight the crowds to have a tug-of-war with fellow shoppers over holiday gifts for your family?

Well, one group of California divers is trying to turn the tide, skipping the wanton consumerism to celebrate a new holiday with a healthy alternative –– going scuba diving.
They call it “Blue Friday” and it’s become a holiday with its own slogan: “Don’t Shop. Dive.”

Embracing a New Holiday Tradition.

Since 2021, Marin Scuba Club and the Dive Club of Silicon Valley, both in Northern California, USA, have been embracing Blue Friday, the brainchild of Ken Carter of Mill Valley, CA.
“I was inspired by REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc) closing all of its 186 stores the day after Thanksgiving,” he says.

That’s why the members of both of these clubs have been giving back to the Earth by skipping the plastic consumerism and going diving at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve in Carmel-by-the-Sea
–– America’s first underwater reserve –– and located within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Often called “The crown jewel of the California State Park System”, Point Lobos gained renown from world-class photographers like Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. Francis McComas, a landscape painter, said it was “The greatest meeting of land and water in the world.”

How Blue Friday Started.

“It started as an excuse to take my son, who had just gotten his Open Water certification, diving in California waters throughout the year,” adds Ken. “I woke up one morning and booked all of the reservations at Point Lobos in 2021. Because we had such a great time with excellent visibility and virtually no other divers, we decided to launch a second annual trip in 2022.”
Fall can be the peak time to dive Monterey Bay and other California waters. The crowds are gone, the fish are not, and the water clarity can be the best of the year.

Blue Friday typically lasts until Bluer Saturday, but can carry on all the way to Bluest Sunday, especially if your extended family is in town.


Blue Friday 2022 Update.

Last fall, 11 divers (3 from Marin Scuba Club and 8 more from Dive Club of Silicon Valley) joined in the festivities for the second annual Blue Friday.
“The King Tides and a massive surge led to a sporty entry and exit at the boat ramp,” reports Ken. “In fact, at high tide, the surge pushed waves up into the parking lot. The viz was highly variable as well. Inside Whaler’s Cove, visibility dropped to less than 10 feet, and was a total green out in certain spots. Outside the cove and below 30 feet, the viz was quite good, greater than 25 feet. I got to dive with my two-hose regulator. The tide was so low in the afternoon that one could walk out to the rocks at Breakwater middle reef.”

Typically, the marine life in the reserve is large and plentiful. The divers were treated to rockfish, kelpfish, and a small herd of sheepshead fish. However, sadly, the urchins have found the preserve and there are small urchin barrens in the deeper water.

Join Us on Friday, November 24 –– Wherever You Dive in California or Beyond.

For Ken, the concept of Blue Friday was not just about connecting with his son. It was about showing that the best things in life don’t come in wrapping paper and the importance of preserving the oceans for future generations.
Besides that, shore diving is a perfect opportunity to work off your big Thanksgiving meal and see spectacular underwater scenery. Had enough of tinsel and fake Christmas trees? You’re better off taking in 70-foot-high kelp forests (where they haven’t been decimated by ravenous purple sea urchins), bright orange Garibaldi, rockfish, cod, octopuses, nudibranchs, and crustaceans.

This year, the group is also planning a second day of diving on Saturday, November 25. If weather conditions are calm, there is some interest in a two-tank boat dive on Sunday, November 26.

Ken had been planning to celebrate his Blue Friday through Bluest Sunday in Maui with his son and daughter this year, so it would be a cross-Pacific Ocean event. But he’s pushed that trip off until New Year’s to dive in the Carmel/Monterey area.

If you want to join us for Blue Friday 2023, or Bluer Saturday and Bluest Sunday, we’ll see you down at Point Lobos. Reservations in advance are required and limited to 10 teams of divers per day; each permit is for two divers. Everyone must have a dive buddy.

Organize Your Own Blue Friday Event.

But if you don’t live near the Monterey Peninsula in California, we invite you to organize your own Blue Friday celebrations down by the water near you. Better yet, create your own social media event and celebrate this holiday now –– and in the future.
Wherever you are, warm water or cold, great viz or limited, wet suit or dry suit, please promote this dive to your club and buddies, join us virtually at your favorite dive site, and post about it on social media.

With your help, Blue Friday can become an evergreen holiday event.

Contact gil@zeimer.com for more information.