Dive spots for beginners near California

[AnthonyLM]

Hi,

My daughter (10) and I are getting certified next month. For her spring break in April we are heading to Maui and I have a couple of boat dives planned already. I would love some suggestions of areas that you would recommend for us. We live in North CA in the San Francisco Bay Area. I know Monterey is just a couple hours drive away and that’s where we will do our open water certification. My goal is get some dives under our belt to get more experience which would open the door to more exotic locations and dives in the years to come. Having a school aged child, our opportunities to travel for a dive are generally 1 week in April and 2 months in the Summer. We already have a trip planned to Oahu in the Summer so I would look for dive options there and from some research it looks like Kona has some great dive spots.

Any advice on the best way to get more dives and experience would be appreciated.

Thanks!
- Anthony

 

[saxman242]

Take a long weekend trip down to catalina

 

[Hethen57]

If you are willing to travel South a bit, the Spectre Boat out of Ventura dives all year and is a great way to get experience diving "on your own" in a relatively safe environment (and it is about 5+ degrees warmer than Monterey). The Spectre is used by a lot of OW and AOW classes for their final dives, so the anchor points are usually in about 35' of water off the Channel Islands (usually Anacapa) and you will get a nice dive briefing at each site and then get to dive your own dives. Meals, 3 dives, air fills, and only about $150 p/p + gear (they will have it waiting in your dive station if you rent from them). You will learn to be a self sufficient diver very quickly on those trips.

 

[delacrue96]

+1 for Catalina or try day trip to Channel Islands off Ventura

 

[wnissen]

It might help if you could explain a bit more about what you're looking for that you can't find in Monterey. I am still relatively new, but there is always something interesting to see in Monterey. Some places you can see sea lions, others nudibranchs, hydrocoal, meretridia, kelp, and you can pretty much go as deep as you want right from shore at Monastery. Not to knock for a moment the many great places to go that are not Monterey, but people come from all over the world to dive at that marine sanctuary. And warm-water diving is going to be comparatively easy if you've cut your teeth in colder water.

I have really enjoyed Catalina, and will be going on a trip there organized by my local dive shop.

 

[AnthonyLM]

Thank you all for the info. It does sound like S. CA will be a cost effective way to get some dives in. @wnissen I really have no issue with Monterey as I have no experience diving there other than I've been told numerous times it's going to be cold. I will find out next month for myself one way or another

 

[Trailboss123]

Concur with @Hethen57 regarding diving the Channel Islands out of Ventura. The Spectre is a great boat and I can also highly recommend it. And as a former divemaster on The Raptor, I can also highly recommend them. They go out every Saturday and Sunday for 2 and 3 tank trips from the same Ventura harbor as the the Spectre. They have an onsite dive shop (Ventura Dive and Sport) and also rent gear, if you need it. Tanks and weights are included in the price. They use 72 and 85 cubic foot steel tanks. Your choice. A possible consideration in making a choice between the two is that the giant stride entry from the Raptor is about a 3-6 inch drop and the giant stride from the Spectre is closer to 6 feet. Getting back on to the Spectre after your dive will also be a bit more challenging. The Spectre is a much bigger boat and will be more stable and if the seas get rough and you are susceptible to sea sickness. Also, the Raptor gets you out to the island(s) and back much quicker than the Spectre.
I think the Raptor is a bit more beginner friendly, having plenty of experience on both boats.
Raptor Dive Charters: Schedule and Reservation Information

 

[wnissen]

Thank you all for the info. It does sound like S. CA will be a cost effective way to get some dives in. @wnissen I really have no issue with Monterey as I have no experience diving there other than I've been told numerous times it's going to be cold. I will find out next month for myself one way or another

Gotcha! Due to the fact that the California Current brings water from Alaska and Canada south past California, it's "cold" in the sense that wetsuits are mandatory until well south into Mexico. So no warm ocean diving within reasonable driving distance. There is some diving (so I've heard) along Baja California but my impression is that most people choose to fly a bit further to the Caribbean.

[Left out "warm" in my second to last sentence.]

 

[Shasta_man]

As someone from the same area, I call it swimming around in your ice chest. The cold is not necessarily the tough part. It's wearing 85 lbs of gear and the wetsuit, if it's not the stretch neoprene, wanting to compress you into a ball. I love all that the diving here gives and you see some amazing stuff but there is definitely a difference in how easy it is to dive compared to warm water. It is a good place to get certified though because just getting in the water has a lot of challenges and skills required.

Few things I'd point out about Monterey is you can do shore diving which is likely what you'll do when certifying. I feel it's easier to get comfortable and then move deeper. It helps to just stand up or being able to meander around in shallower water. Boat diving is fine but when you step off the boat, you are swimming to move everywhere. You've got a few extra skills in there as well from giant stride to getting back on bobbing boat and trying not to fall down in your gear while walking back to your spot. Note being on a boat, you could get some effect from that. YMMV but the two have their pros and cons.

Two things I recommend paying money for even if you don't intend to do much cold water diving: a good pair of cold water gloves and a stretch neoprene type of hood. The gloves are a requirement for the cold alone let alone the abrasive things you may have to encounter. They keep the water warmed in your body to circulate around in the wetsuit otherwise you pump cold water in. A good fitting pair of gloves is essential too for adjusting stuff like your mask under your hood. The stretch type of neoprene is much superior to the standard neoprene hood. It's more flexible, easier to get on, keeps you warmer by fitting more snugly and doesn't tear your hair out when you try to take it off.

As for your future dives in Hawaii, pay attention to what the dive guide says. Don't do a "trust me" dive but listen for any tips or directions they give. It's warm water but it's still the ocean.

<<5+ degrees warmer>> had to chuckle at that because it's a positive move but still cold!

 

[runsongas]

southern california is not much warmer, only the southern channel islands or san diego in summer really. for a child, getting a small tank like an al40/lp45/lp50 is an option for breakwater shore diving and make gear weight easier to handle. or just do the April week in socal.