Anybody been to Catalina recently? Temp? Vis? Thanks. eom.

[Teamcasa]

Saturday the conditions on the first dive were amazing! Close to 50'vis and 67-68 surface temp with a low of 60 at 80'.
Our second dive was still pretty good despite the number of students and instructors. Others (damn it!) spotted a pair of smaller black sea bass!

I counted 14 instructor floats by mid-day and God knows how many students. I was really happy to see so many new people getting the scuba bug.

Special thanks to my dive buddies, HisLovelyBride(Thanks Honey!), fnfalman, on_two_wheels and it always nice to see mselenaous and local Catalina expert drbill

 

[liuk3]

We were one of the lucky ones to catch the giant black seabass on Saturday! We were hanging out at 35 ft. depth in about 50 ft. of water in the dive park. We didn't try to chase after it, held our position, and it ended up swimming circles around us. Pretty cool!

 

[Teamcasa]

We were one of the lucky ones to catch the giant black seabass on Saturday! We were hanging out at 35 ft. depth in about 50 ft. of water in the dive park. We didn't try to chase after it, held our position, and it ended up swimming circles around us. Pretty cool!

I bet you did not have a video camera - they seem to be a BSB repellent!

 

[JMdiver]

I've been to Catalina 2 weekends in a row & no BSB's they just don't like me.

John

 

[fnfalman]

I guess Dave and I should have gone on that third dive after all.

 

[B.L. Justice]

I was among those 14 floats on Saturday. We had 8 new OW certified divers by the end of the day. Like someone said earlier, 50' in the morning is no exaggeration. After a bunch of students churned things up, it was still way better vis than anything you would see in Laguna Beach. Water was mid 60s warm with a noticeable dip in temp (5+ degrees) around 35-40'. About half the class had the Giant Black Sea Bass encounter, the rest of us were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In my grand book of dive adventures, I would rate yesterday as a great dive day. Likely the best Catalina dives I have had. I bet the mid-week vis this next week will be fantastic!

 

[TeqP]

My buddy and I went to Casino Point today and saw at least 2 BSB on each dive. Viz was the best on the first dive of the day which was about 50' and 66F and dropped to 58F on the SuJack. the park was kinda crowded with a lot of students. We were just watching a pair of BSB when some other divers came by waving their hands and scared off the BSB when he tried to touch it. I wish people would just be happy looking at the animals giving them their space and not trying to touch them.

Other than that idiot, it was a great time at Catlina Island.

 

[drbill]

Over the weekend vis was variable from 20 to 60 ft depending on time of day and location in the park. Min temps on my dives (ranging from 50 to 100 ft) were 58 to 65 F.

 

[drbill]

My buddy and I went to Casino Point today and saw at least 2 BSB on each dive. Viz was the best on the first dive of the day which was about 50' and 66F and dropped to 58F on the SuJack. the park was kinda crowded with a lot of students. We were just watching a pair of BSB when some other divers came by waving their hands and scared off the BSB when he tried to touch it. I wish people would just be happy looking at the animals giving them their space and not trying to touch them.

Other than that idiot, it was a great time at Catlina Island.

Whew, I wasn't that idiot... I couldn't wave my arms because I was holding the camera while I filmed the courting pair near the drop down area. Also saw two GSBs on each of my last three dives. The courting pair was a bit sad to observe and film due to the significant damage (boat prop?) to the female. However, I've seen much worse injuries including one GSB that had obviously been hit by a great white (NOT in the dive park of course).

 

[Teamcasa]

I guess Dave and I should have gone on that third dive after all.

I think you are right! But I enjoyed the day anyway.