Best west coast diving?

[Glycerin]

If you like wrecks I would head to San Diego. We have several wrecks in the 70-135 foot range.

San Diego

The Yukon and Hogan are great dives.

There is also the P38 that sits at about 128-135 fsw depending on the tide.

 

[FishNut]

Beach dives out here can still be great dives if not difficult sometimes but he's only got two days, let's not tire him out after the first day!

Ok fine we wont tire him out

 

[SeaHound]

thanks Claudette, you nailed it.

Seahound - here is my video from diving the Grace 2 years ago:

California - diving the Oil Platform Grace, Aug 2006 on Vimeo

Amazing dive and great vid!

 

[Ben_ca]

Hello all,

Id like to come to West coast to dive. Can anyone give their recommendations on where West coast diving is at its best? I am interested mostly in wrecks and deeper dives (70 - 130 ft) but other suggestions are also welcome since I dont know what that area has to offer.

Thanks

Monterey has plenty of shore dives that reach that depth within a not too far kick... Better yet if you have a scooter...

Check out MoCal DIR - Diving in Monterey, California for a sample of the diving we do over here... Look at the dive site map and the bathemetry and you'll see it's quite easy to get deep around here.... But to me what I like the most is the structure... with scooters you can really appreciate the UW geography as you zoom to and fro exploring al the canyons and peaks.

 

[dannobee]

If you want a challenge come to So. Cal and do beach diving .

We'll take him to Monastery Beach if he wants a challenge.

But seriously, there is so much to see on the "west coast" that you'd be hard pressed to even scratch the surface in two months worth of diving, much less two days.

Think about what you want to see and we'll help you out. Oh, and the state is pretty big, you could easily spend your time DRIVING to dive sites.

Wrecks get pretty beat up here and don't last long. Also, there aren't sand bars to ground ships on out here like on the east coast, so there aren't many wrecks further out. 20-30 miles out in the open ocean here can put you in 17,000 ft of water.

 

[dpbishop]

Hard to beat the Channel Islands. The kelp beds are an incredible ecosystem, and at the islands you can usually get much better visibility than on the coast. Ship Rock at the Isthmus on Catalina is, IMHO, one of the best dives in the world. I never tire of it.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Lots of good info here already.

Channel Islands are excellent.

The Yukon is a fun wreck dive here in San Diego. A lot of dive boats will do the second dive of the day in the Point Loma Kelp beds.

I would also have to recommend Scripps Canyon in the La Jolla area -- the best shore dive I've ever done! It can be done off of a dive boat, too. Lots of nudibranchs to see...and swell sharks wedged into crevices in the wall. On a good vis day (50+ ft), you can see both sides of Sumner branch and the walls are beautiful.

When the conditions are right (in the month of August), La Jolla Cove (max depth 45 fsw) can be a lot of fun. Soupfin/toupe sharks, giant sea bass, and playful seals...all on the same dive.

Good luck with the trip planning.

 

[Clammy]

We'll take him to Monastery Beach if he wants a challenge.

But seriously, there is so much to see on the "west coast" that you'd be hard pressed to even scratch the surface in two months worth of diving, much less two days.

Think about what you want to see and we'll help you out. Oh, and the state is pretty big, you could easily spend your time DRIVING to dive sites.

Wrecks get pretty beat up here and don't last long. Also, there aren't sand bars to ground ships on out here like on the east coast, so there aren't many wrecks further out. 20-30 miles out in the open ocean here can put you in 17,000 ft of water.

I did monastery back in May for the first time, not really as difficult as people made it out to be.. BUT I still have monster berries that pop out of my gear to this day!!!!!!!

 

[Sam Maghsoodloo]

I've gotta rep san diego a little bit after reading this thread To add to what bubble trouble was saying, the site he's talking about is in the La Jolla Ecological Reserve, which has a few really good dive spots with wildlife density you can't really find in non-protected waters. Vis is often not great (10ft) for shore dives, but i hear the Yukon out in wreck alley is a breathtaking site, and bigger than you can imagine.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I've gotta rep san diego a little bit after reading this thread To add to what bubble trouble was saying, the site he's talking about is in the La Jolla Ecological Reserve, which has a few really good dive spots with wildlife density you can't really find in non-protected waters. Vis is often not great (10ft) for shore dives, but i hear the Yukon out in wreck alley is a breathtaking site, and bigger than you can imagine.

It's great to see other San Diego folks here on the board! To clarify, the not-so-great vis that Sam's talking about is usually limited to dives at La Jolla Cove and La Jolla Shores. La Jolla Cove is really hit-or-miss in the kelp. I've done many dives there with less than 10 ft vis. La Jolla Shores is used by classes a lot because of the long shoreline, manageable surf, shower facilities, and soft grassy area for pre-/post-dive gear assembly/disassembly. The vis at the Shores averages 10-15 ft. During the summer, however, the vis can get up to 30-40ft.

The vis at Scripps Canyon (a little farther north) is typically better than that -- 20-25 feet at depth. About a month ago, I did a dive at Scripps where the vis was 40ft at depth (110fsw).

Unfortunately, it's pretty difficult to plan a San Diego vacation to coincide with good visibility conditions. FWIW, I think August is probably the best month for diving in the San Diego area.