boat owners,anchoring off catalia island to dive

[saintsfan]

i have a small cabin cruiser and have taken it to catalina island many times but have never anchored to dive. I plan on doing some boat in camping to get some extended diving trips in but am concerned about leaving my boat anchored while under or over night as to how bad the current might be in areas of descent diving, i have come across some pretty strong currents on regular dive boats and i dont want my boat to beat me back to the mainland.any tips or tricks or locations would be appreciated. as of now i have a fair amount of chain and plan on using bow and stern anchors.

 

[LowTide]

I would think if you are in a sheltered cove you would be ok, especially with 2 anchors. Sorry I can't answer your questions, but if you need someone to go with to help out and dive, be sure to let me know

 

[TerryG]

Yo saintsfan,
I have gone over to catalina many many times. I have an 20' runabout that I anchor and dive. The method I use is to anchor is getting your bow into the kelp lower anchor in the rocky section. Back out of the kelp toss your current line or stern anchor out into the sand. Then decend on anchor line and make sure the anchor is wedged into a nice hole to prevent it coming out. Now the trick is remembering to come back up the anchor line so you can pull the anchor out of the hole and put it somewhere so that you can pull it up with ease. If doing multi dives at same location then just remember to come up anchor on the last dive
Also I have dove just about every spot frontside and backside. I have never lost my boat or had an anchor slip do to current or more so the wind when it kicks up.

 

[saintsfan]

Yo saintsfan,
I have gone over to catalina many many times. I have an 20' runabout that I anchor and dive. The method I use is to anchor is getting your bow into the kelp lower anchor in the rocky section. Back out of the kelp toss your current line or stern anchor out into the sand. Then decend on anchor line and make sure the anchor is wedged into a nice hole to prevent it coming out. Now the trick is remembering to come back up the anchor line so you can pull the anchor out of the hole and put it somewhere so that you can pull it up with ease. If doing multi dives at same location then just remember to come up anchor on the last dive
Also I have dove just about every spot frontside and backside. I have never lost my boat or had an anchor slip do to current or more so the wind when it kicks up.

any dive spots that you can recommend that are better suited for small boats,have you ever done any boat in camping and dove from the campsites

 

[pasley]

If you observe the recommended anchor line (scope) to depth ratio of at least 7 times the distance from the deck to the ocean bottom you should have no problems. http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/boating/7_4.htm

My friend has never had any problems being anchored in Catalina. Just put out plenty of anchor line.

 

[TerryG]

Yo Saintsfan,
For camping any cove in the preserve is great diving and fun. Emerald bay is right next Indian Rock (great dive) and it has moorings. If you want a simple sheltered cove, I suggest any coves west of Isthmus are great. Just be careful on the points (Blue Cavern and Long point) both tend to have stronger currents and are subject to the dreaded Catalina Express wakes. (big wakes) LOL... And yes be sure to leave slack on anchor..