Casino Pt. midweek May 18/19?

[davidbaraff]

I'm likely going to be on Catalina on Monday/Tuesday May 18/19 (that's a Monday/Tuesday). I'm wondering what the odds are of finding someone who wants to just do a basic dive or two at Casino Point (nothing strenuous, 50-70' max depth), on a non-weekend day at that time of year?

I've never been there before, but will be myself. If that doesn't work out, I guess I could sign up for a boat dive, but don't know if they'll get enough people for that either at that time of year.

Any thoughts?

 

[davidbaraff]

Sorry, meant "will be there by myself." I.e. no dive buddy.

 

[fnfalman]

Our Catalina Island resident Dr. Bill may be able to help you.

Worst come to worst, go solo. There isn't a lot of kelps at Casino Point so you don't have to worry too much about entanglement if you stay away from them.

 

[ligersandtions]

Worst come to worst, go solo. There isn't a lot of kelps at Casino Point so you don't have to worry too much about entanglement if you stay away from them.

Sorry, but I think that's really bad advice to give someone with 0-24 dives.


David, it's hard to say if people will be available mid-May when it's mid-March right now. Odds are that most people will be working on a Monday and Tuesday, but you never know....some people may be lucky enough to have a day off or not have to work, but many will not know right now.

Is there any way you'd be available on Sunday? I'm sure there are multiple people (me included) who would be available and willing to take you out. Either way, hopefully you'll be able to work something out!

 

[fnfalman]

Sorry, but I think that's really bad advice to give someone with 0-24 dives.

Oops, didn't notice that.

The alternative is to hire a guide from Catalina Divers Supply.

 

[davidbaraff]

It's ok -- the number is closer to 24 than zero. And truth be told, I did a solo dive in Monterey, at Coral Street -- max depth was about 20', and though I was buddyless, there were people up on shore watching me, plus it was utterly calm. I actually did consider solo'ing at Casino Point, but my wife would probably shoot me... Plus, I think soloing for a 20-30' dive is fine, not sure how I'd feel about being solo deeper than that though.

If I do end up showing up Saturday so I can go on Sunday, I'll definitely let you all know.

One last question -- if you do boat dives in Catalina, how would you say the swells compare with, say Kaui? I did a bunch of boat dives in Kaui by Molokini and was fine. I did a dive in Monterey on a pretty calm day, and felt somewhat queasy after the first dive (no meds either time). Just trying to determine if I should think about meds for boat diving in Catalina. [Someone told me they think neck constriction of a 7mm for a few hours is a contributing factor, compared with pretty much zero constriction from a very light 3mm suit in Hawaii.]

 

[davidbaraff]

DUh, I mean Maui, not Kaui. It's a long boat trip from Kaui to Molokini... (Though I did boat dives in Kaui too without issue.) So far, the only place I wasn't completely happy was Monterey, and I'm trying to figure out why. The sea sure didn't look much rougher than it did in Hawaii...

 

[fnfalman]

The surges and waves are all dependent on the general weather, of course. It's rather hard to predict but most of the time, the weather is fairly amenable. I go out twice a month off various boats and I can count rough seas on one hand. We had one cancelled dive due to massive Santa Ana wind once and that was it.

Just keep updating us with your available dates. I'm sure that one or two of us can accomodate you. Mid May is too far for me to plan right now, but maybe late April I'll know better.

I also go solo a few times too. Just have to be real conservative, that's all. Although I do know the areas that these boats visit well and I know the local conditions well. You don't, so it's probably not a good plan to go solo even at an innocuous place as Casino Point.

 

[Scubagolf]

I'm in a similar situation. I have never dived Catalina before and I will be diving there on Monday and Tuesday, April 20th and 21st. I am hiring a local dive guide for Monday and then I will be diving Tuesday on a local dive boat.