Casino Pt vs boat dive

[webjr]

We are looking forward to spending another week on Catalina in June and will definitely spend several days diving the park again. If we set aside a day to go out on one of the boats, will we see critters not found in the park? Is it really worth $$$ to spend a day on a boat? Especially considering we'd spend as much in one day on a boat as 4 days in the park costs! I wouldn't mind spending extra $$$ if there was really something worth seeing. Any tips and recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Cheap-O Bill

 

[keithbt]

I would say it is worth the money spent to get away from the park and see some more of the island. I see alot of different critters than the park, with different attitiudes. Scuba Luv does a good job with there boat operation the couple of times i used them. Maybe meet somebody while your there and go out on there boat, ( i know its a long shot)....

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Lucky you. It's fun to have several days on the island so that you can do both diving and non-diving activities.

If you're spending a week on Catalina at Avalon, you might get the chance to dive the Valiant wreck during the middle of the week when there isn't any boat traffic. Ask the Harbormaster for permission and directions to check out the wreck. It's a fun dive. With the right compass headings, you can navigate underwater all the way back to the UW Park and burn the rest of your tank in the kelpbeds.

If you don't mind the extra expense, I'd recommend doing a dive boat at least one day during your stay. You'll see similar critters to what you might see in the UW Park. You'll see giant sea bass, sea lions, morays, several kinds of rockfish, lots of nudibranchs, etc. Last time I did a Catalina boat dive, I recall a fantastic afternoon at Middle Reef where we saw a number of leopard sharks weaving in and out of the kelp. The rays of sunshine were streaming through the kelp, and the vis was so nice it looked we were diving in an aquarium! On the first dive that trip, we saw several "gangs" of giant sea bass. Pretty neat stuff. A 3-tank dive boat experience at Scuba Luv (King Neptune) costs approx. $120 per person. At least 6 divers must reserve spots in order for the boat to make the trip.

Some of my favorite dives at Catalina are sites close to Two Harbors: Ship Rock, Bird Rock, Middle Reef, etc. If you are staying at Avalon, the only way you'll ever get to dive these sites is by going out on a dive boat.

Have a great time!

 

[jayaspock]

I have been out on the King Neptune (Scuba Luv) and did some dives closer to the 2 harbors area. You can see similar stuff but I think that the mix of things was definitely different. In my opinion it is definitely worth the money to do for one day. The underwater park is great, but there are a lot of other really cool reefs around the island and the King Neptune staff are really great.

 

[mathauck0814]

Aside from the "critter spotting" and getting away from the crowds. California day boats are some of the nicest around. Most will feed you quite well, and they offer nearly valet service. I'd highly recommend spending a day out on the water. Always a good experience.

 

[RonFrank]

We stayed the night on the Great Escape which made the $125 dive price much more reasonable as a hotel is going to run around $100 a night. So my recommendation would be to leave Catalina, spend Friday evening on the Great Escape, and do a three tank dive the next day at Catalina. Seems like a crazy way to boat dive but it's a good way to dive. I guess if your local it may not be as appealing. The boat leaves at 6:00am so sleeping on the boat removes the early rise and you can have a couple drinks the night before without worrying about driving.

The other option is the ScubaCat out of Catalina. They need 6 divers to go out and it leaves at 9-10am and costs runs $100 for 2 tanks and $125 for 3 tanks.

I have not done the Great Escape for a couple years so make sure the trip has not changed and they allow sleeping on the boat. My info on the ScubaCat is current. Whatever you do have fun!

 

[fnfalman]

Casino Point is great, but Catalina is a big island and there are plenty of better dive sites with more "critters".

 

[wilhemwild]

Oh gosh, Catalina is worth every penny to get away from Casino Point. I live on the coast here in So Cal so I often take day trips out to Catalina to dive a dive or two at casino point and then relax in Avalon. I will say that Casino Point is great, but it's always crowded. Still, if you get out to the deeper parts of the park (~90 to 100) it empty outs and reminds me of dives on other parts of the island.

Two harbors area is by none the best, I've dove the area where the Vis was 80 feet, but never had Casino Point over forty or fifty.

 

[keithbt]

[QUOTE

Two harbors area is by none the best, I've dove the area where the Vis was 80 feet, but never had Casino Point over forty or fifty.[/QUOTE]

yep, i feel the same way.....