Arnaud
Contributor
Here's the first dive report from a newly addicted diver. I had only dove in the Spanish Mediterranean until last weekend. Though I live in LA, I've always been reluctant to getting too close to the ocean. Anything below 68°F qualifies as cold as far as I'm concerned. But after looking at some of my new friends, who dive in 40°F lakes in the winter because they don't have any better nearby options, Catalina felt pretty good. And indeed it was.
First, in case you're wondering, Catalina waters are somewhat slightly warmer than the rest of the Southern California shores (www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/spac.html) . Most of the diving takes place on the Eastern side of the Island and I guess this must offer some form of protection against the chilly current we otherwise get in SoCal. Obviously, we're still pretty far from tropical temps, let alone in the winter.
Not knowing better, I bought a weekend package from Scuba Luv (www.scubaluv.com), including a round trip to and from the island, 2 nights at the Atwater hotel and 3-tank dives on Saturday and Sunday.
The trip to Catalina from Long Beach is about an hour on a very fast boat. I arrived for dinner (not much of a night life going on after 10pm) and headed straight to bed. The Atwater is a "budget" hotel. It's clean and very basic. The only real problem is paper-thin walls. They're great if you like to eavesdrop but kind of a bugger if you want to sleep early.
Met at the dive shop at 8, filled out the forms, got the gear I needed and walked to the boat. King Neptune is a big nice boat with on-board air refill and a convenient platform. About 30 divers on Saturday, 12 on Sunday. I've read a lot about big charter boats on the board. It never felt like any of the sites we went to were overcrowded. The crew was helpful to get in and out. The food, well, let's say that they take full advantage of the fact that you can eat pretty much anything eatable after diving.
We dove Sea Fan Grotto, Indian Rocks and Torqua Springs the first day. The viz below 30 feet was poor, about 10 feet, the water temp at 62°F in the morning to 66°F in the afternoon. The big mistake I made that day was diving too deep. No kelps, just rocks, and a few garibaldis. I was happy because I was diving but it felt more like a lake than an ocean.
The next day, I dove with different buddies who knew the island and what it takes to have a great time in the water. And it doesn't take much. Just not going more than 30 feet deep and spending the time, looking under each rock or hole. All the action is at a shallow depth. First, we dove Italian Garden. The water was clear, blue like the California sky, and a sweet 68°F. At some point, I turned around and saw a sea lion playing with my buddy's fins (he hadn't noticed).
Then, we went on to Church Rock, which was going to be the highlight of the day. The Southern tip of Church Rock is where to go. It just felt like being in a place that was once a dry land with a magnificent garden. Trees (kelps), green grass and red plants all over. An even more incredible blue color all over us, and all of a sudden, a big sea turtle that passed us by. We were surrounded with marine life: a lot of garibaldis (but of course), a Spanish shawl, tree fish, kelp rockfish, kelp bass, yellow tail, Salema, Neon Gobi, and many more than I could not identify.
The last dive of the day was at Garibaldi Reef, just South of Avalon. This is a shallow site with a great kelp forest. The light in the kelp forest was unbelievable. It's like being in an old Technicolor movie with rays of sunlight forcing their way through the kelps and terrific Fall-like colors. We saw what probably was a whole family (7) of lobsters, peacefully waiting for the day to go by (or someone to catch them) in a little hole, and about 10 more all over.
So, if you've read so far, it's pretty clear that it was an amazing weekend. I should add that the weather was gorgeous, in the upper 80's. All things considered, I know there are other options to dive in Southern California (a lot cheaper, too), but this was a very relaxing experience, sleeping on the island, living on the boat and in the water during the day. It cleared my head and I'm still day dreaming about it I have yet to dive in real cold water, but as I'll definitely go back to Catalina, this should happen pretty soon.
First, in case you're wondering, Catalina waters are somewhat slightly warmer than the rest of the Southern California shores (www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/spac.html) . Most of the diving takes place on the Eastern side of the Island and I guess this must offer some form of protection against the chilly current we otherwise get in SoCal. Obviously, we're still pretty far from tropical temps, let alone in the winter.
Not knowing better, I bought a weekend package from Scuba Luv (www.scubaluv.com), including a round trip to and from the island, 2 nights at the Atwater hotel and 3-tank dives on Saturday and Sunday.
The trip to Catalina from Long Beach is about an hour on a very fast boat. I arrived for dinner (not much of a night life going on after 10pm) and headed straight to bed. The Atwater is a "budget" hotel. It's clean and very basic. The only real problem is paper-thin walls. They're great if you like to eavesdrop but kind of a bugger if you want to sleep early.
Met at the dive shop at 8, filled out the forms, got the gear I needed and walked to the boat. King Neptune is a big nice boat with on-board air refill and a convenient platform. About 30 divers on Saturday, 12 on Sunday. I've read a lot about big charter boats on the board. It never felt like any of the sites we went to were overcrowded. The crew was helpful to get in and out. The food, well, let's say that they take full advantage of the fact that you can eat pretty much anything eatable after diving.
We dove Sea Fan Grotto, Indian Rocks and Torqua Springs the first day. The viz below 30 feet was poor, about 10 feet, the water temp at 62°F in the morning to 66°F in the afternoon. The big mistake I made that day was diving too deep. No kelps, just rocks, and a few garibaldis. I was happy because I was diving but it felt more like a lake than an ocean.
The next day, I dove with different buddies who knew the island and what it takes to have a great time in the water. And it doesn't take much. Just not going more than 30 feet deep and spending the time, looking under each rock or hole. All the action is at a shallow depth. First, we dove Italian Garden. The water was clear, blue like the California sky, and a sweet 68°F. At some point, I turned around and saw a sea lion playing with my buddy's fins (he hadn't noticed).
Then, we went on to Church Rock, which was going to be the highlight of the day. The Southern tip of Church Rock is where to go. It just felt like being in a place that was once a dry land with a magnificent garden. Trees (kelps), green grass and red plants all over. An even more incredible blue color all over us, and all of a sudden, a big sea turtle that passed us by. We were surrounded with marine life: a lot of garibaldis (but of course), a Spanish shawl, tree fish, kelp rockfish, kelp bass, yellow tail, Salema, Neon Gobi, and many more than I could not identify.
The last dive of the day was at Garibaldi Reef, just South of Avalon. This is a shallow site with a great kelp forest. The light in the kelp forest was unbelievable. It's like being in an old Technicolor movie with rays of sunlight forcing their way through the kelps and terrific Fall-like colors. We saw what probably was a whole family (7) of lobsters, peacefully waiting for the day to go by (or someone to catch them) in a little hole, and about 10 more all over.
So, if you've read so far, it's pretty clear that it was an amazing weekend. I should add that the weather was gorgeous, in the upper 80's. All things considered, I know there are other options to dive in Southern California (a lot cheaper, too), but this was a very relaxing experience, sleeping on the island, living on the boat and in the water during the day. It cleared my head and I'm still day dreaming about it I have yet to dive in real cold water, but as I'll definitely go back to Catalina, this should happen pretty soon.
