Channel Island Diving in August?

[H2Ocean]

Hey!! Nice request you don't want this post turning into "this boat is better than that boat!!" It's funny months after your trip some might be still adding in info! If you want specialized Channel Island dives...check out Channel Islands Dive Adventures . com (CIDA) and look at their schedule. It's got the guide(s) diving with you, the unique dive sites that only CIDA goes the extra distance to get too. Some friends of mine at Hardcore Dive Team shared that info! It's been good info!!

 

[Dermochelys]

Well, my dive buddy who was going to go down with me on my big trip just bailed on me. So, new question for the group, are these multi-day trip boats friendly for divers who don't have dive buddies? Do I have a good chance of being able to just hook-on with a group of divers? Or, should I not count on being able to do that, and should I cancel my trip? I would hate to drive all the way down there, and end up not being able to dive because I don't have a buddy. Diving solo is not an option.

 

[Kryssa]

Dermo can u make it down on Thursday? We have a good group going out Thursday night to Sunday from Santa Barbara to the Northern Islands

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk 2

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Well, my dive buddy who was going to go down with me on my big trip just bailed on me. So, new question for the group, are these multi-day trip boats friendly for divers who don't have dive buddies? Do I have a good chance of being able to just hook-on with a group of divers? Or, should I not count on being able to do that, and should I cancel my trip? I would hate to drive all the way down there, and end up not being able to dive because I don't have a buddy. Diving solo is not an option.

I don't know man, if diving solo isn't an option (good call BTW) then I would think long and hard about it. Depending on what the rest of the diver experience level is, if there are other new divers or someone willing to dive with a new diver then great. But if they are a bunch of seasoned vets there letting nothing stand in their way to dive long and hard then that would be a good way to get ditched.
I would do some inquiring about it with the charter first to see who will be there, then meanwhile try and find someone here or maybe over on diver.net that would be willing to buddy up with you.
The insta buddy thing is never a sure bet.

 

[merxlin]

I don't know man, if diving solo isn't an option (good call BTW) then I would think long and hard about it. Depending on what the rest of the diver experience level is, if there are other new divers or someone willing to dive with a new diver then great. But if they are a bunch of seasoned vets there letting nothing stand in their way to dive long and hard then that would be a good way to get ditched.
I would do some inquiring about it with the charter first to see who will be there, then meanwhile try and find someone here or maybe over on diver.net that would be willing to buddy up with you.
The insta buddy thing is never a sure bet.

Sorry but I have to disagree. I've been the buddy to several newer divers on trips like this. I've seen others pair up with newer divers and spend multiday trips together. You are right that it is not a sure bet, but the chances are not as bleak as you make it sound either in my opinion.

If you can get on a trip that a dive shop or club has chartered the boat (or part of it), then you might be able to set up a buddy ahead of time.

 

[Dermochelys]

I'm sure there's a bit of a crap shoot when it comes to buddying up. The only time I've gone diving with a club where I didn't know anyone (a 1 day trip to Monterey), I was paired up with a guy who couldn't read a compass underwater (thought North was South). We rode a boat out at Whaler's Cove, and the plan was we would just swim back to the launch site underwater. Nice and simple....well, I knew we should be heading toward shore, but he kept swimming deeper and deeper while I frantically tried to communicate with him that we were going the wrong way. Finally I got him to surface so I could show him we were going the wrong way, and he just said "oh sorry, I also did that last time"!! So we had to surface swim for about 30 - 45 minutes just to get back to the beach! I was so upset because I knew we were going the wrong way, but I didn't want to leave my buddy behind either. It was a horrible, so I'm very concerned about buddying with someone I don't know unless they are a dive master or very experienced.

I'll call up the dive operator and let them know what's going on. They might know what the make-up of the group is that has already RSVPed.

 

[ktkt]

I don't know man, if diving solo isn't an option (good call BTW) then I would think long and hard about it. Depending on what the rest of the diver experience level is, if there are other new divers or someone willing to dive with a new diver then great. But if they are a bunch of seasoned vets there letting nothing stand in their way to dive long and hard then that would be a good way to get ditched.
I would do some inquiring about it with the charter first to see who will be there, then meanwhile try and find someone here or maybe over on diver.net that would be willing to buddy up with you.
The insta buddy thing is never a sure bet.

It's hard to imagine that on one of the open charters, *nobody* would adopt a newer diver. We're not talking a tech charter or a six-pack with an agenda. Just talk to the boat staff, be honest about your skills and experience, and they will help you find a buddy if necessary. Of course, you have to speak up, but you want to get in the water, so you will! It also wouldn't hurt to call the operation before booking to get an idea of the type of diving they'll be doing and make sure it's a good fit for you.

You may not get the best buddy in the world, but if you make a point of having a good chat before you get in the water, you'll probably have a decent one. If after a dive, you think it was a really bad fit, talk to the staff, and they'll probably do whatever they can to help.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Dermochelys,

I'm going to give you something tangeble here that you could do to better your chances of getting a buddy plus get some experience at the same time.
Why don't you join up with the North Coast Divers?
We are a free club, no dues, fees, or commitments.
All you have to do is show up to one of our dives, sign a liability waiver (one time) and you're diving.
I see you're from Rocklin. We have members from the valley. One guy is from Rocklin, he goes by Fish & Beer (Jerry), he's one of my vintage buddies. The point is you could hitch a ride with him if you wanted.
The first step would be to go to our website and sign on. See the URL in my sig line.

The north coast has a lot of really great diving. While you're at it you might find a great buddy that could go on that trip with you.
The benefit would be that you could already have dives in with that person so you would know what to expect.
If nothing else and you don't find a compatible buddy who can go at least you had fun and got some dives in.
There's a lot of great camping up here which is cheap and fun, and you can break up the trip if doing it in a day seems daunting.

I don't mean to sound negative about finding an insta buddy on the trip, but finding a buddy like Merxlin isn't a guarantee unless Merxlin want's to commit to you now and be on that boat.
I would say that your chances of a pleasurable trip and finding a compatible buddy that will stick with you are probably 50% if you go in cold.
A lot can happen if you get a buddy that's half way in. Buddy separation underwater is probably the biggest problem and the other guy taking off on you. It only takes a second to get separated and if you're fairly deep there's no guarantee they will want to surface after a minute of looking around for you and you for them to resume your dive together.
Unless you get someone commited to sticking with you the whole dive, you might find yourself chasing someone around looking at the tips of their fins the whole time or sitting in one spot the whole dive with a photographer, who knows?

 

[TigerDiver8]

Ventura Dive and Sport out of ventura harbor. I have been diving the North Channel Islands for a while now and love it. Conditions arent ideal in Aug but better than your 1 ft vis. I am a fairly new diver and havent been anywhere around Santa Cruz Island and Anacapa Island that were over my head.