Channel Islands - boat recommendation

[ligersandtions]

At first I though you said "slower than time travel"...My dyslexia must be acting up again!

 

[dwaters]

Peace, Spectre, Magician are all good in my book. Check out the following link for most of the
California boats... California Dive Boats : The Official Page
Let us know when your in town and I'm sure one of us will be on your boat of choice and if you have time we may get in a beach dive in. Enjoy!

 

[Lake Muroc Diver]

I agree with the above but would add the Explorer. Tony and Candee Skipper and wife, have a great boat and a sharp crew too!

 

[DanK]

I would recommend the Spectre out of Ventura. As mentioned in another post they usually do 4 dives instead of 3. They also BQ chicken and tri-tip for lunch. And I don't want to forget the Hot Tub! You can also sleep on the boat if you want to.
Dan

 

[Empty V]

My vote goes for the Peace Dive Boat. They've got better food than the Sphincter (Spectre), a more comfortable ride albeit a tad bit slower, better amenities(indoor heads, hottub, double bunks), you get 4 dives and a much friendlier crew. I went on the Spectre 2 trips ago. I paid for 4 dives, what did I get? 3 dive less than a half mile from each other and the 4th was a complete washout. Nothing but sand in 20ft of water, everyone on the boat was pissed. I decided to give them another chance mainly because they were the only boat with spots open they day we wanted to go, imagine that. So we were scheduled for 4 dives again, what did we get? The same 3 dives we got the last trip with a bonus, instead of moving the boat Captain Ted decided to stay in the same boring spot for the 4th dive. I've been on the Spectre about 10 times now and I'm done and that's just from the last 2 trips. The trip before that I forgot to sign up for what type of food I wanted, which I did pay for, so Ted told me that I don't get to eat. Eventually I got a plate but his attitude was rude and uncalled for. Ohh yeah they also made me take my cooler off the boat and told me that they're going to leave me behind if I don't hurry up unloading it.

I'm not the only one who has been through this with this operation. I'm sure many have had good experiences with them, most of mine have been sub standard. I also know a good amount of other divers who will never use this boat again because of these same issues.

If you do go on it watch the attitudes of the crew. They're really cranky and rude for the 1st 2 dives, dive 3 and 3.5, closer to tip time, they start help out a little.

Billy

 

[dashark]

I also had a bad experience with the Spectre. Crew was not very friendly the day I went out. The DM sent the entire boat the wrong way on our last dive. If we had followed his instructions , we would have ended up at 70' in the sand the opposite direction of the dive sight on a third dive that was supposed to be shallow. Many of the folks on the boat did just that and never found the sight. His description of the dive? "If you go down there somewhere, you might see something". Some kind of innapropriate joke?
I know this was just one days experience, and, a lot of other folks may disagree. I , for one, will not try them again.
As far as the sundiver: I'm gonna have to disagree on that one too. Despite their sorted past, I have given them a try on a couple of ocassions. I found the crew to be extremely grumpy. I much prefer the magician in that neck of the woods.
Just one mans opinion...

 

[diverrex]

Besides the Peace in Ventura I like the Great Escape http://diveboat.com/ in Long Beach. The crew is always helpful and try to make a good trip for you. Captain Tim does a good job at finding good sites and Rob cooks up good food all day. It's a little slow but at 80' it's big and roomy, and their stateroom bunks are the best.

 

[Lake Muroc Diver]

Empty V and Dashark,
Man your Explorer experience was atypical. Ive been on many Explorer trips. The only weak trips were when the boat was mainly folks getting their OW certs and the dive shop that had the boat locked up needed certain conditions for that special event. I've never missed a 4th dive, and the only time I had the crew stick to the same spot was during weather conditions where the island offered only good diving in sheltered spots.
As for the surly crew, I've only seen a small demo of attitude once, he deserved it.
You don't have a DIVA not a diver attitude do you?
The food thing, well that is a unique experience for you in my many Explorer experiences.
This isn't some sort of " I love the Peace boat" let me bash the competition is it?
As for your reference to the Spectre as a human anatomical object, well that is so adolescent that it deserves noreply.
Da Shark, the Dive master on Explorer is also on the Peace and his wife is also a Peace dive master. Chill boys. I know too many happy Explorer customers from different dive shops to make your comments more than spurious noise.
I like the boat, and love the crew.

 

[OCdiving Deb]

Empty V and Dashark,
Man your Explorer experience was atypical.

If you read their comments again you'll note they were NOT talking about the Explorer. They were both referring to the Spectre. And from my long-ago experience with the Spectre, they were both right on, but I have friends who like the Spectre very much.

 

[DiverLS]

I vote for the Peace. On one day trips you get 4 dives but sometimes if the site is great they might stay in one place - you can always go the other way on the second dive. You can also sleep on the boat the night before you leave which is recommended 'cause they leave real early in the morning. Truth Aquatics out of Santa Barbara is also good, the Conception was reacently rebuilt. And their skipper and 1st mate came from the Peace Boat.