Diving Catalina - Casino Point Saturday November 8th

[ligersandtions]

It's a very short walk. HP130??? That's a big tank for such a small human, how long are your dives? 2 hours?

Depends....out at Laguna when I didn't hit deeper than 32 feet, my computer was telling me I had more than two and a half hours of dive time left. I did two dives on one tank, so that was pretty awesome! At 80 feet, I have far more air time than I have NDL time (and warm time ).

The fill stations a REAL long hike from the staging area, maybe as far as 20' - 30'. Might take as long as a minute to walk there!

Unless you really need your big tanks I might suggest just renting the al80's from them. Instead of having to wait maybe an hour for a fill you just walk up and swap the empty for a full. Very convenient

Hmmm, that does sound quite convenient....I do love my HP130 (and the weighting and the way I trim out with it), but waiting an hour for a fill sounds pretty crappy. Does it really take that long to get them filled?

 

[Teamcasa]

... but waiting an hour for a fill sounds pretty crappy. Does it really take that long to get them filled?

Not usually this time of year. Sometimes it does but I like an hour surface interval anyway.

As soon as I get out after a dive, the first thing I do is drop off my tank (Bring your C-Card) and then relax, visit, snack and drink a little water. After I'm ready to get back in, the tank is full and ready for pick up. Bring some cash, think its $6.00 or $8.00 dollars.

 

[Nikolai]

I agree about the time waiting being a minor issue, I just don't wanna haul my heavy tank around
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[ligersandtions]

I'm all for an hour long surface interval....I was just worried that I was going to have to wait in line or in a shop for an hour and not get a chance to talk to and meet the people who will be joining us.

Do they accept cash only? I'm notorious for never having cash, so I will make sure to actually bring some this time!

 

[Teamcasa]

I'm all for an hour long surface interval....I was just worried that I was going to have to wait in line or in a shop for an hour and not get a chance to talk to and meet the people who will be joining us.

Do they accept cash only? I'm notorious for never having cash, so I will make sure to actually bring some this time!

Cash only (as far as I know) and you don't wait in any lines.
Don't worry, we will have time to visit!

 

[Oside Jimc]

The Catalina Express is running a special schedule from Dana Point this weekend with a 7:45 departure and 7:00pm return, perfect for us San Diego guys!

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I was at Casino Point in September and October. The guys at the CDS airfill trailer were accepting credit card payment. In fact, I recall just opening up a tab with them for the weekend. I signed the receipt after the last fill.

@ligersandtions: As Dave pointed out, you won't have to wait in any lines. You just place your empty tank in the "to be filled" line on the lefthand side near some orange construction cones. Just ask them if you aren't sure where to leave your tank.
As for transporting tanks and other heavy things, a fold-up cart with some bungees can come in handy. When I'm staying on the island for the weekend, the cart makes it very easy to move stuff from the ferry terminal to the Point (if you like the exercise) or from the hotel to the Point (and vice versa). Once your tank makes it to the Point, you'll just have to carry it to and from the airfill trailer. Make sure that you find out when the airfill guys are leaving for the day and time your dives appropriately. My dive team was careful to exit the water early enough to get one more fill for a night dive later on. Night dives can be a lot of fun at the Park.

BTW, I can imagine that the HP130 is not so much fun to lug around. Down the road, you should consider a Worthington X7 HP100. It holds a decent amount of air...and you'll be carrying around about 10 lbs. less to/from the water. It's a super tank for diving here in SoCal.

Have a great time, everyone!

 

[Nikolai]

I "think" the fill station closes at 4pm. Nice to know they accept CC's.

Nicole, what boats are you guys on? I'm booked for the 6:15am and 6:00pm boats.

Posted via Mobile Device

 

[ligersandtions]

I "think" the fill station closes at 4pm. Nice to know they accept CC's.

Nicole, what boats are you guys on? I'm booked for the 6:15am and 6:00pm boats.

I booked the 6:15am over (out of downtown Long Beach) and the 7:30pm back....I figure if we're ready to go before 7:30pm, we'll look into trading the tickets in for an earlier return (you can do that right? I'm pretty sure I read that you can...).

I believe Dave is on the 6:15am boat over too, right?

 

[Teamcasa]

I booked the 6:15am over (out of downtown Long Beach) and the 7:30pm back....I figure if we're ready to go before 7:30pm, we'll look into trading the tickets in for an earlier return (you can do that right? I'm pretty sure I read that you can...).

I believe Dave is on the 6:15am boat over too, right?

Yep! Commadore lounge.