Diving in San Diego in the beginning of August?

[voop]

Gentlefolks,

I hope this is the right forum for this kind of postings....

I'll be heading to San Diego in the beginning of august for business. However business or not, I hope to be able to squeeze in a little diving while there. No, scratch that, what I meant to say was "Even if I have to skip on the business part, I'll go diving while there"...yeah, that's more like it

Now, while I know San Diego quite well, I have never been diving in California at all, and so I do not quite know what to expect. So calling all locals....what're the conditions like? What's to see, and where is good to go? I may, at best, be able to squeeze in a few mornings and evenings plus perhaps one whole day -- so for the most part we're talking shore-diving, I suppose, just next to SD? For the possible full day, I am wondering if there are anything worth going farther away for (i.e. getting on a boat or hooking up with a dive ops or smth)???

Since I'm going only with land-bound colleagues, I'd also be interrested in hooking up with someone local, who'd buddy up for diving? I'll buy a post-dive pint or two in return...

Ohh, I am a scandinavian cold-water-type diver, but I assume that the waters around SD merits digging out the ol' wetsuit?

 

[heymonkey]

I'm sure some of the CA divers will chime in with more details, but if you're in SD, La Jolla may be your best bet for shore diving. You should be pretty comfortable in a 7mm wetsuit. Catalina is also a nice destination, although depending on your schedule it may or may not be worth the trip since it is closer to the LA area than SD...

 

[ScubaSeanMaui]

Actually if you go to Catalina from dana point it's about 1/2 way between LA and San Diego. Check out the dive boats here. You can go to Wreck Alley, Point Loma Kelp Beds, Los Coronados, and more check it out:

http://www.saintbrendan.com/database/search.htm

also the divebums links:

http://www.divebums.com/Links.html

Hope that helps!

Sean

 

[voop]

Thanks guys, it sounds great. Although I think that the options posted by divebuddysean will be more likely for a potential day off than for a before/after work dip. Anyone knows of anything closer to SD?

I think I know the La Jolla area, although not the part under water, so that might be an option. What's to see out there?

 

[Roughwaterjohn]

Gentle voop

You have a wealth of places to shore dive in San Diego. We have gently sloping beachs with easy entry, sheltered (usually) coves with tons of life, steep shore breaks with fiesty waves, and quite a lot in between. The Shores has flat sand with a multitude of macro life dwelling within and a deep canyon beyond with sloping walls and rock faces to explore. The Cove and Marine Room have kelp, rock reefs and tons of sea life big and small to explore.

North County has several great spots which are seldom visited due to rougher entries but the patient soul who can traverse the onslaught or, better yet, time the sets and work with the ocean to gain entry, is rewarded with beautiful rock walls, overhangs, sand patches and thick kelp filled with life.

La Jolla Shores starts shallow, with the canyon dropping deeper than you want to go. The rest of the sights, tend to be in 25 fsw - 45 fsw. Don't forget, there are several morning or afternoon boats that will gladly take you to Wreck Alley or Los Coronados Islands. You will generally be back by early afternoon if you go out on the morning trips. Let me know what dates you're thinking about diving here, and I can either hook you up with some of the local divers or give you a tour myself.

John-Boy

 

[divinman]

I agree with Krowsea. I dive with him at least once a week. Come with us, we will show you the wonders of SD shore diving. BRING A 7MM wetsuit. Even in summer, the water can get chilly. hood or beanie is also recommended. The surface temp in August generally increases and in a cruel irony of nature, so does the plankton bloom. Deeper is generally better but as with all dives, conditions change without notice.

What to see? Some warm water babies will whine "There's nothing to see" Go to my gallery here and you will see an abundance of bad pictures of great life.

John and I are slow comfortable divers who take our time and explore. This works best for this area. Those who want to cover as much ground as possible before they run out of air generally see very little.

Do contact us when you get here and we will plan a dive.

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=21775

Regards

Divinman

 

[ScubaSeanMaui]

Check out the shorediving.com website for the san diego dive spots:

http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/USA_West/CalS/index.htm

 

[voop]

Great, thanks for all the info guys. I've gotten some good contacts, and I'm looking forward to meeting up with some of you for some SoCal diving. Will be fun, I am sure.

Cheers

 

[ShakaZulu]

Check out the shorediving.com website for the san diego dive spots:

http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/USA_West/CalS/index.htm

doods, thanks for that link, awesome man..............