Diving in SoCal late June

[Oceana Diver]

I'm gonna be in Long Beach toward the end of June and would like to get some diving in. I haven't dived off the west coast before, I'm sure there's someone out there with advice on weather conditions and good dive sites/sights around there.

Thanks!

 

[LAJim]

Excellent beach diving not too far away in Laguna. There will be more or less regular dives organized on SoCal, especially Friday mornings and weekends. Watch this forum or post a request a few days out. Will be a lot of diving. Catalina is also very nice either from dive boats out of Long Beach (I like Great Escape) or take Catalina Express to Avalon and dive Marine Park. Consult stickies this forum for details. It will be maybe low 60's F by then. We dive 7 mm wetsuits or drysuits out here year round.

 

[Glycerin]

We have a sticky thread for this sort of thing http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=131465

I'm sure you'll have no problem getting some locals to show you around.

See you in the water

 

[JodiBB]

I would recommend any Catalina diving over Laguna diving...I like doing both, but Catalina tends to get better visability than diving directly off the beach. The trip to Catalina is more pricey, obviously, because of travel to get there, but it's SO worth it! Most of my dives have been off Catalina and there's never been a bad one yet!

 

[drbill]

Based on being 0-for-2 at Laguna Beach (small sample size), I'd have to second my "home island" of Catalina. Generally much better visibility and conditions IMHO. Of course the issue of lodging, boat transportation, etc., may pose a problem. You can also get a dicve boat out of the mainland and dive here on it.

 

[headhunter]

I've got to agree with those who are recommending Catalina as a more reliable experience. Diving in Laguna can be great, but if you'll be coming here all the way from the east coast, you may want to go to Catalina to increase the probability of having a great day.

We have a ScubaBoard Mo2vation Boat dive on June 24th. Although the boat is now "full", if you call and put your name on the waiting list there is usually a pretty good chance that someone will cancel. We've gotten 5 - 10 more ScubaBoard members on a boat by doing this. The funny thing is that ScubaBoard members rarely cancel. It's usually people from other groups that cancel.

Here is the thread with more info about the Mo2vation Boat Dive I just mentioned:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=123345

You could also take the Catalina Express over to Catalina and Dive at the Avalon Dive Park. Here is a link to the last Wrinkles Dive that we had there in March, which might help with more information on going there:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=129725

Whatever you decide to do, be sure to post what you want to do and I'm sure you'll get a group of us to come out and say, "Hi" and show you the best diving we can.

Christian

 

[mposin]

I only get to Southern California every month or two, so I also find myself looking at day trips to Catalina when the conditions in Laguna aren't ideal. But if the swell is down and there's no red tide, Laguna has some terrific diving, which you shouldn't underestimate. Shaw's cove is a good place to start.

To decide if you need to go to Catalina or not, first check the swell models http://socdc.brinkster.net/Ocean.html and the current conditions http://www.lagunaseasports.com/conditions/conditions.asp. You probably want swells under three feet and visibility of at least 10-12 feet. (Don't expect to ever have viz more than 25 feet or so on the mainland, which is probably the minimum viz at Catalina.)

If you want to do a shore dive in Laguna, you can join up any weekend morning with this group: http://southcoastdivers.com/, and they will make you feel at home.

Otherwise, I like the Island Time/Express Divers. They have half-day two-tank dives to Catalina http://www.expressdivers.com/ that get you back around lunch time. The other divers are often in classes, so check with the boat if there are other single divers, or try to bring your own buddy. I don't really like taking the Catalina Express to the dive park unless I'm planning to stay a while in Catalina. It's a bit of a hassle getting your stuff to the dive park and back (although the dive park is a lot of fun). If you take the Island Time or another dive boat, you don't have to worry about schlepping your gear, watching your gear, buying lunch, paying for parking at the ferry, etc.

 

[mposin]

Some more suggestions:

1. sign up with Debbie Karimoto's BBS http://www.ocdiving.com/component/option,com_registration/task,register/for near-daily e-mailed local dive reports.

2. check out http://www.saintbrendan.com/database/search.htm for a calendar of dive charters.

3. if a space opens up, go with Headhunter on a Mo2vation dive for a good group and a nicely reduced group price

4. if you can, take a boat to Santa Barbara Island (it's beyond Catalina -- nothing to do with the eponymous city). You'll have to board the night before, but you'll find great kelp forests, clear water, and many marine mammals.

5. if you go to Catalina, stop in Sugarloaf Books for fish ID cards, Franko's maps and other dive-related printed materials.

6. dress warm.

 

[shark.byte.usa]

...

1. sign up with Debbie Karimoto's BBS http://www.ocdiving.com/component/option,com_registration/task,register/for near-daily e-mailed local dive reports. ...

That's the wrong link to sign up for the OCdiving.com mailing list/BBS [registering on the site and subscribing to the list are different things], here is the correct one:
http://www.ocdiving.com/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,42/

Everything so far is what you need to do, don't count on Laguna, especially if you have a short stay, as someone who gets to SoCal about every month, Laguna has bit me more than once; go to Catalina for about as sure of a thing as you'll find in SoCal. When Laguna is on, it shouldn't be missed, but otherwise get on a boat to an Island for good viz. There are lots of other good places to dive too if you have the time and the conditions are right.

Garrett

 

[mposin]

oops