Diving the Channel Islands

[Clammy]

Is that a new boat the Louis Ann.

John

Brother ship to the Lois Ann!

 

[Clammy]

I am going to be in central L.A. Was thinking about Anacapa Island.

How long a boat trip is it?

It's just a few hours if you leave from Ventura Harbor if you are trying to get to Santa Cruz or Ana Capa. Most of these larger boats are only pulling 10 nauts.

 

[diverrex]

I've been seasick before so I always take Bonine, one the night before and another about 1-2 hours before departure. I've never been sick, even in rough seas, when I take Bonine.

I'd say Anacapa is about 1 1/2 - 2 hours away, depending on boat and the first dive site. I think the Raptor can make it there quicker but I hestiate to mention that since that could take this thread in a whole new direction.

 

[JMdiver]

Depends on the boat, anywhere from 30 min to an hour & 20.

John

 

[Clammy]

Bigger boat is a happier stomach! Of course a ridiculously fast boat is also a happier stomach... until you stop.

 

[liuk3]

If you are at all prone to seasickness, I would recommend taking some remedy prior to leaving the docks. You don't want your first boat trips out here to be unpleasant, and I've seen boats take anywhere from 1-2 hours to get across to the Channel Islands. I've also seen boats with people who were sea sick, and they did not look happy for those couple of hours. My wife uses the sea sickness patch from the doctor, and it's the only remedy that she found which works fool proof for her without the side effects of knocking her out. I would recommend looking into that sea sickness patch from your physician unless you know something that already works for you. Nothing really helped her until she discovered that patch.

 

[fnfalman]

I am going to be in central L.A. Was thinking about Anacapa Island.

How long a boat trip is it?

If you want to dive Anacapa then you'll have to take the dive boats out of Ventura/Oxnard area. That means you'll have to drive north for about an hour to Ventura and take one of the boats from Ventura marina/harbor/village to go to Anacapa. The big boats like the Peace, Spectre and Explorer would take about 1hrs to 1hr45min to get to Anacapa depending on the wave condition. The fast little boat like the Raptor can easily cut those times in half or even less. Of course, you sacrifice comfort and convenience of the big boats when you use the small boat.

 

[Blair Mott]

If you are thinking about the Northern Channel Islands you should also consider the Raptor out of Ventura. Sorry to hear that you are prong to seasickness, but once you get there and get underwater it can be magical . Good luck!

 

[fnfalman]

I'm prone to seasickness too. It's just something that I gotta put up with in order to dive. None of the pills really work for me, so I did it the old fashion way: staring out to the horizon and don't eat too much.

 

[robint]

We have done the Spectre and the Peace boat to Anacapa and Santa Cruz and loved them both. They are different boats though with different divers. Spectre only does day boats, there are always a few instructors with students onboard, and the food is not the same as on the Peace. The Spectre is a bit cheaper.
The Peace tends to be a favorite of the more experienced divers with drysuits, and the food is fantastic and all included. The Spectre is long and thin, and fast but bounces over the waves a bit, with a bunkroom downstairs that is a bit crowded (if you are planning to sleep onboard the night before, which is free).
The Peace is wider and more stable, but slower, and the bunk area downstairs is nicer (also free to sleep the night before). The Peace Boat does lots of multi-day trips and the occasional day trip to the islands so you need to look at their schedule to see if it works for you.
Neither boat provides tanks and weights so you will need to make arrangements for those extra. Don't forget!
I have photos and videos of both boats and the diving on my website. Contact me if you have any questions!

robin