Florida diver visiting in March/April

[deepn0va]

Hello Kelp divers,
Work is sending me to a training workshop that is spanning from March 30 until April 4. I am going to be extending my stay to fly in on March 27 (earlier the better) and leave on the 5th or 6th. I will be in the freemont area and I think I will be flying into san jose. I was wondering if there was any diving in the bay area that is fairly cheep for the 28th or 29th (florida boat charter run ~70 bucks, a little much for me). I will be bringing my regs, computer, BC, fins, and wetsuit. Around this time of year what are the water temps a well as air temps? Will the diving be mostly from a chartered boat, shore, lakes, quarries? I am OW and cavern but I doubt there are any caverns in the area.

Aside from diving, I am wondering if I will need to rent a car or if there is enough of a public transit system in place for me to see the cities around (sanoma, napa, san francisco) without a car.

-Robert, the florida spring diver.

 

[Jim Ernst]

Robert.
In my opinion the best diving from where you will be staying is going to be Monterey, That is about a 1 1/2 hour Drive from where you will be.
The water temps are going to be between the high 40's to the low 50's.
Also you will have the B.A.R.T train for so transportation around some of the Cities.

 

[deepn0va]

wow, that is about 15-20 degrees colder than I am used to... Is a 7mm enough or should I scrap the idea of diving.. Do places there rent dry suits?

 

[Jim Ernst]

wow, that is about 15-20 degrees colder than I am used to... Is a 7mm enough or should I scrap the idea of diving.. Do places there rent dry suits?

NO... Don't scrap your diving!
A 7mm is what half the divers out here use, the other half a dry-suit, And yes you can rent a dry-suit in some shops.

I know what you mean on the temp difference, I was in Lauderdale for two weeks, Keep in mind I am a cold wussy... And I was over warm in a 3mm there in Florida!

 

[deepn0va]

Okay, I am feeling better. I have looked into a shop that does sunday dives that is around my hotel area. Since I will not be driving, I am going to need a shop that I can get a ride with, or another diver that will drive me down. Is that common for this area? I have found a shop that rents 7mm with hood wetsuits for $7 or a drysuit for $35. I Have not dove a drysuit yet (I live in frickin' florida and even though I will need it when i do the switch to doubles for cave diving, I still will dive wet in the ocean.) so I guess I will rent a 7mm there instead of buying one for $150 in florida that I will only use a few times.

How much do dive charters run in the area? Is there much shore diving? I would like to dive in the kelp as well.

How clear is the water? I will be bringing my camera and housing and would like to grab some pictures.

 

[Hinalo]

You'll need a drysuit certification to rent a DS out here, but 7mm with hooded vest should be fine. Charter boats run around $75-90 for two tank trips, there is a lot of good shore diving and you will find lots of kelp. Water clarity is variable. Over the past couple of weeks it's been over 40' most places and in the 70s in some. Alternately, you might find vis to be around 10-15. Just depends. Regardless, bring your camera. You can always find something to shoot.

 

[blewgrass]

I dove off the dive boat in the Florida Keys in my swim suit only and dove down to 25 feet and wasn't cold. It was X mas eve in Florida and 80 degrees out. Can't wait to go back there!