Good freediving sites near Channel Islands?

[fuzzybabybunny]

My buddy and I are thinking of visiting the Channel Islands for a day - maybe even camping there for a night. We want to do some snorkeling / freediving on the island.

1. What are good freediving spots on the island? And which island?

2. My buddy won't have any gear, so he'll need to rent them for an entire day and a half or so. Are there any places that would rent gear to him that'll allow him to take it on the ferry and even keep overnight if we choose to camp?

 

[Tailchaser]

Fuzzy... you may want to try spearboard... even if you are not hunting its a freedive site

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Alright. Thanks!

 

[Quig]

Contact Island Packers out of Ventura. They can fill you in on the rest.

 

[covediver]

Contact Island Packers out of Ventura. They can fill you in on the rest.

Island Packers runs to Anacapa Island. It is a quick trip over. The landing cove offers some excellent freediving from the dock, but it is a no take zone. There is camping on the island but it is cold camping (no fires). If you are looking for an intro spot for freediving and camping in CI, my recommendation is the landing cove.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Cool. Thanks for the info! We were already thinking of anacopa because it's the cheapest fare and seems to have better diving than santa cruz, which is too sandy I heard. That said, is Anacopa even that good? We want to go to the Channel Islands because we heard about all the crazy wildlife, yadda yadda. It made it seem like the west coast's Hawaii in terms of sealife you can see underwater. But is it pretty much the same as Monterey? Bull kelp, some small brown fish here and there, dull looking coral, so-so visibility, and more bull kelp. Would there even be seals swimming with us at Anacopa?

 

[White Knight]

Anacapa is the "worse" island for Sea Life in my opinion. Yes, the reserve has a bunch of bugs and Sheep Head--so what! The closer you get to San Miguel the better the "fish possibilities" are. Santa Cruz isn't all sandy, there are tons of rocky structure to dive, Santa Rosa is even better, and Miguel has the Abs, the big Lings, lots of Halibut, etc. Anacapa is closer and cheaper to get to and the water is warmer and clearer...that's all the good I can say about it. Just my two cents.....

 

[Quig]

We were at Santa Cruz today and the conditions were great. Island Packers will go to the other islands, check out the website. Santa Cruz has better camping/land excursion options, Anacapa is limited. All the islands have good sites to dive, conditions will dictate. Have fun, be safe.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I was checking out the National Park website and the reason I didn't want to go to San Miguel is that, besides being more expensive, the website said the ocean was more treacherous there. Is it that bad?

How's nearby Avalon?

 

[covediver]

Cool. Thanks for the info! We were already thinking of anacopa because it's the cheapest fare and seems to have better diving than santa cruz, which is too sandy I heard. That said, is Anacopa even that good? We want to go to the Channel Islands because we heard about all the crazy wildlife, yadda yadda. It made it seem like the west coast's Hawaii in terms of sealife you can see underwater. But is it pretty much the same as Monterey? Bull kelp, some small brown fish here and there, dull looking coral, so-so visibility, and more bull kelp. Would there even be seals swimming with us at Anacopa?

The landing cove at anacapa is fantastic in my opinion, which is formed in part by doing an underwater video program there for a number of years with NPS. The cove is a reserve. Lobster, garibaldi (orange fish), kelp bass, spider crabs, etc. I have seen sea lions in the cove and recently heard reports of giant black sea bass on the edge of the cove. It has an abundance of different marine life, easy entry and exit, room to spread your gear out, and camping on the island, and easy access from Ventura. It is a good spot for freediving with a relatively sheltered area.