Greetings from beautiful Ventura County (and Grand Turk Island)

[Lookitthat]

Hiya,

Laura here, I'm an AOW in Ventura County, California, where I can see the Channel Islands while driving to Costco. My husband and I spent six of the last 12 months surviving the pandemic and working remotely from our vacation rental place on Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos, where the water is warm, the currents usually light and the diving easy. It was suh-weet to ride our bikes down to the dive shop every weekend and go out on the wall with old friends and new ones.

We just got back last month and don't expect to be on island as much for the time being. Happily, our cottage is getting booked again and spending actual time with our young adult sons and elderly moms is waaay better than Zoom. While we may not be in the water 2-3 days a week like before, we've don't want to stop diving on a regular basis. Malibu is 45 minutes away and dive boats go out to the Channels from Oxnard and Ventura almost every day. Have joined a local dive club (shout out to Channel Island Divers) and booked some dives.

However, while a decent diver in tranquil Caribbean waters, I'm a novice in Southern California. It's time to learn (and learn to love) diving in colder water and currents. And, upgrade my gear. After enriching the airlines hauling gear back and forth for the last 7 years, I finally decided to leave everything but my reg and computer on Grand Turk and find some good used gear here.

Any other Ventura/Santa Barbara/LA Co. divers out there?
Happy to connect on SB!

 

[Tripp]

Welcome to ScubaBoard! I am so jealous! If only I could give anesthesia remotely! Sounds like you'll have fond memories of COVID season! Glad to have you aboard!

 

[Lookitthat]

You're right! It's kind of strange, but we will have fond memories of at least this aspect of life during the pandemic.

It's actually a great time to go diving there now - the country requires visitors to be fully vaccinated and have a negative test, all the dive operators are open and the reef is coming back nicely from a warm water bleaching event a few years back. Grand Turk's economy, like most places dependent on tourism, has taken a huge hit since March of 2020. Without cruise ship folks during the day, the vibe is slow and visitors are very very very welcome.

 

[Regulatrix]

Hiya,

Laura here, I'm an AOW in Ventura County, California, where I can see the Channel Islands while driving to Costco. My husband and I spent six of the last 12 months surviving the pandemic and working remotely from our vacation rental place on Grand Turk Island in the Turks and Caicos, where the water is warm, the currents usually light and the diving easy. It was suh-weet to ride our bikes down to the dive shop every weekend and go out on the wall with old friends and new ones.

We just got back last month and don't expect to be on island as much for the time being. Happily, our cottage is getting booked again and spending actual time with our young adult sons and elderly moms is waaay better than Zoom. While we may not be in the water 2-3 days a week like before, we've don't want to stop diving on a regular basis. Malibu is 45 minutes away and dive boats go out to the Channels from Oxnard and Ventura almost every day. Have joined a local dive club (shout out to Channel Island Divers) and booked some dives.

However, while a decent diver in tranquil Caribbean waters, I'm a novice in Southern California. It's time to learn (and learn to love) diving in colder water and currents. And, upgrade my gear. After enriching the airlines hauling gear back and forth for the last 7 years, I finally decided to leave everything but my reg and computer on Grand Turk and find some good used gear here.

Any other Ventura/Santa Barbara/LA Co. divers out there?
Happy to connect on SB!

I am incredibly envious! Welcome back to the States and best of luck getting some good advice for diving in your new environs.