OP
GinaSmith
Registered
Thanks! I’ll be here now that I have more free time
Hello from the Bay Area CA
- Thread starter GinaSmith
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
OP
GinaSmith
Registered
Geez that’s a bit cold. One day I think I’ll do the dry suit but for now I’ll stick to traveling for dives!
I haven’t been outside of FL yet. I booked a flight to Hawaii (The Big Island) in June but it looks like that’s not going to happen with the shutdowns. Do a lot of people in the Bay Area do Hawaii for diving?
Shasta_man
Contributor
I describe it as swimming around in your ice chest. There are definitely some amazing things to see here and I would recommend them but you have to bring your exposure protection but once through the initial warm up (or numbing) you're good.
Sitting on the bottom of a kelp forest is very surrealistic to me because it's like a forest but you are underwater. Swimming across it on the surface is an interesting experience in what it's like to be bug on the surface, particularly in light of what's potentially below. But you probably get to see seals and otters at the same time, so, cool.
Hawaii is going to be the closest spot in the US for us to get to warm water and if I am going diving then I like an island atmosphere. Lots of cool stuff there. Because of the topography, you get a different experience there compared to parts of Asia but definitely neat.
I tend to go out into the Pacific and toward Asia for my diving as I like the amazing diving along with land critters and different cultures. Tahiti is 7.5 hours from LA but expensive. Fiji, which I highly recommend, is 11 hours from LA. My favorite is Indonesia. Amazing place. But that is all outside the US. Given our proximity to multiple international airports, we can get anywhere but going to the Caribbean takes as long as Hawaii, at least.
Sitting on the bottom of a kelp forest is very surrealistic to me because it's like a forest but you are underwater. Swimming across it on the surface is an interesting experience in what it's like to be bug on the surface, particularly in light of what's potentially below. But you probably get to see seals and otters at the same time, so, cool.
Hawaii is going to be the closest spot in the US for us to get to warm water and if I am going diving then I like an island atmosphere. Lots of cool stuff there. Because of the topography, you get a different experience there compared to parts of Asia but definitely neat.
I tend to go out into the Pacific and toward Asia for my diving as I like the amazing diving along with land critters and different cultures. Tahiti is 7.5 hours from LA but expensive. Fiji, which I highly recommend, is 11 hours from LA. My favorite is Indonesia. Amazing place. But that is all outside the US. Given our proximity to multiple international airports, we can get anywhere but going to the Caribbean takes as long as Hawaii, at least.
Chavodel8en
Contributor
Welcome to the Bay Area! There are a couple of facebook pages where folks setup dives - Monterey Bay Area Scuba Divers Open is an open page where folks can set up dives, Monterey Bay Sea Otters Dive Club is an actual dive club with a page.
The Meetup.com app is also a place folks set up dives - there are 2-3 Bay Area scuba meetup groups.
And this forum has a NorCal regional forum where folks also discuss scuba.
Once they open the ocean for diving, there will be lots of folks looking to dive.
Edit - whoops didnt see the post above re too cold. Maybe you'll change your mind.
The Meetup.com app is also a place folks set up dives - there are 2-3 Bay Area scuba meetup groups.
And this forum has a NorCal regional forum where folks also discuss scuba.
Once they open the ocean for diving, there will be lots of folks looking to dive.
Edit - whoops didnt see the post above re too cold. Maybe you'll change your mind.
OP
GinaSmith
Registered
Thanks! I’ll check them out. Maybe with the right gear I’ll adjust since I love the ocean so much.
Welcome. Lots of good diving in the Monterey/Carmel area as well as the Sonoma Coast. Marin Diving Center has monthly fun dives and so does Pinnacles Dive Center, Marin does mostly shore diving but Pinnacles has their own boat this is a good way to meet local divers. The Big Island is one of my go to spots for diving we go twice a year and it is easy to get to from the Bay Area as Oakland has multiple direct flights daily or at least when we get back to normal.
Similar threads
