As far as the diving goes I absolutely loved it. I was told the viz was about "40 feet" and that it gets better, but I saw that within that 40 or so feet the water was so clear and there was SO much sea life. I loved the beautiful kelp forests and all the marine life. I absolutely loved the diving. Fun fun fun! Does coastal beach diving ever get that good? Places like Cresent Bay and Shaw's cove? We had a bit of a current and tide to deal with but it was not a big deal, we corrected for it pretty easily. We had no trouble and so much fun that we had to force ourselves out of the water and almost missed the last boat! (Can get a long dive out of those steel tanks...) Does this mean on a calm day we could get by doing a beach dive some where like Shaw's Cove?
I still want to look into the Spectre as well, that seems like another good option, but I was hoping there were some beach dives in the OC that might be anywhere near as good as that dive at the dive park. We had a blast! Can't wait till the next time we get to dive. Such a easy drive from Phoenix too.
Having gone shore diving all along the SoCal coast I settled on Orange County for the most part. My favorite spot was Reef Point (sometimes known as Scotsman's Cove but that is actually a different cove). The kelp varies from year to year and is never quite as spectacular as at Catalina but beautiful none-the-less. The visibility is almost always less than Catalina but I've had some great dives with 10-20' vis. Calm days usually have clearer water but just because the surf is kinda high that does not necessarily mean it's not a good day to dive. Reef Point can have 8-9' surf but it's often very nicely formed. No matter what you will have undertow along with surf. Once you understand how things work you can use the undertow to make your entry quick and easy. When you are exiting back to shore, just swim like hell along with the oncoming waves (from below, of course), locate a big rock, and hang on while the wave recedes (wear gloves). That way you don't lose ground. When the next wave comes along swim like hell again. I would not want to try this with split fins.. Usually about the third or fourth wave will plant you on the sand and if you quickly back away from the water you can be out of the way before the next wave hits. Make your gear as streamlined as possible. I prefer no BC, no computer, a low-profile mask, and a steel 72 rather than an aluminum 80. Make sure your mask and fins are very snug so they don't get removed by the waves. I suggest spending some time with just your free-diving gear getting used to the surf before attempting it with SCUBA.
I've gone shore diving just in OC probably about 2000 times so it must be pretty good! There is a huge variety of life but not in the same numbers as the Channel Islands.
Several years ago the State bought the beaches that include Crystal Cove, Scotsman's Cove, and Reef Point and named it Crystal Cove State Beach. We used to park along Pacific Coast Highway at the top of the access road and walk down. Now parking on PCH is illegal and you have to pay the ******* government $15 to park and the closest space is about 1/2 mile from where we used to go down. They made it a marine park but hardly anyone ever goes diving there any more. Scotsman's Cove is very near the parking lot and still sees many divers. I heard they even have a restaurant there now but after having dove both locations Reef Point was the only option. Someone said the restaurant will validate your parking but I don't know if it's true. Soon after they started all of this nonsense I bought a boat and avoided the whole parking mess.
Like I think I said earlier in this thread Shaw's Cove is pretty good and the dive shop is only a few blocks away but get there early for parking. Chances are there will be lots of divers there (unless the beach is closed due to excessive surf--LOL ) and I'd think there would probably be someone who would be willing to take you through the surf and let you tag along. Of course there's the possibility that they might stare at you like a three-headed flying rhinoceros if you say you don't know how to get through the surf but that would indicate they are locals so that would be a good thing. No matter what anyone tells you don't attempt to put on or remove your fins in the water. Check the tide tables. I like to make my entry right at high tide. Things tend to calm down for a bit. If you wait for low tide you might be swimming through a lot of rocks. The
reason they don't allow diving when the surf is high is because there are people who don't know how to get through it.
I also would not rule out La Jolla Cove. I spent all of my summers there free-diving and spearfishing before I became certified but have never gone scuba diving there. I loved it back then so I'll have to make a point to go back.
You can also enter/exit to the right of the big rocks but I find the other way simpler.
