How do you dive Catalina?

[2ndjetty]

I'll be there in a couple weeks for a 3-day weekend of diving. I like it because diving the park is very relaxed on our own schedule and I bring my non-diving girlfriend, so we can hit the zip-line, go to our favorite spots for food and make more of a "vacation" out of it.

Most of my other diving is off the beach, so I can't say I've been there too many times via dive boat.

 

[Captain Carl Mayhugh]

Dive the Scuba Cat dive boat all day, have a nice dinner in Avalon in the evening, and sleep in a real bed at night. If I feel like camping stay at Two Harbors in the evening. But, of course I am biased...

 

[ItsBruce]

I like to dive from Magician or Sundiver for about the same reasons as LeeAnn said so well.

I don't like the Catalina Express because one slip up in timing means having to wait for the next boat.

 

[drbill]

Dive the Scuba Cat dive boat all day, have a nice dinner in Avalon in the evening, and sleep in a real bed at night. If I feel like camping stay at Two Harbors in the evening. But, of course I am biased...

Dive the King Neptune and you'll never look back, Carl. Just teasing ya of course. Carl is the new captain of Catalina Divers' Supply's Scuba Cat. Welcome to the island and to SB, Carl.

 

[Hatul]

I like to dive from Magician or Sundiver for about the same reasons as LeeAnn said so well.

I don't like the Catalina Express because one slip up in timing means having to wait for the next boat.

The Sundiver is way tooo slooow. It's a major voyage to the island.

Adam

 

[merxlin]

The Sundiver is way tooo slooow. It's a major voyage to the island.

Adam

Most of the big boats - Sundiver, Great Escape, Sand Dollar, etc. that I have been on have about the same travel time to the island. The Sundiver Express is the fastest there I believe, in just over an hour. The Express also does two tank dives during the summer, so you are back in the early afternoon.

 

[Leejnd]

I usually do Mr. C over to Catalina, also not a very fast boat, and yeah it's a haul. But I can't say I mind. As a sailor and boat owner myself, I can't ever complain about being out on the water. I see it as an opportunity to socialize with my fellow divers, enjoy being on the ocean, and maybe see a few pods of dolphins and maybe even a whale.

If I'm looking for a fast day of diving, I'll do the Raptor over to Anacapa, which gets there in an hour, does 3 dives, and is usually back to the dock by mid afternoon, . (Of course I do have the advantage of living in Ventura County, so the Raptor is close by...)

 

[Bubbletrubble]

If I'm looking for a fast day of diving, I'll do the Raptor over to Anacapa, which gets there in an hour, does 3 dives, and is usually back to the dock by mid afternoon, . (Of course I do have the advantage of living in Ventura County, so the Raptor is close by...)

My dive buddies and I used the Raptor to dive Anacapa a couple of years ago. It was a fast boat, but we had to plead with the captain to give us enough time for our surface intervals. FWIW, we always adhered to the stated gate times given us by the DM. Unfortunately, we felt like the crew was trying to rush us so that the boat could make it back to the mainland by mid-afternoon. This goal really wasn't compatible with the way we like to dive. I suppose the wetsuit divers (not in our group) who were doing 30-40 minute dives felt differently about this.

In all other respects, the Raptor crew was very professional and safety-conscious.