How do you dive Catalina?

[CaliforniaDivingNews]

We are trying to get a feel out there from divers on how you prefer to dive Catalina.

Do you prefer to take a dive boat from the mainland and dive one of the offshore sites?

Or do you take Catalina Express and dive the Avalon Underwater Park?

What motivates you to make these decisions? Time? Cost? Convenience? Preferred scenery? Conditions?

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Dive boat if I have a choice.
Catalina Express + Parking + Food + Air + Tanks is more expensive and more hassle.

 

[blue steal]

For myself, I prefer using the diveboats. Parking is easy and free, they feed me breakfast, snacks, lunch, snacks, and drinks. I have access to a warm shower, a place to bunk down for a nap going over and back, tanks get filled quickly.

 

[mselenaous]

My first choice is boats. In addition to what Blue Steal said, I like the camaraderie that forms in a group during the ride out and back. It's an opportunity to get to know future new dive buddies better.

Second choice is the Express to Catalina for a day at Casino Point and a leisurely stroll through town and lunch. It's not uncommon to run into other divers you already know there....and of course, there's always Dr. Bill .

 

[Leejnd]

Count me in with the dive boat first, park second. Dive boats are just so much less WORK! On some, you can board the night before, get a good night's sleep, and wake up right before you're at the dive site. Get in 3 or 4 good dives, climb in a bunk and go back to sleep - and wake up at your car. Don't have to go hunt for food, don't have to carry your tanks to the fill station, don't have to deal with draggin yer arse to the ferry terminal at oh-dark-thirty...etc.

For me, the motivation for choosing one or the other is completely dependent on the situation. If I'm just looking for a good single day diving, I'll choose the boat every time due to the convenience factor. It's not the money. As Grumpy points, out, parking + ferry + cab + fills + food ends up being more than a boat. But even if the boat was more expensive, I'd choose the boat for the convenience every time.

As much as I love our dive park, it's just such a hassle that I have to have a very good reason to go there...e.g. a class, or an event (such as our upcoming DWAD day).

But on the other side of things, diving the park can mean more total dives...provided you take the earliest ferry in, and last ferry home. You can do as many dives as your NDLs allow, as opposed to boats where you are limited to 3 or 4. Plus, you are guaranteed a good dive each time, as the park is so awesome. Whereas on a boat, you might get stuck at a crappy site (especially if you're on a boat with students). So if I was looking for a really full day of lots of dives, I would choose the park.

I would also choose the park if I wanted to spend a whole weekend focused on diving. If I book a room in Avalon I can dive all day, get in a couple night dives, dive the whole next day...way more dives than a boat.

So there ya have it.

 

[Teamcasa]

There are advantages and disadvantages to both using a mainland boat and going to the Dive Park.

When going to the Casino dive park, sure it’s a little more expensive and if the conditions are bad you have very little other dive options. However, going to the park also means you have the ability to dive at your own pace. No one is going to tell you, “Gear up, the pool is open”. If you want to take a two hour surface interval, or hang around for a night dive, fine. If you want to get in 5 dives, also fine.

If you decide to call it a day after one dive, (physical issue, gear problem or you get that call needing you back quick) all you have to do is call a cab, pay a small fee and you are back on the mainland in two hours or so. Try doing that two hours out on a local boat.

Besides these considerable advantages, you get to choose what and where to eat, who to hang around with and more importantly, what cold beverage you’d like. Plus, if you are prone to seasickness, the Catalina Express is the boat you want to travel on.

Also on the island are some very fine dive operations that offer some terrific boat diving as well. So, you can make a weekend of some of the most amazing diving very easy but a touch more costly than the alternative.

Local boat diving to Catalina has its advantages as well. You can sleep on many of the boats the night before the charter, the parking is cheaper but less secure, the food on the boats is generally very good but you are limited to what the cook is making. The trip over takes on the average of three hours (except for a few express operations) but the ride is generally nice and you can bunk down and sleep for most of it.

The diving is better and if one spot is edgy, the boat will move to a better one. If you take enough boat rides, you will dive most of the good spots on the island and there are a ton of them. If you need assistance, the crews are usually very helpful and friendly with a mind set of giving you a pleasurable trip.

Overall, the cost is lower and the diving can be better but for my money, mixing the two options is the way to go.

 

[MikeMag]

Here's my ideal way to Dive Cat: Private boat over, get a mooring. Dinghy to the Fuel Dock, skip up the ramp and you're at the park. Rent tanks (sometimes weight too!) at the trailer, couple dives, dinghy to the Tuna Club for shower. Play nine holes, dinner and drinks at the clubhouse, onto the Marlin and Galleon, stay overnight on board. Repeat.

 

[Michael Kazma]

Take the express over, stay in a hotel for a few nights and dive off the King Neptune (Scuba Luv) with capt. Bob. There are some amazing wrecks and sites off the coast that outdo the park by a million. This is why I do this trip every year: Catalina Exploration 2011 :: Ocean Explorers

 

[H2Ocean]

no1. Private boat for the week, weekend, small group, pick and choose sites with custom points. Unlimited dives.
no2. Hitch a ride on a sailboat, similar situations.
no3. Dive boats day and nights.
no4. Express, Flyer for camping and shore dives, Isthmus and Avalon.
no5. Express to the Dive Park, Avalon, for supportive events.
In pretty much that order, unless one of those numbers come up as the only option, then it takes priority.

 

[H2Ocean]

Dive boats from the mainland would come in before the Express trips, because the quality of the sites. Money either way they gotcha. I seen a deal at Powerscuba, for members camping at the Isthmus Cove (April 2011) unlimited air fills for 20 bucks for shore dives, for the weekend. That would make all the difference in the world. Unless you were only gonna make 4 dives.