Kelp forest diving in March

[kkfok]

Hi, we are planning to dive in SoCal in March of next year as a side trip after diving in Socorro
We plan to stay only 2 days in LA, how likely can we do some diving?
Sorry that we have no idea about the weather condition in March so we are worrying
the day boats from Long beach/San Pedro may be cancelled due to weather conditions.

Is Catalina the best bet for Kelp forest?
We will need to rent tanks and weights and some of us would like to
rent semi-dry suit as well.

Any advise? Thanks.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Typically March/April are the coldest water temperature months, 17deg C at the surface to a thermocline low below 12m @10 to 12deg C. Drysuit or a thick 7mm wetsuit with a hooded vest underneath are the usual exposure suits --you may have to rent open heel fins to fit over thick neoprene booties which you must purchase along with gloves (7mm wetsuits can be rented from diveshops though). Visibility can be variable from 9m to 21m with fair to good clarity at depth inside the Kelp Forest. Daytime ambient air temps at dive sites can range from 16 to 20degC.

This year March saw maybe one or two days canceled due to weather; most cancellations are due to low diver turnout or no-shows.

My favorite Catalina weekend diveboats are the Magician, Pacific Star and the Great Escape out of San Pedro 22nd Street Landing (see California Dive Boats : The Official Page).

Rent gear/kit and buy gloves & booties at Pacific Wilderness San Pedro (they don't have semi-drysuits for hire though, only for sale/purchase to own). Advise to bring your own separate SPG in bar metric units and a wrist mount computer, as the rental combo consoles here are all in US Imperial Units. -http://www.pacificwilderness.com

If you arrive here in LA and can only dive during the weekday/middle-of- the-week, then I recommend taking the Catalina Express over to Avalon, and visit the Casino Point Dive Park --but for only two days here, this option is probably best. . .
http://www.catalinaexpress.com
Rent gear/kit in Avalon here:
http://www.scubaluv.com
or http://catalinadiverssupply.com

 

[diversteve]

If the boats cancel, there's the old Marineland site in Palos Verdes. There's kelp there also. Pacific Wilderness has info about access there - it's trickier since they built a resort on the grounds. Check with them as I believe there's been more recent construction there also so some of the details may have changed. It's listed under Dive sites on their webpage. I can't seem to link to it directly. Just a few minutes from San Pedro also. http://www.pacificwilderness.com/

Or if you need a place to stay also - this is the resort: California Luxury Oceanfront Resorts | Terranea Resort | Eco Resorts in Southern California. I'm guessing access is no problem when you're a guest...lol.

Not the cheapest though - you can do a lot better pricewise in Long Beach.

I like the Marriott Renaissance - it's convenient walking distance to a lot of things. Great views since it's up the hill a couple blocks from the waterfront. One fun thing they do is rent Segway's there for touring around LB on your own. Long Beach Hotels | Hotels In Downtown Long Beach | Long Beach CA Luxury Hotels

And there's a local area free shuttle that stops just off the side of the hotel. Long Beach Transit | The Passport Going up that street a few blocks there's some nice indoor/outdoor restaurants also. It goes to Aquarium of the Pacific also - worth a stop if you have the time. And I believe over to the Queen Mary. The Catalina Express also leaves from Long Beach Harbor near the AofP.

 

[drbill]

Cold water temperatures then (as pointed out above) although this year winter and spring bottom temperatures were unusually "warm" (mid to upper 50s). If we are entering an El Nino they could be even warmer next March. Storms and/or wind are always a possibility then and sometimes the boats to Catalina are cancelled due to them.

 

[fnfalman]

Catalina is always "warm". I can't recall too many times diving at Catalina that the temp dips lower than 54-F.

March is a good time to go. Weather tends to be very calm during the winter period.

Dive boat charters tend to run Friday through Sunday, though some boats do the Wednesday runs. However for the best bet, take the Catalina Express ferry over to the city of Avalon and dive at the famous Casino Point dive park.

As far as renting gears go, there are many shops in mainland that you can rent on. Or if you were to elect to go to Casino Point dive park, then you can rent from the dive shops located in the city of Avalon.

If you take boat charters from mainland, some of these boats may rent gears too. If not then rent from the dozens of local dive shops.

To specifically address your question about semi-dry wetsuit rental, I don't know top of my head which shop has them for rent. But many shops have inner neoprene vests for rent, and also farmer john style wetsuit (separate top and bottom) that would put more neoprene across your torso for additional warmth.

 

[kkfok]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advises.
I will go ahead to ask dive shops for quotations and arrangements.
Is the thermocline always present or just appear at a certain depth ? 10 degree Celsius is beyond imagination.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advises.
I will go ahead to ask dive shops for quotations and arrangements.
Is the thermocline always present or just appear at a certain depth ? 10 degree Celsius is beyond imagination.

10 deg C is the coldest of my March '14 dives, but that was in San Diego on the artificial reef/wreck of HMCS Yukon at 30m; my Catalina kelp forest dives range from 12 to 16deg C with the warmer temperatures above 9m.

All diveshops listed above should be able to rent you at least a 7mm wetsuit and a hood along with an 11L Alu Tank --ask if they also provide gloves and booties as part of the rental package as well (Catalina Divers Supply in Avalon I think includes gloves & booties for rent).

 

[fnfalman]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate the advises.
I will go ahead to ask dive shops for quotations and arrangements.
Is the thermocline always present or just appear at a certain depth ? 10 degree Celsius is beyond imagination.

There should be no thermocline by that time of the year. If the sun is out and bright, maybe the first 3-ft of water would be slightly warmer.

You're not going to get 10-C/50-F around Catalina, or most places in SoCal. Only the most unusual places like the Wreck Alley in San Diego or San Miguel Island may be cold enough to hit that temperature.

 

[drbill]

Catalina is always "warm". I can't recall too many times diving at Catalina that the temp dips lower than 54-F.

March is a good time to go. Weather tends to be very calm during the winter period.

Well, not always! I've had temps as low as 46 F on dives as shallow as 70 fsw. Funny since I've never experienced a sub-50 F temperature on my dives to 200 fsw.

I also degree on March being a good time to go. March can bring some of our worst storms. The unfortunate thing is that they are often unpredictable. This year we even had a number of gale force winds that stopped the boats in April (more typical of March)