Looking for a dive center/area in So. Cal. area

[xeondavis]

hello fellow divers. a long time lurker here, but first time posting.

My wife and I are brand new divers (just recently got our OW cert.) and we are looking for some suggestions on where to dive in Southern California area. We will be in Anaheim area later this month so I guess maybe Santa Catalina is a good choice?

We're thinking to have a couple guided tours. We'd like to get some more guided bottom time before we take off on our own. It doesn't matter if we do it from the boat or from the shore.

Please let us know if you know some dive centers that are user-friendly to new divers. Also what kind of exposure suit do people usually wear down there in March? wetsuit? 5/7mm?

thank you

 

[fisheater]

My suggestion is to spend a couple of days diving on Catalina, while wearing a 7 mm wetsuit.

Why not increase your skills and take a AOW class there? See Scuba Luv and Catalina Divers Supply, both of which operate on Catalina?

 

[B.L. Justice]

Wow, Lots of questions....

Congrats on getting into the dive. You are gonna love it more and more as you do it. Lots of dive shops in "The O.C." Pacific Wilderness has done me right, so has Sport Chalet in Huntington Beach. PW will have DMs who can do the local dive tours. You can get the same from some of the other local dive shops. If you don;t mind climbing stairs, there is plenty to see in Laguna. If you like to Boat Dive, you can't beat a Catalina run. I like the Magician and Island Time, Sand Dollar is also very good. There are plenty of good to great dive boats local. Do a Google search on So Cal Dive Boats and you will get a solid list.

I dive a 7mm wet suit, water runs a round 55 degrees this time of year. Dry suit is gonna be a lot warmer but... too rich for my blood right now.

Good luck and enjoy So Cal.

 

[mselenaous]

Welcome Xeon.

Water here is currenty about 55deg. Plan on at least 7mm+, semi-dry or even drysuit if you've got it. Lots of great diving in So.Cal.
This book describes all the local dives sites California Diving News - Gear- A Diver's Guide to Southern California's Best Beach Dives, 4th Edition.

CA Diving news not only lists all the dive shops, but also has a link describing several local sites as well as a search of the Charter Dive Boat schedules by date and destination. California Diving News - The Premier Website for California Divers

Hope you get to see CA's world famous kelp forrests.

 

[fnfalman]

My suggestion is to spend a couple of days diving on Catalina, while wearing a 7 mm wetsuit.

Why not increase your skills and take a AOW class there? See Scuba Luv and Catalina Divers Supply, both of which operate on Catalina?

Excellent advice, indeed. Go to Catalina Island for the weekend and hook up with either Scuba Luv or Catalina Divers Supply. They're both great shops. They have Dive Masters available for guides at either Casino Point underwater dive park, which is a very easy shore dive. You walk about maybe 15-ft worth of steps right into the water. Or they have their own dive boat charters.

But if you're going to pay for guided tours then might as well see if they can do the AOW course and get another cert out of it.

Or you can go down to the SoCal forum and post there what times exactly you're going to be in the area and ask for boat suggestions and gear rentals, etc.

If your dive schedule matches mine then I'd be more than glad to play the underwater tour guide, no charge.

 

[Fly Girl]

I did my OW with OEX in San Diego. My two cents, I will never do another certification at an amazing dive location. I had sea lions begging me to swim with them, crazy orange fish checking me out, and the most incredible things that live on the edges of the kelp forests. Of course, I was too busy doing my OW cert stuff to get to enjoy the dives. Go have a great time and save the cert stuff for the quarry back home. I wish I could be going with you!

 

[fnfalman]

I did my OW with OEX in San Diego. My two cents, I will never do another certification at an amazing dive location. I had sea lions begging me to swim with them, crazy orange fish checking me out, and the most incredible things that live on the edges of the kelp forests. Of course, I was too busy doing my OW cert stuff to get to enjoy the dives. Go have a great time and save the cert stuff for the quarry back home. I wish I could be going with you!

The PADI AOW dives are nothing more than scenic dives with the instructor thrown in the lot. There are no drills to do except for the deep dive where you do like maybe a couple minutes worth of hands-eyes-coordinations drill to show how narc affects you and you gotta shoot a few azimuths for the navigation dive. The other three dives are nothing more than fun dives.

BTW, the orange fish is called the Garibaldi. It belongs to the family of damselfish and the State Fish of California.

 

[Teamcasa]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

Moved to SoCal..

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[xeondavis]

whoa a lot of info. thank you.

The AOW idea is interesting but I have to think about it. My plan was just to dive for fun without worrying much about skills, tests, etc. But if AOW class is not too involved, maybe I'll sign up for the weekend class.

Thanks again. I will be surely checking a few dive centers you guys mentioned above.

 

[merxlin]

One more suggestion for you if you are here the end of March
March 28 - Great Escape
Come join a mess of us from So Cal and Scuba Board. Its only one day but lots of fun with this group, and on a nice boat (come hungry).