New Diver - travelling, hoping to dive July 30th

[falcoiii]

Newly minted PADI OW diver here!

I am landing at SNA airport at 11 am on the 30th and I have the rest of the day free for diving. I hoping to do a simple dive with a divemaster, buddy or dive shop. I would need to rent some gear (tank at minimum).

- 60 ft max, 40 ft preferred
- single tank preferred
- shore dive is ok if entry/exit is not too crazy
- cold water is ok - I was certified in 45 - 55 degree water

Any suggestions of where to dive and dive shops or people to contact?

Thanks

 

[fnfalman]

laguna sea sports | Beach Cities Scuba Centers ? Your premier Orange County Scuba Diving experience

I'd suggest to contact Laguna Sea Sports and see if they can offer you a divemaster service. They can definitely rent you the gears and shore diving is literally next door to the shop.

 

[tracydr]

Newly minted PADI OW diver here!

I am landing at SNA airport at 11 am on the 30th and I have the rest of the day free for diving. I hoping to do a simple dive with a divemaster, buddy or dive shop. I would need to rent some gear (tank at minimum).

- 60 ft max, 40 ft preferred
- single tank preferred
- shore dive is ok if entry/exit is not too crazy
- cold water is ok - I was certified in 45 - 55 degree water

Any suggestions of where to dive and dive shops or people to contact?

Thanks

Where did you learn to dive? The shore diving in San Diego takes a little getting used to. I do recommend a dive master to show you how to enter the surf a time or two. It's the most difficult surf diving I've ever experienced,even though they teach OW classes at Lajolla in it all the time.
I'd highly recommend Lajolla and than also the wreck alley/kelp dives. I really recommend the kelp forest because this is unique to CA ( except I guess BC has some) and is an amazing experience. The wrecks are great but you don't get kelp forest just everywhere.

 

[falcoiii]

Thanks for the ideas... I will call laguna.

I did my scuba certification in a quarry - a different shore entry

I have never done a scuba entry/exit in surf, but have snorkeled a few times from shore in some surf... the extra weight and larger fins could be a challenge.

Wreck alley seems a little far and a little too deep (60 - 100 feet).

Is the kelp forest only around Catalina? A local has recommended Catalina for the kelp forest, but would the timing would be too tight to start at 11 am to get out of the SNA airport, get gear, take a ferry, get to the dive spot and go diving?

 

[Chiapet]

I'd vote for Laguna Sea Sports as well. Shaw's Cove is just a few blocks down the hill from the shop and is a popular site for OW classes. There's an interesting rocky reef to explore and a little kelp too. Depths range from 20-40 feet so it can be a bit surgy but there's lots to see. Laguna Beach is only about 20 minutes from SNA.

 

[lamarpaulski]

Newly minted diver might find depth and challenges of the wrecks a bit much.

---------- Post added July 25th, 2013 at 10:05 AM ----------

Too bad you can't take ferry to Catalina and dive the Casino dive park...easy and conditions almost always as good or better than coast.

 

[Chiapet]

Catalina is fantastic but it doesn't sound like you have time to get there unless you're willing to spend the night on the island. The ride out is about an hour and a half from Dana Point and about an hour if you leave from Long Beach. This is high season so you would also want to reserve your ferry ticket in advance.

 

[merxlin]

One thing you need to watch are the swell models as well. Shore diving is great unless the surf is up. Typically if we see surfboards on cars as we head down, we know it might be a tough day. Right now the swells look to be building on the 30th. Of course subject to change as the date gets closer.

From Swellwatch: "Tuesday the 30th into Wednesday the 31st is due for southerly swell from a system the models have been showing since last week breaking off Antarctica. This system peaked about 48 hours ago, and as models predicted it did reform once it got a little closer to SoCal (initially 5700, then 5000 nautical miles). This has directed two swaths of swell at SoCal from 195° and 180°, both of which should arrive at the same time. Running the numbers today it looks like we'll see chest to at times head high surf Tuesday the 30th, with head high sets more frequent on Wednesday the 31st (with average sets still chest high)."

 

[falcoiii]

On my flight to SNA right now. Mike from Laguna dive shop is hooking me up with a dm, tank and weights. Then down to Shaw's cove where I hope to enter in 5 foot seas from the south and a medium to high tide.

 

[merxlin]

I hope your DM is logical and doesn't push a dive that should be avoided. If you have no experience with surf entries, 4-5 footers are not the time to learn. The good news is the swells have a long interval (at least on the charts). Be careful out there.