Open California Forum?

[Eric Sedletzky]

I consider the line somewhere south of Monterey but north of Morro Bay.
Actually, California has three zones, Northern, Central, and Southern, but for this dive forum I voted to merge them into one.

 

[Akimbo]

I consider the line somewhere south of Monterey but north of Morro Bay.
Actually, California has three zones, Northern, Central, and Southern, but for this dive forum I voted to merge them into one.

FYI: The proposal is NOT to MERGE the NorCal and SoCal forums into one. We are considering opening the parent California Forum to threads that would be of interest to divers statewide..

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I may be hijacking my own thread here but where do most divers consider the NorCal/SoCal dividing line? I have always considered Pt Conception as that point from a diving/conditions standpoint. It might be as far north as Ragged Point from an access standpoint. I doubt many people outside the state understand that there are no harbor facilities between Morro Bay and Monterey. For that matter, how few marinas there are in the state period: Marinas and Boat Launches on the California Coast

According to Scubaboard, Northern California covers the area from Monterey County to the Oregon border and everything in between. Southern California covers the area from San Luis Obispo County to the Mexican border and everything in between. Apparently there is no Central California. When I lived in San Francisco I considered that NorCal. My friends near Mt. Shasta disagreed. When I dive Carmel/Monterey I consider it CenCal but Scubaboard says I'm wrong. I think having a single California forum would work.

 

[ScubaWithTurk]

Pt. Conception is where I see the division line at as well.

 

[Scubatude]

People are already confused about a California Forum as a parent forum and still having a SoCal and NorCal forum. Maybe this is not a great idea.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

All posts show up on “ new posts” or “recent posts” don’t they?

Why not just have one forum “California Diving”. There isn’t enough activity on any of the CA forums to have so many.

 

[Akimbo]

All posts show up on “ new posts” or “recent posts” don’t they?

Why not just have one forum “California Diving”. There isn’t enough activity on any of the CA forums to have so many.

(Not arguing for or against the poll question)
That is true for members that frequently visit Scubaboard but lurkers average 3-5x as many readers online as members. Check the stats under Members Online Now. Also consider readers from other parts of the world researching a visit to California. Your "posting activity" observation by itself would justify combining all forums for the US and Canadian Pacific coasts from San Diego through the Aleutian Islands.

One of many considerations for geographic separation of forums is the diving conditions. Comments about diving La Jolla Cove "might" lead someone to think that they could expect similar conditions and marine life at Salt Point if they were in the same forum.

I also agree with comments about CenCal, but that division is more about topside characteristics than marine life and conditions. With few exceptions, diving CenCal would mean Monterey and Carmel Bays. NorCal would be about 80% freediving for Abalone and spearfishing. That is why so many of us who live well north of the Golden Gate travel to Monterey for Scuba and boat dives.

 

[Akimbo]

I read the NorCal forum every day but rarely get to post in there.

FYI: You can set a alert that comes up when there is a post or reply to a forum:

 

[mainedvr]

is there a reason why people from So Cal cannot join the NorCal forum? May be a stupid question but not sure why the segregation.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

It is open, it is just a separate forum. When I dive in SoCal I post a report in the SoCal forum. When I dive in Central California I still post in the SoCal forum. It would be nice to get opinions from others in the state who happen to live north of Pt. Conception without having to post the same report in two different forums. I believe more divers from Northern California would read about diving in SoCal and vice versa if there was just a single California forum. Those of us who read both get to experience more but I wonder how many only read their local forum.