Please tell:what's good about ca diving??

[Brian Gilpin]

I love diving in CA... 2 words.. kelp forest.. can't get any better than that swimming through kelp strands w/ the sun trickling down gaps in the canopy. Plus all the cool fish and animals. If you guys ever make it down a little further south, the Channel Islands are AWESOME.

Thomas

You are so right about the Channel Islands. A great day in Monterey is a decent day in the Channel Islands as to viz and temp. The Garibaldis give Socal a semitropical feeling as well. Considering the prices in Monterey those three day trips on the Vision are starting to look reasonable.Cant wait to get back.

 

[renpirate]

The California coast offers a lot of diversity of life and things to see. Many people have already mentioned some of the great aspects of diving here and I couldn't agree more. Monterrey is wonderful and the Channel Islands are awesome, but there is also great diving along the North Coast as well. My wife and I just dove in Anchor Bay, which is north of Gualala. The vis was about 10 ft, but everywhere we looked we saw abundant life. A school of fish followed us for about half of our dive. It was a great dive.

If you are looking for dive sites, I would recommend going to http://www.saintbrendan.com/. You can find some wonderful books by Bruce Watkins on the places to dive in Northern California ranging from beginner to advanced.

As for equipment, I highly recommend a drysuit. Although, you can dive just fine in a wetsuit, most people, including myself, tend to get cold on a second dive.

 

[boomx5]

ps: and what's Melbourne doing lurking about Norcal? Perhaps something definitely more compelling about California dreaming than first meets the eye?


profits maybe?

The company Ben worked for had a contract in the Bay Area so he relocated from down under for a while. Unfortunately, when the contract ended he decided to move back to Melbourne.

 

[CALI68]

I too have dove all over since I was 12. I'm now 36. When Monterey is good it's the most exciting place I have ever dove. I made the HUGE mistake of dismissing Monterey Diving and Cold water diving in general for many years. I wasn't untill my newly certified best friend convinced me to go that I realized how big that mistake was. My first dive in Monterey was a lucky one. Aumentos Reef with over 50' vis. I WAS BLOWN AWAY!!! The second dive that day was at Lover Point and that's when I saw the Kelp Forest for the first time. UNREAL! JUST UNREAL! Since those first dives I have logged a couple hundred more. I only got really cold one time and that was Monastary in The Winter. We were going pretty deep and I froze. That's when I went for a Dry Suit and that made the divivng comfortable and relaxing. With a Drysuit and good Vis you really can't beat it.

 

[coreypenrose]

You are so right about the Channel Islands. A great day in Monterey is a decent day in the Channel Islands as to viz and temp. The Garibaldis give Socal a semitropical feeling as well. Considering the prices in Monterey those three day trips on the Vision are starting to look reasonable.Cant wait to get back.

Eh....as to vis and temp, perhaps. Still, I've had more then my share of 5 feet of vis and 47 degree days at Anacapa. Personally, I wouldn't any of the Islands without my drysuit.

 

[luvspoodles]

luvspoodles, Where were your tropical dives?
Specifically what did you most like at each tropical dive destination?
Just what are your current expectations about what would change your California beliefs?}

Aviddiver,I have dove in Cancun, Cozumel, Kauai, and Grand Cayman. I loved the fish, the coral, the fact that I could see forever, and just simply the feeling of diving. I love diving, and the relaxing feeling that it gives me. Nothing compares to this new passion of mine. I have apprehensive feelings about Monterey diving due to the fact that I failed my open water checkout. Everything was so heavy and I was so out of breath when I did the surface swim out that I became too afraid and panicked to go under. I had to swim back. I completed my certification the next week in Folsom Lake, and then started tropical diving. The cold water, low viz, lots of lead, and great white sharks scare me about California diving. However, I am hoping that in my AOW checkout in Monterey on August 7th and 8th that I will have a change of opinion. I love diving, and I just can't imagine waiting months to do it. I am loving everyone's feedback. It certainly is helping! I will keep everyone posted as to how my AOW checkout is. Now, if only my husband would share a passion for California diving!

 

[aviddiver(him)]

TO:luvspoodles.

Monterey water is as cold as it gets in California. During summertime, Monterey also has highly variable vis due to planktonic bloom secondary to increased sun light.

The southern Channel Islands (Santa Barbara, Santa Catalina, San Clemente) usually have warmer 60-68 degree water, fairly good clarity (40-60ft) in the summertime. Lead is a function of skill level and thermal protection fit. Not knowing your musculo-skeletal build, but assuming average, for a woman, 16-18 lbs of lead using a comfortable 7/6/5mm attached hooded or detached 12mm Otter Bay hood can be expected. If you are average, yet needing more lead than this, then work on optimal weighting, neutral buoyancy and RELAXING. Not being able to breath(SOB) is usually related to too tight a wetsuit (particularly in the chest - 2 piece Farmer-John style suits are notorious for this) and SOB is also related to a poorly designed BC bladder/strap system. If you rented your stuff, then dollars to donuts, equipment changes hopefully will solve your SOB. Live-aboards to the southern channels may possibly be worth exploring, given your situation.

Consider double hooding or purchasing a pre or custom made 12mm hood from Otter Bay Wetsuits & Drysuits in Monterey at 207 Hoffman Ave., Monterey (near Hoffman & Foam) toll free 888 220-1453. Comfort is everything in cold water California diving.

As I recall when I've done the Marine World thing in Vallejo, CA, the shark exhibit had a big map that lit up for each species of shark and Stumpy, the Great White Shark, was in the Carribean, western US coast, Hawaii, ... just about everywhere. Satellite tracking experiments show that GW sharks frequent seal haul out territory along California, too often hit surfers, and breed along the coldest parts of California (Santa Cruz north/ northern California), then in late fall/winter swim 3500miles to be in Hawaii. I have hundreds of dives and have never seen Stumpy. These apical predators have more than the 5 senses you and I have; in addition, they have chemoreceptor, pressure receptor, and electrical receptor sensory abilities - from miles away! Sorry, but IMHO, if you are lucky enough to see Stumpy before he strikes, then he is currently ruling you out as a course on today's dinner menu. Since SCUBA divers very rarely SEE Stumpy, then I conclude he has, long before humans ever could possibly see him, he has decided we're not worth eating. Even if GWS aren't in a particular local, there definitely is a look-alike to fit his same niche. He might have tiger stripes, he might have huge dorsal fins, he might have more frightening teeth - but they will be every much as big and potentially deadly. I have never seen Stumpy; I have seen some of his slightly smaller brethren because I've gone to swim with them. Low California vis and an active imagination can cause you to be very anxious and not RELAXED in our California ocean. Unfortunately the probability is either zero or 100% that you'll experience an encounter. Most avid California divers anecdotally believe that not carrying bloody speared fish, not spending too much surface time, not swimming with the seals, and most importantly not wearing any metal while submerged will reduce the risk.

Tell me, before you became a diver, what color was the ocean?

Here's another compelling question, how would you feel about something much bigger than you (but not near the size of a big GWS), if something much bigger than you swam up from behind and was within feet or even nipping at your fins, how would you feel?

 

[Danny Valerio]

Hello!

I am also a relatively new diver, with 28 dives, all of which have been done in Lake Tahoe except for three in Monterey.

The first time I went diving in Monterey on the breakwater (shore dive) and thought to myself, so THIS is why people go scuba diving! There are tons of things to see! If you've ever been to the Monterey Aquarium, anything you find there comes from the Monterey Bay

Think of the low vis as a night dive. I did a boat dive at 10 in the morning where the class next to us turned on their lights, but once we were under the plankton bloom, there was plenty of light and color.

Each wetsuit has different temperature ratings, I think seven mil's are rated for between 45-60, but if you're like me and get cold easily wet is not the way to go. If you're serious about diving in colder water, make the investment in a dry suit. I've been diving dry for my last 20 dives and the difference is amazing. The added bonus is that you don't have to get into your swimsuit. I don't know about the Cali dive shops, but I can rent a dry suit in Reno. That would give you the ability to try them out and not spend a million dollars. There are definite differences between diving wet and dry beyond the warmth that have to do with buoyancy.

I dove fairly comfortably when I had 16 dives there, and I say fairly because I suddenly had to deal with current, surge, and kelp, none of which exist in Lake Tahoe. It's the same with any new dive location, ask the locals where they like to go. The Cypress Sea is a pretty nice dive boat that does dives for beginners, and they treated me wonderfully.

I will be going diving in Monterey in August and I'm always diving up in Tahoe. Let me know and maybe we can go sometime.

Happy Diving!
~Danny