Puget Sounder visiting Cali in July...Dive Site Suggestions?

[huskychemist]

My dive buddy and I are headed south in July for some California diving. (Tentatively...San Diego, Catalina, Santa Barbara, and Monterey)

So a few questions for you California folks if you don't mind...

1. Can you suggest some "can't miss" dives for us? (Preferably shore dives, within rec. limits. Although charter suggestions might be helpful also.) We're considering some shark dives...but probably not a live-aboard. The dives don't necessarily have to be in the four areas I listed above...as we are driving, so our itinerary can change to find the spots you suggest.

2. Any references that will help us plan? Thinking here of books and websites in particular.

(For example, I found the following three books online, and wondered if they were worth the price: A Diver's Guide to Southern California's Best Beach Dives; A Diver's Guide To Monterey County, CA; and A Diver's Guide To Northern California.)


3. Typically, what's vis like in July? What about the kelp? Haven't ever dove that before... And water temps? (Last dive up here for me was 48...so I'm more worried about overheating suiting up then getting cold while in the water.)


4. Any dive shops near the dives you suggest that are friendly and worth supporting?



Thanks in advance for any responses. The information is much appreciated.

Lowell

(And yes, I posted in the NorCal area as well, to cover all the bases.)

 

[mccabejc]

A bunch of us Scubaboarders are having one of our monthly diving get togethers/barbeques at the dive park on Catalina on July 8. That's definitely a "can't miss" dive around here, and as dives go it can't get much easier. It's got kelp, wrecks, usually exceptional viz, and all kinds of good stuff. You should try to join us if you can. There's a Catalina info sticky in this forum.

Water temps in July should probably be in the high 50's/low 60's range (based on my dive logs from last July). Viz for shore dives can be anywhere from 0 to 30+ ft., depending on location and conditions.

There are lots of shore dive sites all along the coast in SoCal, mostly shallow (<60ft.) reefs. The "SoCal Best Beach Dives" by Sheckler is pretty much the bible around here, and has a lot of good information.

 

[wetrat]

Lowell,

Jim made a really good suggestion - that Catalina dive July 8 would be a GREAT one to make!! The only other resource I might ad is the Official California Dive Boats website.

If I were in your flippers, I would start in San Diego and work my way north. Dive the Yukon and Ruby E. wrecks off the coast of San Diego, do a shore dive at North Crescent in Laguna, hit the Avalon Dive Park with us July 8, do a shore dive at Old Marineland in L.A., then do a sea lion and kelp dive at Anacapa or one of the other northern channel islands. There are many fantastic dives in southern cal - and many I still haven't checked out - but those are some of my personal favorites!

 

[Diver_Jan]

Lowell,

Ditto on the info that Jim and Wetrat gave you. Also, if you can get your hands on California Dive News, that has alot of info in it as well for throughout California. If you don't have a resource, PM me with your addy, and I'll send you a copy.

Our viz varies greatly here. Best viz is over at Catalina and San Clemente Island (my fav!); local beach diving it can be 5 to 30' which changes daily.

You mentioned Monterey. I have dove a bit south of there in San Simeon and Morrow Bay. Again, viz is not the best, but there are some cool dive sites. One of my favorites is Jade Cove (45 minutes north of San Simeon). It's a bit of a hike, then a climb down the cliff face, then a rocky and sometimes slippery climb over various rocks and boulders and heaps of kelp. Ahhhhh... you know what? You mentioned you have NOT dove kelp. SCRATCH THIS SITE...DO NOT GO HERE. You should only dive here if you are very experienced kelp diver, for it gets THICK. There are no lifegaurds, rescue, ect available. This is a remote site. The rewards of this site is awesome marine life, a beautiful Jade Wall, swim throughs, and the possibility of taking home some jade pieces.

Do check out Morrow Bay. That will be more your speed. Also, you will delight having sea otters swimming along side of you.

If you are going to be in the So Cal area (Los Angeles and/or Orange County) I would suggest booking a boat trip through Reefseekers (http://www.reefseekers.com) to get kelp experience with a divemaster. I believe they are the only shop that provides dive escorts on their trips at no extra cost.

 

[huskychemist]

Thanks for the responses. We're going to try to keep the 8th open for the UW Park Dive at Catalina...I'll keep you posted.

Morrow Bay? Morro Bay? Is that where the big "Rock" is?

In terms of vis...I'm used to poor vis...Puget Sound lately has been running 5-10 feet due to our big rains. (And I was told winter provided the best vis. Ha!) You're right, we've never done kelp before.

Any experience from any of you with DiveAquatics Charter? We're looking at a shark dive with them...

Thanks again for the tips...and the invitation. We're looking forward to our trip.

Lowell

 

[dpbishop]

DiveBums http://www.divebums.com/main.html will give you information on some of the Dive spots in San Diego. I highly recommend La Jolla Cove for a beach dive. The parking can be tough if you don't get there early, but the entry is easy and it's a marine park with lots to see.

 

[Ben_ca]

Make reservations for Pt Lobos now!... Really nice place to dive... Check out the website for Details PT Lobos State Park

 

[Diver_Jan]

Morrow Bay, yes...that is where the BIG rock is! LOL Dive the harbor side of the rock. It's fairly shallow, but lots to see...plus the fuzzy cute faces of the giant and baby sea otters. There was a family of 4 last time I was there.

 

[LAJim]

Filling in one blank is Ventura Harbor Village - home of diveboats Peace, Spectre and Explorer. All three make day drips to Anacapa - some of the best and most affordable boat diving in SoCal. I've been on Peace and Spectre. If you study the dive reports here you will see these boats mentioned a lot. The ScubaBoard Group went out on Peace on January 28 and has a Spectre trip at the end of this month - unfortunately I have a work conflict that weekend. Note that I'm not saying that you should dive Anacapa instead of the other locations - I'm just suggesting Anacapa as part of a healthy diet of SoCal diving.

Jim

 

[pasley]

Point Lobos is, I am told and excellent dive.

Kelp is no big deal, if you treat it with respect. Basic Kelp rules are:
1. Enter, submerge, surface and leave the water where the kelp is not. Diver at Point Lobos jumped in from the boat on top of the kelp canopy, got entangled and panicked and well it did not end well. You don't want to do that.
2. Swim below the canopy and keep you gear streamlined. Knifes on the inside of the leg or other location where it will not hang up. Like walking through the forest, easy when you are moving among the trunks, the canopy is another story.
3. If you get hung up DO NOT Panic and DO NOT TURN AROUND. Turning around only wraps you up like a papoose. Just feel for where you are stuck and remove it. Kelp is very strong when pulled along its length. Kelp breaks easily when you bend it across the diameter of the strand.

So Cal diving: http://www.sandeaters.org has good descriptions of the Los Angeles and Orange County (Orange County is still a work in progress).

SoCal divers are a friendly lot and you should be able to find a dive to go with you. Let me know the date and I might be available.

I will be diving Seacrest Cove 2 in Seattle this Thursday (16 Feb 06) and another site on Friday I your neck of the woods.