Redondo Beach

[Alex37]

I'm wondering if there are any motels near the dive site at Redondo Beach. (the site with the VW)

I'm doing my open water cert dives there in a couple of weeks.

Is is as cold as I think it's going to be?
What is the visibility likely to be?
What are the chances of seeing anything large? (as big as me)


Any help with any of these lame rookie questions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[TSandM]

I don't know about motels or hotels -- Maybe NWGratefulDiver can help you there, since he lives in the area.

Water temperature right now is in the high 40's, so yes, it's pretty cold. Hopefully you'll be using a good, thick wetsuit, or a dry suit. Have some warm water in a thermos or jug to pour into the suit between dives, and a good, heavy coat you can throw on over your wetsuit.

Visibility varies from day to day, especially with what the weather conditions have been (heavy rain brings a lot of particulates into the water), but you can figure something between 10 and 25 feet is a pretty safe bet.

Redondo is a pleasant dive, better at night than in the daytime, at least in my limited experience. You'll see lots of the usual Puget Sound bottom dwellers (crabs, starfish and shrimp). There are some rockfish, and there are gunnels in many of the pipes and crevices (look carefully for them!) I've seen small octopus there several times, but at night. I don't think one commonly sees any harbor seals there, or big GPOs, or six gills (which are rare any any site), and those are the only "big things" we see in the Sound.

You'll be pretty busy doing your skills and everything anyway Have fun with your OW dives!

 

[Matt S.]

Redondo is one of my favorite sites due to easy parking, easy entry, and relative current insensitivity. There's not a whole lot to see compared to other sites but I keep busy trying to stay in trim anyway so I don't have time to look for critters.

Good luck with your class. We got certified recently and have been going out weekly, as often as we can manage.

Save up for a drysuit if you are going to dive around here... Seriously.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

I'm going to be diving there this evening. Never really looked at the area for motels, but I'm sure there are some up on Pacific Highway. I'll do a drive-by and see what's there ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[coachrenz]

Redondo is one of my favorite sites ...

There's not a whole lot to see compared to other sites

snip

I agree with the first statement, but tend to disagree with the second.

On my last dive there on Thursday, April 5, I saw and identified no less than 45 different species. Besides the critters to see, there is a lot of varied structure that is easily found. The site is well mapped and a review as well as dive site maps (I didn't make them, but did reformat them) can be found at http://www.timrenz.com.

It is a great site.

Tim

 

[donooo]

Tim, just looked at your profile. When you are cooking parrots, how long do you leave them on and at what temp ?

don O

 

[wylerbear]

I have stayed at the LaQuinta at Exit #143 on I-5. The motel is nice, has a pool, hot tub, exercise room, and a free good breakfast (love those waffles). Price is reasonable and you're less than 10 minutes from the dive site.
I agree with Coachrenz that it's a great site. See lots of critters there-you just need to pay attention, day or night-there's LOTS to see.

 

[Alex37]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Rhino_Portland_Oregon]

I'm always looking for new dive locations... Where exactly is Redondo Beach ?

 

[diveborg]

I'm always looking for new dive locations... Where exactly is Redondo Beach ?

From www.pnwscuba.com:

Redondo map