Santa Barbara and General Channel Islands Question

[Mantasscareme]

I'm in the market for a one-day trip to the Channel Islands this summer. I've read that Santa Barbara is a great dive spot because of the sea lion colony there, but that the best time to dive there is October because that's when the juvenile sea lions are taking to the water. Is the sea lion rookery really a seasonal thing, or is it possible to play with the sea lions year round there? Marine mammals aside aside, how does Santa Barbara compare with the best of Catalina or San Clemente (I've done Catalina's Ship Rock and loved it)? Any suggestions for dive boats to Santa Barbara or alternative dive trips are welcome.
Thanks,
-Mantasscareme

 

[alaity47]

I've found Santa Barbara very hit-or-miss - we've had some of our most memorable dives there, but also some of our most boring. It's definitely possible to dive with sea lions year round, and not just at Santa Barbara - Anacapa also has a very friendly population of local sea lions, and the oil rigs are covered with them.

The trick to Santa Barbara is that conditions don't always allow you to dive there. We've made it about 50% of the time, but I have a friend who's only made it there once after seven attempts. The same odds apply to the oil rigs.

Catalina's always a safe bet, but you might as well sign up for a trip heading to SBI or Clemente - because you have fair odds of winding up at Catalina anyway if conditions don't cooperate.

My favorite boat in the area is the Great Escape out of Long Beach (diveboat.com) - lots of Catalina trips and occasional SBI runs. If you're up for a multi-day trip, definitely check out Truth Aquatics, based in Santa Barbara (truthaquatics.com). They're more likely to hit the northern channel islands. (San Miguel also has a sea lion rookery, but conditions tend to prohibit boats from reaching it except for winter.)

Good luck! And I should also mention, I've had a VERY sea lion-intensive year out here. We've had them show up on most of our trips, not just to SBI. I have a few videos of them here, and I'm working on another one from last weekend.

 

[JodiBB]

Anastasia....your footage is GREAT!!!!! I watched all of them! Makes me want to go to Anacapa (conditions and all!) Thanks for sharing!

 

[alaity47]

Anastasia....your footage is GREAT!!!!! I watched all of them! Makes me want to go to Anacapa (conditions and all!) Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! Like I said, it's been a sea-liony year. I really enjoy diving all the channel islands, so I never care too much where a boat winds up.

 

[Mantasscareme]

Thanks for your help, SBI is definately one for the to-do list.

 

[CompuDude]

I would check out my favorite dive boat's schedule: the Peace, out of Ventura. Best boat on the local waters, IMO. www.peaceboat.com They definitely feed you well... very different from the sandwich, chips and cola you get on other boats.

They go out to the outer Channel Islands on a regular basis. I just returned from a trip to San Miguel and Oil Rig Grace this past weekend. Good times.

 

[abman]

your video was incredible!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i showed all four of them to my wife (nondiver,nonswimer ) she loved the sea lions. absolutley outstanding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that's why i dive the channel islands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mantasscareme]

Thanks for your replies everyone, one more quick question: Sand Dollar out of San Pedro, decent boat? Anyone use it?