Shore Or Boat Diving? Socal Dive Advice Needed.

[MaizeNBlue88]

My wife and I are traveling to Beaumont, California in August. When traveling, we're used to picking a dive op, paying one rate, and doing a set number of dives. It seems that really isn't all that common in Southern California. The only dive ops I've found are exorbitantly expensive and it seems that shore diving is popular.

Here are my questions:

What is more common or "better" for Southern California; shore diving or boat diving? We're interested in diving the kelp forests and with seals and sharks. I get that wildlife generally varies seasonally.

If shore diving, how do we rent tanks or get air fills? Are there dive ops nearby that offer this?

Where would you dive if you only had 3 days?

 

[Steve_C]

What do you consider expensive?

Shore diving varies. In my limited experience guides have picked up tanks, there were tanks provided by guides, there were tanks right there (Catalina). So it varies with where you are diving and with whom.

There is a lot of boat and shore diving.

 

[MaizeNBlue88]

Well the only ops I could find were well over $100 for a single day. Some were as much as $400 for certain dives. I suppose I'm used to the $50-$75 prices other places we've been.

 

[geoff w]

From Beaumont, you're almost 2 hours from the coast at best, either for boat diving or shore diving. Boats tend to be more expensive, because boats. When we shore dive, we take as many tanks per diver needed for one tank per dive. There aren't any dive shops right on the beach where people do shore dives that I know of. Except Casino Point on Catalina at the dive park

You didn't say if you're bringing your own gear or renting everything. If you're renting tanks, figure about $10-15 per tank for the day. Find a dive shop closed on Sunday and/or Monday and if you time it right you'd probably get extra days for free

Depending on your skill level, location, cooler water tolerance, interests and air consumption, dives can last from 15 to 90 minutes. Most dive boats will do 2, 3 or 4 dives for the day depending on where you go, conditions and how long the trip is planned (1/2 day, 3/4 day or full day), but typically as the day goes on fewer and fewer divers get in the water. San Diego has some economical 2 tank morning dives on boats

Power Scuba in San Diego has a lot of organized shore and boat trips, although you probably won't get in kelp on the shore dives

Where have you been to get a full day of diving for $50-75 each? $400 seems very high for a day of diving, unless you're including all the dive gear, boat price and a guide dedicated to you

 

[socaljohn]

Laguna sea sports is short walk from shaws and crescent coves in Laguna. You will not find a kelp forest at this time in So Cal due to warmer than usual water temps. As mentioned casino pt on catalina has fill station right there and they just expanded the dive park. Still no kelp to speak of.

 

[MaizeNBlue88]

We're staying with friends, that's the reason for choosing Beaumont. I have already taken into account a possible 2 hour drive. We plan on bringing all of our own gear except tanks and weights.

We currently live in Ohio and dive lakes and quarries in the area; so we're used to colder (~60-65*F) water. We generally get at least an hour on a single tank of air; more or less depending on depth and temperature. The only other locations we've dived are sub-tropical waters in the gulf. I'm not familiar with the temperature or conditions of California diving, so more information on that would also be helpful.

Also, when I said $50-$75, I meant a 2 or 3 tank morning/afternoon boat dive in Florida and Mexico. I do realize that California is going to be more expensive, but I wasn't thinking I would have to spend several hundred dollars for a day of diving for my wife and I.

One concern my wife had with shore diving was our unfamiliarity with the conditions and locations. She was worried that because we have never dived California that it may present somewhat of a safety risk.

I really appreciate all the feedback guys.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

The prices for boat diving is high because for the most part they have to go to the Channel Islands which can be close to three hours each way for some locations. There are some that dive locally, especially in San Diego.
There are a few places to see sea lions but in over 2000 SoCal dives I've only seen sharks three times.

 

[undrwater]

Then there's driving 2-3 hours (traffic) only to be skunked by poor surface conditions for your shore dive.

I think booking seats on the Catalina express may be a good bet. Also, call some of the dive shops in the area to see if they're chartering anything. Several hundred dollars sounds unusual to me.

As for safety; water temps now are similar to your quarries, maybe a bit cooler. If you get on a boat, listen carefully to the brief.

 

[diverrex]

Well the only ops I could find were well over $100 for a single day. Some were as much as $400 for certain dives. I suppose I'm used to the $50-$75 prices other places we've been.

California is a little more expensive maybe than other places but not really by much. I'd be interested to hear where you have dived for $50. In the past 10 years I've used 4 Florida dive ops and around 15 foreign tropical ops. I don't think I've ever paid less than $65 for 2 tank trip and usually more like $70-$80+. I paid $75 without tanks two weeks ago to dive with Jupiter Dive Center on a 2 tank trip. Using $75 as a base for 2 tank trips that's $37.50 per dive.

Typical charters in SoCal (Magician, Great Escape, Pacific Star, Peace, Spectre) charge from $125 - $140 for a 3 dive weekend trip, or $42-$47 per dive, so maybe only $5-$10 per dive more. And since our charter trips are all day the boats usually provide hot breakfast, hot lunch, snacks and soft drinks all day long. So really I'd say it's about a wash for California dive costs versus most tropical locations. The Peace will often do 4 dive trips for $140 so that's only $35 per dive. Some charters charge less for weekday trips.

Our boat trips to the islands are usually 2 - 21/2 hours each way so the boats use a lot more gas than locations where the dive site is less than 30 minutes away.

Nobody out here is charging $400 for a single day of diving, that was probably a two day trip to a further out island where you might be able to get in 8-10 dives.

 

[diverrex]

...

Here are my questions:

What is more common or "better" for Southern California; shore diving or boat diving? We're interested in diving the kelp forests and with seals and sharks. I get that wildlife generally varies seasonally.

If shore diving, how do we rent tanks or get air fills? Are there dive ops nearby that offer this?

Where would you dive if you only had 3 days?

I'd say boating diving is more common in SoCal than shore diving but having said that lots of people do a lot of shore diving. Some people here do mostly shore dive because of the cost of boat dives. "Better" is a much tougher comparison and will vary greatly between people. Some divers here will never shore dive because of the hassle. Typical shore dive sites are Laguna Beach, Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, and Malibu. Except for a few site at Malibu most shore diving means you gear up at your car in the parking lot or street and have a little hike to 50-70 steps or a hill trail down to the beach. Then maybe another little walk to the dive site entry point. Some days the ocean is like a lake and easy to enter. Other days the waves will be 2 feet or so and you need to time the waves to enter. When waves get to be 4 feet or higher most people won't shore dive. Redondo Beach is generally considered a better night dive than day dive because it's sand and has better night creatures than during the day. I much prefer Laguna Beach over Palos Verdes or Malibu, but other divers feel the exact opposite.

As someone said most local divers take as many tanks as they plan for each dive. I guess Laguna Sea Sports might be a short walk from Shaws or Crescent Cove in Laguna Beach but not how I'd want to be spending my weekend. I'd drive to it if I had to but then you may have trouble getting a parking spot after. Laguna streets get full of divers and beach traffic. I used to do some shore diving but haven't done any in a few years. The thing about our shore diving spots are they tend to be shallow 30-40 feet mostly and you tend to see the same thing over and over again.

Wildlife in California diving varies greatly from day to day and site to site. About the only guaranteed to see are garibaldi, sheephead, blacksmiths and senioritas. Doubtful you'll see a shark. Maybe a sea lion but that is also totally hit or miss. My favorite thing to see here are bat rays but they seem to be about a 1 in 50 dive occurrence so your odds aren't good.

Kelp is very rare these days, the forests are basically gone due to warm water. Vis will probably be 15' to 30' or so could be 60' to 80'. Our water is generally greenish not blue. It is usually calm but some days we have surge and other days there can be current.

Despite some of the negative things I've said about California diving I go once or twice a month and love it. If I only had three days to go I'd probably do a two or three day trip on a Truth Aquatics boat out of Santa Barbara. But the price will be steep.