Single Day Catalina Diving Trip

[BrianV]

My g/f and I will be visiting So Cal for the 4th of July. We'll be there nearly a week and want to take a day trip to Catalina and dive. The thing is, we really don't want to stay overnight due to family obligations and limited time anyways.

I know there are dive operations on the mainland and dive operations on the island. I'm curious as to my different options and which one is going to be the most turn-key, most pleasurable, and possibly the most cost effective (I think I'll leave the helicopter ride out of the list of options).

I'd prefer to leave from Redondo Beach, San Pedro, or Long Beach (in that order). Catalina Express has R/T trips from San Pedro to Avalon for $54 per person. Is it possible to take that and then walk to a local dive outfit? I want to avoid the 4-5 hour cattle-car boat trip if at all possible as my g/f gets sea sick semi-easily and 8-10 hours on a boat in a single day is just too long.

Please let me know what you guys recommend. Also, what specific areas are recommended. We're both AOW, I have 18 dives, she has 16. We'd prefer a dive outfit that is more personable and will tell us about the kelp and marine life (i.e. no 20+ cattle boat operations).

Thanks,
BrianV

 

[BrianV]

I found this:

http://my.calendars.net/pacificstar/d01/07/2006/popup/9

with Pacific Star Diving (http://www.pacificstardiving.com).

Seems like a great deal.

 

[BrianV]

I also noticed Sport Chalet has A LOT of 2-3 tank Catalina charters. Does anyone have any experience with their charters?

Thx

 

[red_infinity]

It looks like my LDS is also going to Catalina on the following day (Sunday). You can check out the calendar at http://www.oceansafariscuba.com/ it looks like they're also taking the Pacific Star. Hey, you can do it twice!

EDIT: It's out of Redondo

 

[Boat Chick]

Hi Brian

You really only have 3 options. Go with one of the dive boats out of Long Beach or San Pedro for a day of 3 tank dives (which is sounds like isn't an option for you if your g/f gets sea sick). But if you do, there is a list of dive boats here:

http://californiadiveboats.com/

We usually go out of Long Beach and take the Great Escape, Bottom Scratcher, or Magician (San Pedro). Pacific Star is also good. As far as "charters" i.e. Sports Chalet, the shops charter the boat and then fill it. With some, you may have a lot of new divers on the boat doing their check out dives.

Or, you can take the Catalina Express to Avalon.

http://www.catalinaexpress.com/index.php

You can either take a dive boat from Avalon for the day (more $$), or dive the marine park at Casino Point (free). We always use Scuba Luv dive shop for tanks, etc. It is a bit of a walk from the boat drop off to the point, so you may want to take a water taxi to the point or they do offer a shuttle service. Or, drag your gear to the dive shop and rent a cart from them to drag it to the point. The folks at Scuba Luv can fill you in on what you will see, and if you perfer, you can probably arrange for a DM to guide you through the park.

http://www.scubaluv.com/

Here is a map of the marine park

http://www.catalina.com/diveguide/casinopt.html

The third option is to take the Catalina Express to Two Harbors (our preference) and then either rent kayaks and do some kayak diving or take the Garibaldi (the dive boat out of 2 Harbors) for some dives.

http://www.visitcatalinaisland.com/twoHarbors/acti_scubaDiving.php

Keep in mind that the July 4rth holiday is a ZOO on Catalina...lots of boats...lots of people.

Have fun whatever you decide!

 

[LAJim]

Pac Star is nice. I also went on a Sport Chalet trip on Magician out of San Pedro. Most of the load was OW classes so Sport Chalet is probably a pretty good bet for less experienced divers. Keep in mind that the norm for all SoCal boats is that the DM does not go into the water unless you specifically hire a guide. Heavy kelp may not technicaly be an overhead environment but if you have not dived kelp and want to you should do so with an experienced diver.

The trick with sea sickness is to find the right med and take it correctly. With Dramamine it is important to take it about an hour before departure.

Regarding your other post - I don't know if I'm going to make the Wrinkles in San Diego, but some of my first beach dives were at a Wrinkles - definitely a good way to go.

Jim

 

[BrianV]

Thanks guys; let me correct the sea sickness g/f issues. I think she'd be fine with a 1 hour boat ride, not a 4-5 hour ride. Once you get to the dive destination you get in the water. My g/f doesn't get sea sick when she's in the water, only when she's on the boat. In addition, these boats are a lot bigger than the ones we've been on before (sub 25' boats).

That said, I think if the charters like Pac Star only take around an hour to get to Catalina, then she'll probably be ok. However, the Catalina Xpress + Local Casino Point diving sounds like a good deal too, possibly even cheaper. Which brings up the next question, how much better is catalina boat diving then the marine park/casino point?

Thx

 

[BrianS]

The Marina Park is nice. You can walk in the water, dive for a bit, walk out, go eat/rest/etc on dry land and meet people. You get to enter/leave on your schedule and not anyone else's. You can get fills right there so you can do as many dives as you like, then jump on the last boat back. I wouldn't consider the Park better or worse than boat diving since it will be your first time you will have plenty to see no matter where you go.

 

[Boat Chick]

That said, I think if the charters like Pac Star only take around an hour to get to Catalina, then she'll probably be ok. However, the Catalina Xpress + Local Casino Point diving sounds like a good deal too, possibly even cheaper. Which brings up the next question, how much better is catalina boat diving then the marine park/casino point?

Thx

Tough question, 2 different experiences. With the day boat off the main land you get 3 tank dives, usually 3 different dive locations (unless conditions at one spot are awesome and then they may stay at one spot for 2 dives). Most boats take about an hour and a half to get to Catalina. Island Time is a smaller faster boat but you don't have bunks, etc. Most of the day boats don't run during the week, only on the weekends unless it's a 3 day trip.

If you go the week after July 4 (like the 6th or 7th), you may like the park because you can do a couple of dives, and also tour the town of Avalon. Lots of restaurants, shops, etc. It is a cute little town. There are showers between Casino Point (the dive park) and town, so when you are done diving you can shower, change clothes, take your gear etc. over to where the Catalina Express launches and there is a baggage storage for a small fee, then you are free to tour the town. Go over to Descanso Beach and have a drink under a palapa

Here's another good link

http://www.catalina.com/activities_map.html

 

[BrianV]

Thanks! I've been to Avalon at least 15 times (my family friends have a sail boat so we use to go a lot).

I'm interested in going for the diving, but my g/f has never been to Avalon so she might like to shop and eat on the island. My g/f isn't as die hard as I am about diving so come to think of it, I think she'd prefer to do 2-3 dives and spend the rest of the time checking out Avalon. We can use the bag storage for our shopping afterwards.

As far as the actual shore diving, where would you recommend we change into our dive gear, where do we leave our surface clothes, etc. I don't know that I trust leaving my clothes (with my wallet, car keys, etc.) randomly on the shore or beach.

Thanks for the advice, it's invaluable thus far!