So much for San Clemente

[fnfalman]

Okay, so I've never seen a GSB...but I HAVE seen several angelsharks! (Now I feel better!)

What about guitarfish shark? I've seen only one at Santa Rosa in a night dive.

Anyway, San Clemente is subjected to the US Navy's whims, so sometimes you draw the bad card and there's not much the boat can do about it.

The Horizon down in San Diego makes a lot of runs to San Clemente though, so it may worth a try checking with them and drive down to Diego way.

Little Farnsworth is a lot different from Farnsworth, but still pretty cool. It would be interesting to dive at Farnsworth at night. I'd like to see how the hydrocoral would look from under the flashlights.

 

[on_two_wheels]

Leejnd - I wasn't going to say since they do have a good reputation and perhaps it was just a bad weekend. Not checking people in/out of the water is unheard of to me, even more important when half the people are sleeping & it's a night dive. Not having a bit to eat for the divers on arrival is a first (even if it's just finger foods). My dive buddy called it "cattle boat". I've been on another local boat that doesn't lay claim to "liveaboard" and had more room with the same number of divers and more seats inside to sit down and eat. Perhaps I just expected more after reading the website.

Yes, San Clemente could cancel at anytime, even after you arrive. I'd think a little communication while enroute would help. Plus, as was said, the location of Catalina dives weren't the best. I was praying for Ship Rock or Bird Rock since I rarely have bad viz there. No such luck. Probably too far away since he already spent the gas to get to SC and back.

 

[Leejnd]

Leejnd - I wasn't going to say since they do have a good reputation and perhaps it was just a bad weekend. Not checking people in/out of the water is unheard of to me, even more important when half the people are sleeping & it's a night dive. Not having a bit to eat for the divers on arrival is a first (even if it's just finger foods). My dive buddy called it "cattle boat". I've been on another local boat that doesn't lay claim to "liveaboard" and had more room with the same number of divers and more seats inside to sit down and eat. Perhaps I just expected more after reading the website.

Sorry, but when you leave a breadcrumb trail, you have to assume that somebody is going to be able to follow it!

My feeling is, why NOT tell us the truth about which boat it was, and your impressions? This is the place to share that kind of information, and you are doing your fellow divers a service by sharing. If you are happy with a dive boat experience, tell us. And if you are UNhappy with one, by all means, please tell us who it was, and why you felt dissatisfied. As long as you are telling the truth, you certainly aren't doing anything wrong! It doesn't matter if they have a good reputation, or had just one bad weekend - they have to earn that reputation over and over through consistently excellent service. If they didn't meet your expectations, then they aren't doing that. You are entitled to your opinion, and this is the right place to share it. Hopefully the boat operator will see this, and be motivated to make improvements.

I haven't tried the Sand Dollar myself yet, but I see ads for it all the time, and have considered it. But now...well, I've read too many horror stories of what can happen when check-ins and roll-calls are handled sloppily. Including stories from our local waters. There is NO EXCUSE for sloppy check-in practices. That right there makes me want to steer clear of that boat, until I hear that this is no longer an issue.

There is just too much at stake for a dive boat to operate like that.

What about guitarfish shark? I've seen only one at Santa Rosa in a night dive.

Yep, I've seen them too! I've seen them at Redondo, Anacapa, and Malibu. In fact I got a bunch of photos of one off Malibu last year, on a night dive. So I guess I shouldn't complain so much about not seeing a GSB. I've seen some pretty darn cool stuff around here.

 

[fnfalman]

I've never been on the Sand Dollar, so I can't say much about it.

As far as Ship Rock & Bird Rock, I don't know why they're not popular destinations lately. I've been to Bird Rock twice this year on two different boats, so I shouldn't complain too much but none of the boats I've been on even bothered to slow down by Ship Rock to even see if it's diveable. I've only dived at Ship Rock twice and I thought that it was sweet.

Anyway, it seems to be that summer tends to be pretty crappy for Catalina. Water is too warm and the kelps all dead or dying. I went to the Quarry last year during the summer and the kelps all died and covered up the rocks. Nothing to stand up and filter out the water, so particulate was everywhere, viz was low and fish count was low. Went back during the winter and it was simply gorgeous.

 

[Leejnd]

I've been to Bird Rock twice this summer, on Mr. C. The kelp was lush and healthy. And the vis was great! We didn't go to Bird Rock this last trip because we had a bunch of students doing their cert dives...but I believe they do Bird Rock pretty frequently. So Mr. C would be a good option if you want to visit Bird Rock.

 

[on_two_wheels]

All good points. I just figure given the rave reviews some have had on here that I wouldn't want to potentially damage a business if it was just a random event/experience. Had I heard the same thing a couple other times, I'd have thrown it out there immediately.

 

[fnfalman]

I've been to Bird Rock twice this summer, on Mr. C. The kelp was lush and healthy. And the vis was great! We didn't go to Bird Rock this last trip because we had a bunch of students doing their cert dives...but I believe they do Bird Rock pretty frequently. So Mr. C would be a good option if you want to visit Bird Rock.

The second trip to Bird Rock was with Mr. C just before I left SoCal.

 

[blue steal]

The GE did Bird Rock last month and we were lucky enough to dive all the way around with good VIS.