SoCal Dive Reports - Let us know about your dive!

[Sam Miller III]

Is there any one remaining in So Cal who dives off the many beaches ?
sdm

 

[MaxBottomtime]

When my boat is in the shop I do. When I drive up the coast I love to dive the Morro Bay T-Pier and Monastery Beach. If I go down to La Jolla, I dive at the Shores. I have over 350 dives at Marineland, most from the rocky shore.

 

[Ready4Launch]

Is there any one remaining in So Cal who dives off the many beaches ?
sdm

Just about every weekend. I've not been posting reports, but I had a great dive last weekend at White Point before going to the SCUBA Show. And, the weekend before that, I had 90 awesome minutes at no deeper than 21' at Refugio beach that could have turned out to be truly epic. When I surfaced and got to the beach, I was told that there were 2 grey whales 50 feet from where I surfaced!!! GAH!!! But, the 90 minutes were awesome; reef is in great condition aside from some sargassum.

 

[Kensei]

Is there any one remaining in So Cal who dives off the many beaches ?
sdm

Lots of folks. Assuming the surf is OK, there is a traditional Wednesday night dive at Vets Park in Redondo Beach. All of the beaches in LA and Orange Counties see lots of dive activity on the weekends.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Well by George good for you !
What document are you using to determine where you will be diving ?
Books ? Word of mouth ? Dive shop ?

SDM

 

[MaxBottomtime]

I watch the swell models and live beach cameras. There are plenty covering much of the coast.

 

[Kensei]

Well by George good for you !
What document are you using to determine where you will be diving ?
Books ? Word of mouth ? Dive shop ?

SDM

I use the Magic Seaweed (MSW) app for determining swell, surf, wind and tide for the various SoCal beaches. I also participate in several WhatsApp groups to find out when and where folks are diving. Some use Facebook and/or other social media apps. Personally, I don't use a book or call a dive shop.

 

[dive1bb]

Incredible Memorial Day weekend out on Horizon Charters with 24 other divers. This was my first liveaboard -- couldn't have asked for a better experience. Awesome crew and fellow divers. Falling asleep in the bottom bunk wasn't nearly as difficult as I anticipated. Really enjoyed it. Already looking for my next adventure!


Brief overview

Location: San Clemente Island

Dive Sites: Inside Boiler, China Hat, Green Acres, The Garage for a night dive, The Arch, Petter's Wall, Black Caverns (only time we ventured to the lee side), Twin Peaks and Cary's Caves.
Completed 12 dives total.

Max depths: Anywhere from 50-100ft

Weather: Beautiful sunny day on Saturday, Sunday was a chilly with some wind and light, misty rain. The sun came back on Monday!

Vis: A good average was about 40’, could see the surface from 50’ or 60’ when the sun was shining.

Critter highlights: Seven gill shark on the first two dives! Tons of sheepsheads, Garibaldi, giant kelp fish, blacksmiths, senoritas, calico bass and opal eye. We also saw plenty of lobsters, moray eels, abalone, and a few rainbow scorpion fish. Last but not least, we spotted a pair of bald eagles that nest above the Black Caverns dive site. Saw at least three fuzzy babies hanging out thanks to a long DSLR lens.

Any other notes: The kelp forrest was beautiful. Never seen anything like it in my short diving career so far. Also enjoyed the swim throughs -- wasn't as scary as I thought they would be! Didn't even silt up the bottom Looking forward to chasing down more kelp-rich sites in the future.


Photos courtesy of my dive buddy, Steve

Note: Having trouble with the Image URL uploader so here's the link! San Clemente adventures!

 

[wnissen]

Vis: A good average was about 40’, could see the surface from 50’ or 60’ when the sun was shining.

Wow! What a run of great luck and great diving.

 

[dive1bb]

Wow! What a run of great luck and great diving.

Totally! I feel very lucky we had solid vis the entire trip