lee stroke
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Yukon was 61 degrees at 90 feet. I guess that is warm? But then again I had a dry suit on full of Argon. 
Southern California Brain-storm'in...
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Yukon was 61 degrees at 90 feet. I guess that is warm? But then again I had a dry suit on full of Argon.
that's pretty much Par for So. Ca. diving, and in fact a little warm for the Yukon, in fact a little warm period, but certainly doable in a 7mm
Angry Turtle
Contributor
Richard
I was on that same limited load trip on the Truth Aquatics' Vision as the report you linked. In fact, I met the guy that wrote the report, and kept in touch via FB to get together and dive again. I would agree with everything he wrote except for water temps. I found a little bit more variation, from 59-71 degs, with the coldest at the deeper water. Many of the hardier "locals" dove 7 on 7 mil farmer johns type wetsuits for a total of 14 mils on the torso (so it is doable), but many including my group dove drysuits with light undergarments.
We were a group of six friends who are used to diving/travelling together, and we all had a similar impression of the operation. We really liked it, and will be back. I may be mistaken, but I think I may have seen before that you have travelled on the Spree in Florida. I thought it was very similar, however the food was better. Not that the Spree's food was bad, I also liked it, but I thought the Vision's was a step up.
We rented LP95s and weights at the shop on the dock where the Truth Aquatics boats dock. You can easily get 5-6 dives daily. We had awesome weather, and were able to go to sites that the captain said often are difficult due to current. That said, be prepared for current. My wife and I did a dive where the current conditions changed quite a bit. We entered when the kelp could be seen at the surface, exited when the kelp was all underwater and at a 45 deg angle.
The operation's attitude is that you are a responsible diver, and they do not need to babysit or coddle you. They will help you with suiting up and exiting the water etc, but won't be asking you for max depth and tank pressure on exit. The one thing that I would change on the boat (that may or not be relevant to you) is their exit procedure. They don't have a ladder in the water, but a platform that is partially submerged. You hoist yourself onto it and are asked to be there on your knees while the crew gets your fins. That was a literal pain in the knees, so I would often turn myself, sit, and pull off my own fins while seated. That wasn't an option for my wife who is 5' 4" and had an LP95 strapped to her back.
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I've done 7-8 trips on the various Truth boats, from 2-4 days. Depending on the day, viz can be great (40ft or more) or 5-10ft. Water temps vary but typically are lower at Santa Rosa and San Miguel than Santa Cruz and Anacapa, and I do prefer diving dry for multiple days, but very doable in a 7mil & vest if you do not get cold easily like I do. And I also agree the back swim step (as they call it) is a righteous pain! I prefer ladders but that swim step also serves as the platform for the chase boat (another luxury of these boats) so would be hard to convert. By the end of 3 days in less than flat seas, the shins do get pretty sore.
OP
drrich2
Contributor
Angry Turtle:
Thanks for the info. I've not been on the Spree. I mentioned at some point I hope to do the Fling trip to the Flowergarden site someday, but haven't got to do that yet, either.
I plan to shoot an e-mail to Truth Aquatics & see if there's an option to hire a guide for one of those 5 day limited load trips, and what it would cost. I'm not good with navigation & don't like to impose on instabuddies.
The exposure protection thing I'm wondering about. I'm 6'1", ~ 270 - 275#, & my 3x Henderson Thermoprene 5mm full wetsuit is snug but good, & my 3 mm 4x Thermoprene shorty a bit loose.
In the local quarry, I can wear the 5 mm full suit, 7 mm hood, 5 mm gloves & 6 mm boots & drop down into water close to 45 degrees. Exposed face gets really cold till it eventually numbs up. One hand got cold & the other didn't.
So, I'm toying with the idea of going with this setup, figuring more dives but warmer water. Thermoprene is stretchier than normal neoprene, so if I rented a 7 mm suit I'd probably need a 4x. Don't know if that'd be available. Buying a 7 mm full suit for one trip is a bit off-putting. 'Bioprene' has its limits, but I'm good with no wetsuit down to 76, 75 for one dive if I move around.
Thanks for the info. I've not been on the Spree. I mentioned at some point I hope to do the Fling trip to the Flowergarden site someday, but haven't got to do that yet, either.
I plan to shoot an e-mail to Truth Aquatics & see if there's an option to hire a guide for one of those 5 day limited load trips, and what it would cost. I'm not good with navigation & don't like to impose on instabuddies.
The exposure protection thing I'm wondering about. I'm 6'1", ~ 270 - 275#, & my 3x Henderson Thermoprene 5mm full wetsuit is snug but good, & my 3 mm 4x Thermoprene shorty a bit loose.
In the local quarry, I can wear the 5 mm full suit, 7 mm hood, 5 mm gloves & 6 mm boots & drop down into water close to 45 degrees. Exposed face gets really cold till it eventually numbs up. One hand got cold & the other didn't.
So, I'm toying with the idea of going with this setup, figuring more dives but warmer water. Thermoprene is stretchier than normal neoprene, so if I rented a 7 mm suit I'd probably need a 4x. Don't know if that'd be available. Buying a 7 mm full suit for one trip is a bit off-putting. 'Bioprene' has its limits, but I'm good with no wetsuit down to 76, 75 for one dive if I move around.
Angry Turtle
Contributor
Maybe try the 3mm shortie over the 5mm? Do consider that if it's cloudy (like it was for some days for us) there wont be any sun to warm up. Although the showers on deck do have hot water
---------- Post added September 2nd, 2015 at 04:07 PM ----------
We had a solution to that
A flippable christmas tree ladder could easily be attached to the platform, and be folded flat back onto it when the chase boat is loaded.
---------- Post added September 2nd, 2015 at 04:07 PM ----------
We had a solution to that
I would love that. I actually had to see a Dr as I had shin pain that started a few days after I got back from a recent 3 day to Big Sur (A great trip by the way!). He says I tore the connective tissue between the shin and the muscle. The seas were a bit rough (3-4ft?) and I missed the landing a couple times. Also not enough padding on the shins on my old drysuit (Fusion Tech). I hope my new Hollis takes care of that
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lamarpaulski
Contributor
Ditto on truth for multi-day boat trip to great diving...kind of leaves family in lurch though.
A lot of times it's the surface interval that kills you as much as the water temp in So. Ca., it could easily be marine layer and anywhere from high 50's to low 70's and typically fairly dry air (for the coast) so once the chill sets in, and you start losing warmth from the core it's real hard to warm up....you'll see a lot of people sticking the hot water hose, or shower down their suit between dives if diving wet!
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