travelling to california from 4th sept-10sept

[irishtechiegirl]

hey guys!
I am doing a roadtrip down the pacific coast highway next week, and i was hoping to get a couple of dives in along the way, i am bringing all my gear with me, except tank and weights.

can you guys recommend anywhere?

i am really interested in wrecks.

I will be diving on a twinset and possibly a stage also, so i am open to deeper wrecks.

thanks

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

California isn't really known for good wreck diving. There are some wrecks down in Southern California like the Yukon in San Diego and a few others around Los Angeles.
I don't know about whether they are at tech depths or not. I know the Yukon for the most part is considered a recreational dive. Maybe a Socal wreck diver could chime in with more.

Up on the North Coast there are some remains of wrecks in very shallow water almost on shore but the remains have been pounded for years from the winter storms and there isn't much to see exept for some debris piles.
We also need to know where you want to dive in California and where you plan on stopping. California's a big state with a very long coastline.
Anything north of Monterey there are no charter boats and very little services. You are pretty much on your own unless you can find a local to show you around.
As far as I know the Monterey area has no wrecks.

 

[irishtechiegirl]

hi! thanks for that
i am driving from san fran to san diego. i am literally winging it. no specific stops planned yet! so i am open to all suggestions!

 

[diversteve]

There's Wreck Alley off San Diego: Divebums - A San Diego Dive Website - Wreck Alley

Lois Ann and Humboldt are both diving wrecks the weekend of the 7-8th if you'll be down there by then.
http://www.loisann.com/index.html
http://www.waterhorsecharters.com/index.html

 

[tracydr]

Quite a few more technical wrecks up around Vandenberg, you might want to ask about on TDS. These would be off Honda point. The destroyers of Honda point near Vandenberg | Channel Islands Dive Adventures
I've heard of some people diving them and have a friend who dived them last summer and she said it was awesome.
There are also some wrecks on the different Channel Islands, although they seem to be kept fairly quiet.
For regular trips, your best bet are the wrecks in San Diego, wreck alley.
Around Santa Barbara, I highly recommend the Channel Island trips, with Truth Aquatics.

 

[geoff w]

There are a number of recreational wrecks in San Diego, with the Yukon being the premier one. Several wrecks outside LA/Long Beach harbor, like the ACE I and Olympic, as well as some beyond recreational depths. There are a few wrecks in Santa Monica bay, most notably the Star of Scotland. If you like wrecks, you should check out the oil rigs off Long Beach - underwater manmade structures that make for interesting diving. Very different from wrecks, but in some ways similar

There are quite a few technical wrecks in Southern California, check out UB88 - The Lost Submarine for examples, plus some more waiting to be found

If you want to get a good feel for California diving, go for Catalina and the other Channel Islands; like others have said, wrecks aren't the main attraction here. Lots of good shore dives too, but quite variable. Viz was excellent this past weekend, but terrible today