visiting La

[gas man]

my wife and i are experienced divers. we are bringing our family to disneyland. our daughter has taken her padi classroom training and needs to do her open water cert. she is 11. the diving we do is all dry suit and we want her to do her open water without the drysuit for simplicity sake so she is more comfortable. we are planning our disney trip around doing some diving so she can get certified and the rest of family can snorkel ( 9yrs, 17yrs, and 20yrs old). we were initally planning on flying to cabo to do this but since i found this forum thought i would throw this out to the members here. we were planning on coming around the middle of october. at that time of year is the diving in california drysuit diving or wet suit. what is the general vis, good certification company, location, etc?

 

[scubadobadoo]

Welcome! I will try and answer some of your questions and offer MHO.

October is a great time to dive here. Warmer waters yes, but visibility can be down when the water is warm. Temps average around 67F at the surface and down to low 50's at depth in October (more or less) depending on how deep and where you are diving. Catalina tends to be a bit warmer. Shallow shore dives in the LA area are warmer too as depths tend to be more shallow for shore dives.

I dive dry all year long. Most use wet suits and are just fine doing that.

Shore diving is the LA area is hit or miss with generally pretty low viz. Orange County diving tends to have better viz for shore diving and is a short drive away. Also, surf can ruin your day here and the walk to and from the water from your car can be long and rough at times. It is doable though if conditions permit. Maybe not ideal for an eleven year old though.

I would suggest taking a boat and or the ferry over to Catalina and diving in the dive park. Your child will have generally better viz, no surf, a short walk to the slightly warmer water, and more to see. Catalina has a few dive shops as well that can finish her cert class for her. Perhaps some here will offer their opinion on who is best.

Have fun!

 

[SoCalRich]

Greetings,
Lots of people dive wet here all year including me. Since you and your wife are certified, I recommend everybody boat dive. And bring a camera. Plenty to see on the trip to Catalina as well. Some dive boats are better than others, so find out what boat your instructor uses. Just about any dive shop in the So. Calif. has dive classes on weekends. I recommend: Great Vis Scuba, http://www.greatvisscuba. Owner: Richard trains children on a regular basis.

Good Divin / SoCalRich

 

[RonFrank]

My experience is that Catalina has much better conditions than on the mainland. I did have good luck shore diving out of La Jolla but that's almost San Diego and likely we hit it right/got lucky. In general boat diving will have better vis vs. shore diving.

You need an instructor so while your looking for one ask for recommendations on where to go and what vis is like. CA is notorious for low vis shore dives The dive park in Catalina would be ideal but its pricy to go there, but very nice. $100 a night minimum and $150-$200 may be more inline. The Ferry over/back is approx $100 per person. However its likely cheaper than Disney!

We spent Friday night on the Great Escape and motored over to Catalina Saturday. That was a three tank dive and not really designed for classes. But there may be an OW instructor doing classes off a boat. There are a lot of dive boats out of LA/Ventura. I am unsure what snorkeling would be like on the mainland. Catalina would be interesting for snorkelers. There were a couple dudes spearing and free diving off our boat in Catalina. We only spent one night on the Great Escape but they were headed back to Catalina again on Sunday and you can stay the night on the boat if diving. We did a live abroad out of Ventura (The Peace Boat) and there were students on that boat. A 7mm wetsuit will be required.

I love the diving in CA but I am used to 3' vis, cold water, and a lot of gear/weight. CA is great but more advanced than say Florida.

---------- Post Merged at 08:53 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 07:13 PM ----------

Sorry, you asked about vis and water temp. Obviously varies, but in summer vis off islands was 20' to 70', and close to shore San Diego boats and La Jolla shore dives vis was 5'-25'. I have dove off most of the islands and vis can be excellent. We had very bad vis a couple days on the boat out of San Diego and very good vis at La Jolla. Water temps vary but 45F-65F depending on depth and if there was an upwelling. So 7mm territory or Drysuits. Tropical would be a better place for a 10 year old unless she loves being in water regardless off temp. I swam in CA water when I was a kid.

 

[gas man]

thanks for the info. am really interested in the dive boat idea. i imagine we could find one to board off the mainland and save traveling to catalina. from disneyland which marina would be the best, newport, longbeach, etc?

 

[muzikbiz22]

thanks for the info. am really interested in the dive boat idea. i imagine we could find one to board off the mainland and save traveling to catalina. from disneyland which marina would be the best, newport, longbeach, etc?

In Belmont Shore, Long Beach, is the Sundiver and Sundiver Express. Great boats, fun crew and and a great experience. The Sundiver Express is fast, will get you there in just over an hour, and is built for diving. If you're staying near Disney, you are about 15 to 20 minutes away from their dock. Several dive shops close by, as well. Sundiver & Sundiver Express INCLUDE tanks, and usually weights, too. Most dive boats in the area make you drag your own tank along, charge more, and are slower boats.

 

[fnfalman]

October is still warm in SoCal. Have the daughter do open water certification at the Avalon Dive Park (aka Casino Point Dive Park) on Catalina Island. SCUBALUV or Catalina Diver Supply can give her checkout dives.

The rest of the family can snorkel in the dive park while she's doing the checkout dives.