Where to dive for kelp forests on the US West Coast?

[Steve_C]

On my bucket list too. As a sometimes have a chance business diver from the east coast here is my record. Note that blown out may not mean windy, it may be bad waves. All dives were set up with private DM.

Montery - 1 - blown out
Lajolla cove -1 - blown out
Lajolla cove -2 - cove too rough but able to dive Lajolla shores. Ok low viz dive, no kelp.
Lajolla cove - 3 - blown out
Lajolla cove -4 -nice weather conditions. Got out to some kelp. Enjoyable dive.
Casino point out of LA on Catalina - 1 - Great pair of shore dives. Excellent viz, no surge. Great kelp.

I will probably be out to LA and San Diego in Oct and Nov. Plans are to try and do a boat-kelp dive when in San Diego and get back out to Catalina for boat and shore dives when in LA.

My perhaps inaccurate impression is that since Catalina/Avalon faces the opposite direction that the California coast generally faces it is protected from the prevailing surf direction.

Note that shore dives in California seem to generally require by my east coast standards a fairly lengthy surface swim. No swim needed at Casino point. I intend to just do catalina shore dives and boat kelp dives from here on out. (Note that I am 68 and have a disk missing so while I can swim with no problem I do have some weakness in the right leg.).

All my dives were wet. I was comfortable. At casino We did two tanks. I could have done a third. At Lajolla cove and shores we did one tank and I felt that was enough. At Lajolla cove I actually saw more marine dive when coming back under water when in past the kelp.

I really liked the kelp and am willing to go out of my way to dive it again.

Have fun

 

[diversteve]

Since you're going to be in San Diego, try to get on a boat for Point Loma.

Two options:

Humboldt - Waterhorse Charters - San Diego SCUBA Diving, Charter Boat Dives. Dive Trips

Their schedule for next week:


Lois Ann - San Diego Scuba Diving,San Diego Dive Boats,Lois Ann Dive Charters Home Page
Their schedule:


Divebums is a good San Diego dive website - there's details there on the LaJolla shore options also. http://www.divebums.com/

 

[Johanan]

Thank you again for good advise, friends! Just returned from my kelp diving journey. Beautiful! I dove in Ja Jolla (San Diego), Point Lobos and Monterey. I liked Point Lobos most but Monterey was equally good. La Jolla has nice kelp, too, but the long surface swims were not so appealing. Thanks again!

 

[TruthAquatics]

Hey, Johanan! Scuba diving in the kelp forests around the Channel Islands is a unique experience. Diving in kelp is similar to a walk in a lush forest with plants growing to heights of more than 120 feet. Giant kelp helps support this rare aquatic ecosystem, providing home for more than 800 species of marine life. If still in SoCal, come visit us here in Santa Barbara! Our knowledgeable crew will provide you with many scuba diving opportunities to discover a wide variety of underwater landscapes.