CA Bound - Holiday, Mid-week Advice

[riguerin]

Hey Robert, PM me if you need a dive buddy those days and I'll most likely be able to join ya! Rick (Inman) and/or Rick (riguerin), are you in?

I'm off the week of the 26th - 30th. We'll probably do a little snowboarding that week (just got our MT High season passes) ... but definitely would be up for a local shore dive if conditions are favorable. We were also considering a mid-week day trip to Avalon sometime that week. PM me as the time nears.

 

[Rick Inman]

Hey Rick,
Catalina Divers Supply offers a package like the one you mentioned, although pricing depends on what hotel you pick. Their boat, Scuba Cat, runs daily with four paid divers (2 tanks $90) and I would be willing to pick up two, maybe even three, spots. My wife Nancy might join us for a dive or two and I have two teenage sons that make good alternate air sources. CDS has a rate for nondivers too - $50. Let me know your thoughts - here's the link for CDS:
http://www.catalinadiverssupply.com/Dive_Packages/dive_packages.htm

Or, if you need more paid boat diver for the package you mentioned let me know!

John

Save some money and come dive Laguna Beach. Much less hassle and the conditions have been great here. We don't have a lot of kelp (read: any) but we have some really interesting sites to dive. Heck, we can even do some basic-5 drills while we're there!

Thanks, all!! How about this: Catalina on the CDS boat John mentions on Wednesday the 28th. We'll take the Express over and back the same day, then Priscilla & I will stay in a motel on the mainland.

Then Thursday the 29th two shore dives with Robert and his 95s (maybe a 3rd night dive?). We can get a nice group and Robert can drill me a bit.

How does this sound?

John, what do I need to do to secure the Cat boat dive and make sure we have four? Yes, Priscilla will go as a non-diver.

Rick

 

[riguerin]

Thanks, all!! How about this: Catalina on the CDS boat John mentions on Wednesday the 28th. We'll take the Express over and back the same day, then Priscilla & I will stay in a motel on the mainland.

Rick,

As far as the trip to Catalina goes, this could be a little tough to squeeze into a single day ... Catalina Express has a reduced schedule this time of year. Long Beach would probably be the only possibility ... would still need to coordinate closely with CDS to ensure you'd make the last boat back.

FYI...It's also relatively costlier to do it this way, since you pay for Catalina Express AND the CDS charter (which costs about the same as a charter from mainland).
If we're doing a single day trip to the island we usually either 1.) take the Catalina Express over and shore dive the point, or 2.) take a charter from the mainland (tough mid-week).

As a possible alternative, I noticed that Express Diver's has an open boat for a 2 tank night dive on 12/30 http://www.expressdivers.com/. They've got a really fast little PRO 48 that can run over to the island in about the same time as the Catalina Express (75 mins). A 2 tank dive costs about the same as a CDS charter, $95. Are you available to dive on 12/30 ? If not, and you think that this might sound appealing, I can call them to see how many people we'd need to make a mid-week run. Sounds like we may already have a handful of potential divers (I would bring my son, Brandon).

 

[riguerin]

FYI ... looks like Express Divers needs a minimum of 10 divers to do a mid week trip. Does this sounds like something worth pursuing further ?

 

[wetrat]

If we're doing a single day trip to the island we usually either 1.) take the Catalina Express over and shore dive the point, or 2.) take a charter from the mainland.

Rick I, If you want to save money, riguerin is probably right. However, here are some choices:

1. December 28: Take 6:15 am Catalina Express from Long Beach to Avalon and board CDS Scuba Cat at 10 am (sorry - 6:15 is the only boat that will make it over on time!). Scuba Cat returns to Avalon at 3:00 pm, we could catch the 3:45 pm or 7:30 pm Catalina Express back. Cost: $24.50 round trip per adult on the Catalina Express, $90 per diver and $50 per non-diver on the Scuba Cat. I confirmed through CDS and Catalina Express all the above details.

2. December 28: Take the Catalina Express over to shore dive the Avalon Underwater Park (Casino Point). We would have more flexibility and it would save charter fees. It's barely a shore dive anyway with stairs leading into the water. Priscilla could shop, dine, or take a tour of the island while we dive.

3. December 30: Scuba Toys is chartering the Sundiver out of Long Beach for a Catalina trip. It's a good boat and they said we could join them. Cost: $95 air and food not included. The only drawback is they will probably be carrying students, so we will most likely stay in one novice spot all day. Sundiver also has Catalina open boats on 12/31 and 1/1 for $85 not including air and food - I won't be able to make those but I thought you might like the option!

4. Work on getting 10 divers together for riguerin's Express Diver's midweek trip.

Shore diving Laguna the 29th sounds perfect. Let me know which, if any of the above options sound good and we'll make the reservations.

John

 

[Rick Inman]

More discussion.

Well, I'm easy here, and I'm the gracious guest. But here would be the order of my choices from the list.

My first choice would be:

1. Work on getting 10 divers together for riguerin's Express Diver's midweek trip.

This sounds like the best bet overall. The problem is that I'm no help in filling the boat, so you guys would have to take on that task. But if we did somehow fill the boat, it would be perfect to start the day and end it at LB. I think it's worth a shot, if you guys are up for it.

My second choice would be:

1. December 28: Take 6:15 am Catalina Express from Long Beach to Avalon and board CDS Scuba Cat at 10 am (sorry - 6:15 is the only boat that will make it over on time!). Scuba Cat returns to Avalon at 3:00 pm, we could catch the 3:45 pm or 7:30 pm Catalina Express back. Cost: $24.50 round trip per adult on the Catalina Express, $90 per diver and $50 per non-diver on the Scuba Cat. I confirmed through CDS and Catalina Express all the above details.

More expensive, but I can swing it. A lot of hassle and expense for you guys, though. I'm up for the early morning / late night thing, and would even wonder if we could get a 3rd shore dive at the park in before the 7:30 boat.

Third choice:

2. December 28: Take the Catalina Express over to shore dive the Avalon Underwater Park (Casino Point). We would have more flexibility and it would save charter fees. It's barely a shore dive anyway with stairs leading into the water. Priscilla could shop, dine, or take a tour of the island while we dive.

Excellent! Even the last option sound wonderful!

Again, I'm VERY easy here.

Whatta' ya think?

 

[wetrat]

OK let's give it a shot to get ten divers for the Express Diver's boat on Wednesday, December 28! It's $94 and includes air and snacks. Not a bad option and we could have some control over dive sites too! I'll put a post in So Cal trips and local marketplace and we can take reservations on the calendar. So... I will take three spots to start. Rick, you want two? Riguerin, you want 2? That would put us at 7 already! Before I put the post in though, I need to confirm with Express Divers that they are for sure available December 28th. I just left a message.

John

 

[Rick Inman]

OK let's give it a shot to get ten divers for the Express Diver's boat on Wednesday, December 28! It's $94 and includes air and snacks. Not a bad option and we could have some control over dive sites too! I'll put a post in So Cal trips and local marketplace and we can take reservations on the calendar. So... I will take three spots to start. Rick, you want two? Riguerin, you want 2? That would put us at 7 already! Before I put the post in though, I need to confirm with Express Divers that they are for sure available December 28th. I just left a message.

John

Excellent!! Thanks!

Yes, put me down for 1 diver, 1 non-diver.

 

[wetrat]

:thumbs_up!!!!

 

[DiverBuoy]

If you can't find a dive boat from the mainland, there is another option use the following site to schedule a quick trip on one of the large express boats to Catalina http://www.catalinaexpress.com/public_html/sched_next.htm

You'll get to Avalon a bit early (before diveshops open), so take some time to eat breakfast and walk around a bit. When either of the Avalon dive shops opens (ask anyone for quick walking directions) and go rent whatever gear you didn't bring. Then walk over to Casino Point Dive Park (there's a Jacques Cousteau plaque in relatively shallow water and decent sized wreck called the Su Jac (spelling). The area is roped off and ranges from 5 feet of water to 110 feet.

Depending on weather and season (usually weekends unfortunately) the Scuba Luv dive shop also opens a large trailer right on at the point. It's incredibly easy diving, just don your gear and walk right down the stairs into the water, vis for the area has been exceptional in the last two weeks, and the water is filled with baby squid. If you are able to dive outside the park and have your game license it's lobster season and remember California has the non-pinching kind would make a great dinner gift for whomever you are houseguests of. But remember you can't take game in the park, so this will work mainly if you find a regular dive boat, don't forget your game license with ocean enhancment sticker (you'd only need a $10.00 1-day version). One last thing it did rain yesterday, that can change vis.

If you decide not to dive catalina ... there is plenty of mid week action through local dive clubs and you can almost always find a partner at Laguna Sea Sports (lagunaseasports.com) off hwy 1 in Laguna Beach ... less than 1 hour drive south of L.A. or north of San Deigo. But there is also great local action outside of those cities as well. Mission Bay in San Deigo has kelp and wreck dive opportunities mid-week also.

Here is the main california dive boat page:
http://www.californiadiveboats.com/

Also a popular webpage all things california diving with shop listings:
http://diver.net/

Here are some midweek boat schedules and sites to other channel islands
http://www.peaceboat.com/cal2005.htm phone: 866-984-2025
http://www.explorerdiveboat.com/calendar.htm
http://calboatdiving.com/calendar/calendar.htm

Also Sport Chalet has midweek charters you can schedule directly through their stores use this link to locate store closest to your destination:
http://www.sportchalet.com/corp/index.jsp

Do you have an exact date and time you are available?