looking for a dive buddy

[ScubaLizard]

Aloha! i'm comming in the nice warm month of january because uncle same said "take vacation or i'm gona take it away from you!" ... so i'm taking a vacation =p i'm lookin to dive some catalina, mainly because i want to get away from everything while i'm on vacation (if you take a vacation home your gona be put to work in my family =p) but the dive sites look fricken awsome too! duno what weekend i'm gona do it but its gona be a friday saturday & sunday thing. i'm bringing my cousin to do a guided snorkle tour one day & dive the other days. anyone interested or have a better idea for dive sites? i'll be home from december 23rd ish to january 20th. thanks in advance =)


-Lizard

 

[pasley]

January is a great time to dive California, if the storms don't get in the way. Last year we were shut of from just after Christmas until the end of January.

Catalina has some great diving, but motels are, well, a tad pricy. You might be better on a dive boat like the Great Escape, transportation to a variety of dive sites, accommodations, food and air for about $110.00 per day and leaving from Long Beach.

http://californiadiveboats.com/
has a listing of dive boats. If you go to Ventura the Peace is the boat to be on up that way.

Otherwise, there is some great diving off the beach in Malibu, Palos Verde and Laguna Beach. http://www.sandeaters.org dive sites for description of local dive sites.

As for a dive buddy, if you are beach diving off the mainland I could be available, excpet on the weekend of the 21 when Uncle Sam has me traveling for 3 days to Oregon. I am also on alert to go to Ft.Leavenworth sometime in January for a few days, but until I see the orders, it don't mean anything.

 

[kelpmermaid]

My dive club usually does a mid-January "Polar Bear" dive at Casino Point. I don't know what day it will be, but I'll let you know when I hear.

 

[ScubaLizard]

My dive club usually does a mid-January "Polar Bear" dive at Casino Point. I don't know what day it will be, but I'll let you know when I hear.

awsome! would love to come! i called both dive operators in avalon & both said that if they didnt have more than 4 divers they'd call it a day. its totaly understandable but after asking how the off season's gone so far both said that the diving is pretty slim =X lame. same 4 person deal goes with their guided tour deal. was gona bring my cousin over who's looking to do marine biology when he gets older (13 atm) & do a guided snorkle tour or if he could come up with half the cash do scuba luv's scuba experience (he old enough?). if the catalina thing doesnt happen i'll be lookin for a dive buddy to either do some shore dives or if someone's goin on a charter i'd be happy to buy a ticket to blow some bubbles with you guys =)

Edit : Pasley, i hear that on the orders bit. constantly hearing "you need to have a bag packed, were supposed to be going out next week.... yeah right. =p

-Lizard

 

[pasley]

By the way. getting a dive boat from the mainland is cheaper than over on the island. Ferry to the island is $45 or so plus parking and food, and the dive boat cost once you are there. Dive boat from the mainland is $90-120 depending on the operation and what’s included in the price (food and air or pay as you go) with the all inclusive actually usually being the better bargain.. Problem is most dive boats only run on the weekend or at best Friday-Sunday.

Re: on orders. In 33 years, one thing I have learned is never count on anything until you have orders in hand, or better yet, don't count on it happing until it is history. This year at their request I cancelled my family vacation in expectation of orders to Alaska for a 3 day conference because "no one knows this subject better than you". Every day it was stand by, orders are coming. They never got the money and the conference came and went along with my vacation. To make-up with the wife we did a mini-vacation (2 day) that cost me more than the week trip we had planed (luxury hotel, spa etc).

Catalina is a nice place and the Avalon underwater park is great and saves the boat fees. The intro to scuba at the park would be a blast for the kid as well as the snorkeling in lovers cove (if the glass bottom boats don’t run you over that is.