[LOS ANGELES] Kelp Forests and Oil Rigs - Any advice?

[Cav]

Hi everyone
Spending a day in LA next month and really want to dive the kelp forests with the sea bass and sealions and also the oil rigs off shore.

My diving level is currently beginner (only Open Water PADI certification dives) but before diving LA will have spent 2 weeks diving Mexico so my confidence and experience will have increased. I am typically a fast learner.

My questions are:

Any advice on operators?
Am I hitting the right season for the giant sea bass and sealions in the kelp forests (around Catalina Is.?) We'll be there mid-Dec.
I've read that the rigs are quite high-level dives. Why is this? Would it be wise to leave it off the list?

Thanks
Any other tips?



Cav

 

[MaxBottomtime]

The Giant Sea bass are typically seen in August, but can be seen any time. No guarantees outside of August, though. I waited until I had over 600 dives before going to the rigs. They are ten miles offshore and can have strong currents. They sit in several hundred feet of water so buoyancy control is a must.

 

[drbill]

We see the giant sea bass off the island from May to October, but they are essentially gone now (a sighting would be a real rarity in November). Phil is right about the oil rigs... they are generally considered a dive for AOW certified divers. Kelp forests on the other hand... take a dive boat from the mainland and dive Catalina, or just take the Catalina Express and come over to the Casino Point Dive Park. Kelp is very healthy for this time of year.

 

[mathauck0814]

The oil rigs (depending which rig you dive) sit in between 280-800 feet of water, so it's effectively bottomless. You will need to control your buoyancy and monitor depth to stay safe. Also, the rigs are in open water in the channel and there can sometimes be a current. Boats cannot anchor or attach to the oil rigs in any way so you will live boat (that is the captain puts the boat in neutral, you jump off and swim the rest of the way to the site) and when you ascend you will have to swim out from under the rig back to an idling boat (they will come up to you to help but need to go into neutral at some point for your safety) and then climb back on.

The rigs are beautifully covered in life, big fish and the occasional pelagic. The vis is generally very good. If you go you may want to grab a one day ocean fishing license to take home some scallops for dinner. For those who want to brave the entry/exit, the bottomless environment and the currents, it can be very rewarding.

You'll need to be honest with yourself about the oil rigs and whether or not that sounds like something you're comfortable with.

* Also keep in mind that if you only have "a day in LA" you might want to look into chartering a boat or confirming that the boats are going where you want to dive that day. After the summer ends, boats tend to revert to a charter-only (or at the very least, weekend-only) schedule and the variety goes down significantly. You can charter a small boat for ~$400-$600 and split it ~6 ways.

 

[diversteve]

Also keep in mind that the SoCal dive operations don't generally put a DM in the water unless you hire your own. I agree with everything posted ^. Get several hundred dives before you try the rigs. Sometimes conditions change quickly farther offshore - once we splashed in calm conditions and came back to 6-8' swells. Which then makes the ladder a potential weapon.

Watch some of the YouTube videos. I've seen one where bubbles were leaving a diver's reg sideways. That's a pretty healthy current to fight.

For help with finding a boat: California Dive Boats : The Official Page If you decide to dive the park instead, they're used to dive gear on the Catalina Express.

 

[MalibuJerry]

+4 on the rigs. They are a great dive, but they will still be there when you are ready for them. You can have a blast in the kelp forest the entire time. There are many options for diving the kelp forest. One is to go to Dr. Bill's habitat, the Water Park at Avalon. You can take the Catalina Ferry over and use one of the dive shops there to outfit yourself.

Jerry

 

[Cav]

Really appreciate the replies guys, any knowledge on whether there are sea lions at play? Think we will skip the rigs!

 

[Vegan Shark]

I don't think sea lion action at Catalina will be likely (haven't dove there yet, but been researching a bit since I'll be there for Thanksgiving.) Anacapa, or Santa Barbara Island seem to be the places where people have the most encounters with families of sea lions. I only saw one at Anacapa, though; they were all just sleeping on the rocks and were very uninterested in us divers. Sometimes it's just luck of the draw.

If you ever are in NorCal, drop by the Breakwater in Monterey for some sea lion fun. Every dive I've had there lately has had groups of sea lions. A big family of 15+ showed off their dance moves for me for about 7 minutes a couple weeks ago, was wonderful.

 

[TSandM]

You can have enormous fun just staying with the Channel Islands. I'd highly recommend a day out on one of the boats. The sea lion rookery at the end of Anacapa Island was one of the best dives I have done anywhere in the world (but it IS dependent on sea and weather conditions, as to whether you can dive there or not). Even if you can't do that dive, the kelp and the color on the Channel Island reefs are wonderful.

I'm with everybody else about the oil rigs. Fun dives, but you have to have your wits about you.

 

[bperc]

You should have been with us yesterday on the Truth. We went to Santa Barbara Island. On two of the dives we were swarmed by sea lions. They were following us around and swimming right up to us.