new to santa barbara!! in need of dive buddies, friends, advice ;)

[sb-diver]

hey everyone!

i just moved to santa barbara from boston, and can't wait to check out the diving here. i got certified down in honduras this summer, and definitely caught the addiction! i've only got 20 (warm water) dives under my belt, so i'm sure i have a lot of learning to do for diving off the california coast

i'm actually going on the truth aquatics vision boat down to san clemente this weekend, august 28-31. i have no gear here, so am hoping to buy some things and maybe rent some things this week, and maybe even try the setup out on thursday or friday to sort out any issues. is the sea landing a good shop to buy gear? what about sb aquatics?

also, is anyone going on the vision for this same san clemente trip? and would anyone be interested in being buddies on thursday or friday? i know the truth boat is going to santa cruz both thursday and friday.

thanks for your help!!! i look forward to meeting you all

-gavin

 

[iggy23]

Hi Gavin welcome to So Cal. your going to freeze your ass off. If you want to dive I know a group of guys talking about doing Malibu thursday evening. PM me your email and I'll get you on the email list.


iggy

 

[fnfalman]

I don't know anything about Santa Barbara area dive shops, but be careful diving at San Clemente. Some dive sites are very easy and amenable and some dive sites are very deep with possibility of current coming up out of nowhere. San Clemente is my favorite out of all the Channel Islands. Viz tend to be better there for some reasons.

 

[H2Ocean]

Hi SB diver, get ahold of hardcorediveteam.com for the most adventurous, cost so low it's almost free, dives. We're are not a business except in having fun. We dive constantly from north SB county to south Orange county. We just got back from Jade Cove week and a half ago from a 4 day camping trip that we shared our campsite with anyone. Last sunday we were at Redondo because we had a newer diver in shore experiences. btw we focus on super nice unique sites, not the normal easy and bare sites. And they are accessible if you are somewhat in shape, can walk 1000-2000ft in gear. We don't race so going slow is the key. some hike encounter steep cliffs. we'll use ropes for balance purposes. Look us up on facebook hardcorediveteam you'll get an idea of what is normal. also we get free boat 30ft boat trips around Palos Verdes. And the islands. See you, if you wanna go.

 

[H2Ocean]

Forgot, Galvin we're loggin 125 140 dives a year. salt, high altitude. over labor day weekend we're going up to June Lake to do some junk hunting for another 4 days. you show up with a tent, go to space 92 stay for free, extra vehicle may be like 2-5 bucks a day.

 

[covediver]

i lived in sb for many years. the diving is fabulous. you are so lucky.
sea landing is a good spot for renting gear for the truth boats (its where you board the boat). The dive shop is stocked with a basic but limited selection; i think they cater more to people who forget stuff and need to get it to get on the boat. sb aquatics is a fine dive shop (i am biased as i had a long affiliation with that shop and lots of great memories). either place will take care of you, but i think you will find aquatics is a more full service shop. anacapa dive center near the harbor recently closed from what i heard. there used to be a shop in the harbor, dont know if is there anymore.
i did san clemente two years ago on the vision. the diving is good but can be a bit advanced at some of the spots; like diving in a pool at others. enjoy.

For dive buddies, check out paradise dive club http://www.paradisediveclub.org/ I dived with UCSB Scuba Club for many years, don't know if they are still around (if not, my mint condition dive club t-short might be worth something.

 

[donhealy]

Lived in SB for 11 years. Get gear from Aquatics or Anacapa Dive. Most of my gear is from Aquatics and they have a good selection with knowledgeable folks. Don't know if Kurt still owns it but he is excellent.

Don't bother diving Goleta beach... Refugio can be nice though. Truth boats can't be beat. San Clemente Island is a long way away fro SB.

 

[donhealy]

I just read one of the last postings form this thread. If Anacapa is closed then Aquatics is the only one left in town. The one in the harbor closed over 6 years ago. The only other spot would be at Sea Landing, which is where the Truth Boats are. Though, its not really a dive shop. Sign of the times. There used to be 5 dive shops and now only 1.

 

[covediver]

bobs had the character and one of each kind of dive gear (frog fin capital of the world). sal's sb divers supply had sal and NASDS, aquatics had kurt and patty (he does still own it last i heard), anacapa had mark and lacy among others, dennis ran the program at UCSB, clauser and von ran it at sbcc, and ed taught all the ucsb classes. gosh, that was a great time to be diving in sb, i do think it was the golden age for sport diving in sb. don't recall much about the shop in the harbor except that it catered primarily to the urchin and sbcc crowd.
three full service dive shops within a half mile of each other along hollister avenue; that was a fine time to be getting wet
truth boats, bold contender, barbara marie, sea ventures, captain midnight, liberty (never had much use for spectre, still dont to this day), diving then sure did have its cast of characters. now, only aquatics remains. who would have thought

 

[surfinusa555]

If you are willing to come down to Malibu we could do some shore dives.