SoCal dive recommendation for visitors from the NE

[HBDiveGirl]

As someone who recently had an awesome time as a first time SoCal shore diver (Thanks in a big part to Claudette and others), I highly recommend the shore diving, especially if the boat schedules don't fit into your plans. Redondo Beach Canyon was cool, and so was Point Dume. I would also suggest pairing up with some of the local SoCal folks, as they were a great bunch of folks and can give you the necessary pointers/techniques for SoCal diving.

Thank you, John.. I had a great time diving with you when you visited. When are you coming back? You were exquisitely well prepared, with your weighting undercontrol even though you had new gear and a different exposure suit... You did all your homework and checkouts at home so you hit the ground in LA ready to dive. That was fun!!

~~~~~~
Claudette

 

[Empty V]

Funny laughing boy!

At least you can get deeper than 25 fsw in Redondo!

Hey I get down to 35ft at G-City. And what good does 100ft do if there is nothing to see? Or you can't see past the inside of your mask.

Hahaha! Pishah valley people

B-Major

 

[HBDiveGirl]

The problem right now in Redondo is the very poor visibility. I dove there last Sunday, it's very bad right now.

Hey now ... The fantastic joy of Redondo Canyon is available about 320 nights a year.. you just have to know how and where to dive it.

You only need about 5-10 feet of vis to enjoy a spectacular night dive in the canyon. You need to develop very good buddy skills so you don't lose your teammate in these conditions. Have a separation plan and stick to it.

How to enjoy Redondo Canyon:

• Dive at Night time, when the wacky bestiary awakes
• Use non-silting propulsion kicks to not disturb the talcum-fine mud in the canyon. Learn to get horizontal, with your fins way up off the ground, and use a frog kick all the time over the mud. Flutter kick down there and you might as well go home.
• Use adequate lights
• Go Low and slow to see the amazing tiny creatures as well as the bigger ones
• Spend as much time as possible in the 40 to 70fsw zone along the canyon walls... this is the life zone. The deeper areas also have great stuff, but less density of life.
• Read the book to understand this habitat: Marty Snydermans book about California Marine Life is the best. Read the chapter dedicated to the Sand and Canyon habitats.
• Wear adequate exposure protection to enjoy a slow and relaxed dive.
• Put your grille to the mud and find the jewels: tiny nudis , baby octopus, brittle stars, crabs packed with eggs, sarcastic fringeheads, midshipman, spotted cusk eels, black bellied eel pouts, and more.
• Get away from the crowds. One group of roto-tillers will stir up clouds of mud that take hours to settle. Go where others don't.
• Learn how to navigate well with a compass. Bad viz is not a problem as long as you know where you are with solid compass navigation. If you're new, practice in the parking lot. Ask until you find an experienced diver who will show you how it's done.

Vis this afternoon was about 10-15 feet in the canyon, and 6-15 on the sandy shallows. The life we saw living in our 10 acres of mud was wonderful.

~~~~~~
Claudette

 

[HBDiveGirl]

It's bad now? When is it good?

Billy

Most of the time.

Redondo canyon is a night dive site, unless you're training for specific skills. Vis at night is usually at least 10 feet, often 15-20 in the canyon below the thermocline, and sometimes 20-40 (which is breathtaking! )Rarely is it so bad that it interferes with enjoying the spectacular and odd creatures in this unique habitat.

Vis over the sandy shallows is usually poor.
That's the part you pass through to get to the good stuff in the canyon.

You just have to know where to look, and how to dive it skillfully.

~~~~~~
Claudette

 

[scottfiji]

hey, enough of these "the valley" vs "south bay" wars!

G-city and Redondo are both good sites.

Redondo is one of the best sites I've ever dove in the world for small critters and macro photography.

Claudette summed it up very well. I loved the roto-tiller comment She's spot on also regarding the visibility.

Scott

 

[Empty V]

Most of the time.

Redondo canyon is a night dive site, unless you're training for specific skills. Vis at night is usually at least 10 feet, often 15-20 in the canyon below the thermocline, and sometimes 20-40 (which is breathtaking! )Rarely is it so bad that it interferes with enjoying the spectacular and odd creatures in this unique habitat.

Vis over the sandy shallows is usually poor.
That's the part you pass through to get to the good stuff in the canyon.

You just have to know where to look, and how to dive it skillfully.

~~~~~~
Claudette

Maybe one of these days I'll become a skilled enough diver to master vets park. That frog kick is some pretty tough stuff.

Claudette is right though, if you're not careful you could seriously spoil your dive by not being critical enough of your diving. There's always ways to improve and adapt to your environment.

Billy

 

[drbill]

I've avoided diving Redondo because I'm too knock-kneed to master the frog kick and I don't want to spoil it for everyone else. Oh, it's also a long boat ride!

Hope you find an option that gives you a great SoCal dive experience.