Long Beach on Sept 6,7!! (Where to dive and other questions...)

Hi all..

I just got word my trip to Long Beach has been approved. Not wanting to let such an opportunity slip, I'll be taking a much needed vacation day as well.

So, I wanted to ask for some advice on what kind of package to purchase, or plans to make, and also would like to know what to expect from the diving.

I see some weekend packages out there for Catalina.. Anyone have some suggestions?

I could also probably make day trip reservations for both Saturday and Sunday on a boat.

Diving...

I have over 30 dives in the last 3 months, in addition to AOW, and a heavy diving trip to Coz. I am VERY careful about safety and rules (as you all have seen from a couple of my 'rants') , and need to know what to expect. Are these current dives? How big of a light do I need for day dives? Do I need a backup knife? What's a poor single sod like me to do when I show up without a buddy and get the 'looks'? (I will bring all cards and log as well)

I have a 5 mil hyperstretch, a 5 mil hood, and gloves. Is this enough for a two to three boat dive day? Are the temperatures bearable?

So many questions....

James

Falcon, your wetsuit will depend on your tollerance for cold. It would be enough for me but we all differ a little. I use a 7 mil one piece and its ok, you could rent a suit if you would prefer a lottle more warmth. I freedive a 4/3 and I am warm but it is more work than diving.
As for boats I looked at the Sothern california dive boats web site and these are boats that I'm familiar with.
The Great Escape is donig both days with two different LDS one going to San Clemente, my favorite for kelp and critters
the other day is at Santa Barbara Island , Famous for a sea lion rookery that promises playful sea lions to dive with again a fun dive day
the second boat is the Pacific Star, she is going to Catalina Island which has tons of great dive spots.
There are a lot of boats in the area but these are ones I know about personally and are doing places I have been that are way fun. Any questions....feel free to ask
Bill

Thanks, Bill!

I'm not exactly in touch to how I will do with prolonged cold. This weekend will be dedicated to diving at one of our decent lakes, so I think some 'observation' will be in order. Looking at one of your buoy (sp?) temperatures, it looks like you guys are ranging between 65 to 71 degrees, depending on depth and time of day (surface).

I'll put on all my stuff and find a thermocline that matches to see how uncomfortable it gets. It's not too hard to find cold in the lakes out here (we have 39 degrees at 95' in one popular one - mid summer!)

I'm a little weary of playing with the bigger critters out there after the recent shark attack, but the kelp forests are on my list of things to see before I get too old.

Thanks again for the info!

James

James, the swimmer that was attacked recently was swimming perhaps 200 miles to the north in an area that is known to have bigger sharks. They are also down here but I really dont believe that you will see something that bites if you spent a month in the water down here. In my opinion thats not an issue but if it bothers you then dont do Santa Barbara as it is a known rookery for sea lions. Clemente as well as Catalina are both wonderful places to dive, especially for someone that is primarily a fresh water diver.
Bill

Thanks again, Bill. I'm not too worried about it, but really don't know enough about the big critters yet to play with them. But then again, it sounds like a wonderful experience...

I checked the dive boat site, and it seems like almost ALL the boats are chartered out by another company - Sport Chalet.

When you go to the site that is linked, you get a sports equipment store homepage with no information or trip links.

I guess I'll have to spend some time on the phone...

James

James, Sport Challet is a very large sports equipment retailer with many stores around California. You sshould be able to find the site to arrange charters for diving, skiing and all sorts of stuff. The links are usually to different LDS and the prices will vary a little. A LDS will charter an entire boat, set the sites to dive and sell the spots at a profit. If it says open boat then it is the boat owner selling spots for their own day. Reef Seekers usually has a lot of fun charters, I have dove with them lots of times.
Bill

Hi James, Bills suggestions are excellent ones to be sure. I have also dove with those operators and they are great. Another boat to consider would be the Bottom Scratcher. This boat does daily trips to Catalina and the skipper is highly experienced with all the best dive sites. Check them out at http://bottomscratcher.com/ The "open boat" trips will usually be less expensive.

If I were you I would definitely rent a 7mm wetsuit for your visit here. Good luck and enjoy yuou vacation!

Dive On.
Richard.

www.californiadiveboats.com is the direct link to a list of (what else!) California diveboats and some of their particulars.

Thank you all for the wonderful information!

I'll be working out the final details over the next couple of days. It sounds like I'll try renting a 7 mil full suit, as well as bringing my gloves and hood.

I spent the weekend diving and discovered that it is very difficult to find a certain temperature water with an Atmos ai. You literally have to sit there for about 5 to 10 minutes before the temperature reading updates itself to that of the water. We were at 90 feet, freezing, and it still said 91 degrees!

I'm still not sure how I will feel in 68-70 degree water...

Thanks again for the info..

James

Looks like everyone you suggested is chartered out - mostly by Sports Chalet. These people should just buy all the boats and dive shops, seeing as they have chartered them pretty much full-time anyway..

Anyone know offhand what this will cost per day?

James