Good time to dive Laguna on weekends?

Hi all,

I mentioned to a fellow diver that we might check out Shaw's Cove this weekend or next, and probably aim to get there between 8 and 9am when there was still a chance of decent parking. He said dive classes in Laguna are supposed to be out of the water by 10am, so getting there after 10 is actually a better bet because the parking spots clear out.

Is this true? Or should we stick to our early wake-up call?

Hi Anastasia,

Jim McCabe and I have always had good luck going to Laguna and NOT having to get up at the crack of dawn. We have good luck at between 8 and 9. We always seem to find a parking space if we just wait for 5 minutes for someone to leave if there isn't already one there waiting for us.

That said, why don't you come up to Leo Carrillo this weekend and meet some of the other ScubaBoard members? You can read more info on our monthy Wrinkles Dive in this thread. It's always lots of fun!

By the way, I keep expecting to finally meet you at a Hollywood Divers dive club meeting, but haven't had the pleasure yet. Those meetings have been quite a bit of fun lately! The last one wound up at Universal City Walk.

I look forward to meeting you sometime and hope you have lots of fun where ever you and your friend decide to go.

Christian

Hi Christian,

We don't usually go to the HD meetings, but we do frequent the shop. We're both in the Sole Searchers dive club out in Pasadena as well, but they dive with a variety of shops.

Leo Carillo...hmm... maybe once I've beefed up my beach diving muscles. We had a tricky time getting in at Leo Carillo last time; I'm not a big fan of that sudden drop-off! But I did get one of my favorite pics for illustrating SoCal diving there:



Maybe we'll show up the next time you guys are at Laguna!

that can't be good.....

Anastasia,

That's funny. When we were at Leo in December, it was just as easy as Shaw's. HBDiveGirl, mccabejc and I had a beautiful dive there with great vis that weekend. I even took someone out on one of their first beach dives that weekend with an easy entry and exit.

I'm thinking that you may have gone in at that long stretch of sandy beach. I've seen pretty big breakers there even that weekend. We went in at a cove below a life guard tower that seemed to be somewhat protected.

Of course, it's all about the conditions of the day!

That's a great pic to show people what a beach dive can look like. :11:

I used to frequent the Sole Searchers club when they used to meet in La Canada/La Crescenta as the Sport Chalet Dive Club in the early 80s. I'll have to check them out again sometime when they meet at the Pasadena El Torito (just a short drive down the street from me).

Hope to meet you guys sometime soon, but if it comes down to it, the Wrinkles Dive will be in Laguna again in a couple of months.

Christian

Shaw's has to be one of the busiest coves in Laguna. Christian and Jim are LUCKY if they were able to get parking. It can be tough, due to all of the classes. Fortunately, there are other coves near by that you can dive as well...my favorite 'North Cresent' (Deadman's). Or Dive South Cresent all the away around INTO Shaw's. You can get quite creative if you are good on your air consumption, diving from cove to cove.

Remember to bring quarters 'just in case' you have to park in metered parking.

headhunter:

Jim McCabe and I have always had good luck going to Laguna and NOT having to get up at the crack of dawn. We have good luck at between 8 and 9. We always seem to find a parking space if we just wait for 5 minutes for someone to leave if there isn't already one there waiting for us.
Christian

Click to expand...

You need to get there before all the bottom tillers muck up the visibility!
Why worry about parking?

We (whole family) really like Fisherman's Cove. It seems to be largely ignored by divers for the most part. We found it one day by accident when we couldn't park within 1/2 a mile of Shaw's.