Is there any safe/ good diving in So Cal this holiday weekend?

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bshmerlie

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Location
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I originally planned on taking my boat to Catalina this Sunday to do my first dive post OW cert but with all the talk of incredibly high surf Wednesday and Thursday it doesn't seem like that's a possibility. How long do we typically have to wait for conditions to return to normal once Hurricane Marie dwindles off? Would visibility still be bad even if the swell was low by Sunday? I was thinking of Crescent Bay off my boat as a second option. Of course only if it is safe. Fighting waves and poor visibility is not my idea of a fun trip.
 
The swell on sat is supposed to be 2', Sunday 3-5', and Monday 2-4'. So, it appears it's going to die down by the weekend, but I would imagine there would be a lot of particulate in the water at the beaches.

I too am thinking about Catalina, but am wondering the same thing you are - will biz be good?

Curious to see what other say...
 
Although the area from Long Point to the East End (and presumably the backside) of Catalina has been hammered, I've heard that the diving north of Long Point on the leeward side has not been too bad. I haven't dived anywhere since Sunday night (and it was pretty surgy then, but nothing unmanageable like yesterday)
 
The swells are out of the south. Palos Verdes is protected by Catalina and San Clemente, so diving the peninsula is unaffected.
Hey Max,
I did not realize that link in your sig was for a Dive Info Book…. I will have to order me one.

My daughter and I were going to dive Laguna on Sunday Afternoon and then Night. That is looking like a very bad idea.
We have consider LaJolla, but don't know what the weather has done to its conditions..

If we decide to give Palos Verdes Pen a try, what dive site would you recommend for a Night dive? Like adequate parking and reasonable distance to water.
If we decided to to a afternoon dive and then a night dive, what two spots would you recommend?

We looked for Old Marineland when Chamber Day got weathered out… Dang, some serious growth of resort has gone on there… You posted a recent picture on my thread about that. That looks like a long ass walk to the water.. I can only imagine there won't be any parking there this weekend as well.

Thanks for any info,

IrnBear
 
How's the crossing likely to be?
 
If you are a participant on FaceBook like or friend Catalina Express. They have been giving updates on whether they are crossing or not.. That will give you an idea about how the crossing is.
 
The easiest night dive around here is Veteran's park in Redondo Beach. Plenty of parking, COLD fresh water showers and a short swim to the canyon. Other than Cabrillo Beach, everything else around P.V. requires a long walk, cliff trail hiking or a boat.
 
So is diving off a boat at Crescent Bay on Sunday not a good idea? It says the swell is only supposed to be 1+. Is it the visibility thats going to be the problem or a strong current?
 
So is diving off a boat at Crescent Bay on Sunday not a good idea? It says the swell is only supposed to be 1+. Is it the visibility thats going to be the problem or a strong current?

It will depend on how quickly the surf dies down. It is still running 5 feet plus at OC beaches. I'd wait to hear some reports from Saturday. If you don't mind the long swim, you could hedge your bets and just plan on swimming out to Deadmans. That's where the Riviera will be anchored. If viz is bad, you got a nice workout in and it didn't cost you anything.
 

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