California diving

[VR78]

my year has just made an unexpected turn. One of my key employees quit he’s moving to Hawaii can’t blame him. But im now short handed.

Are you accepting applications?.. I like Oregon...

 

[covediver]

Can't to wrong on a Truth Aquatics multiple day trip, been on several of them. Southern Channel Islands (San Clemente) and northern Channel Islands. Keep in mind that none of the multiple day boats are what most people think of as "liveaboards" with private cabins and bathrooms. By that measure, California boats are pretty Spartan, with multiple tier berths below decks, shared heads, communal dining, etc. Also, if you like being escorted on dives and having your get taken off by the crew or pampered diving, you may be in for a surprise. If those amenities make a difference to you, consider somewhere other than Socal. The downside is you will miss out on some absolutely fabulous diving, great company, and really good food.

 

[ystrout]

Flying from Portland to San Diego is super cheap and the flights are short. It would be a fun weekend getaway. You can do it super often too.

I dive SD every weekend I'm not snowboarding, and never get tired of it.

If you're on a boat, you can cruise out to the Yukon and Ruby E for some wreck dives. They're pretty deep at around 75-100 feet. I've done the Ruby E, it's super fun. I took the boat out to the Yukon on Saturday, but the conditions were terrible and we called it after hopping in the water.

And if you're shore diving, La Jolla cove and Marine room are easy, shallow dives with TONS of fish. Calico bass are really fun to swim with. They'll swim right up to you and stare at you, then follow you the entire dive. It's the strangest thing.

 

[lowlysubaruguy]

Well the Phillipines trip is out until I find a replacement which is a slow process. We had an amazing trip last time we went. We had a native tour guide from day one visited 6 islands dove from two of them. I was hoping to take my whole family this summer but everyones plans have changed including my own so it will wait one more year.

I have friends in Florida that i dive with every chance I get but its hard to make that flight from here for a short trip. I am going to look for a 3 or 4 day liveaboard in California and hope I can make it happen. However I broke a tooth and am now trying to get a crown put on it ASAP.

Its life some day in the not so different future ill be semi retired and will have months to make my dive life what it should be.

 

[Trailboss123]

Well the Phillipines trip is out until I find a replacement which is a slow process. We had an amazing trip last time we went. We had a native tour guide from day one visited 6 islands dove from two of them. I was hoping to take my whole family this summer but everyones plans have changed including my own so it will wait one more year.

I have friends in Florida that i dive with every chance I get but its hard to make that flight from here for a short trip. I am going to look for a 3 or 4 day liveaboard in California and hope I can make it happen. However I broke a tooth and am now trying to get a crown put on it ASAP.

Its life some day in the not so different future ill be semi retired and will have months to make my dive life what it should be.

Hang in there! Looks like I will be moving back up to Portland this summer. Maybe we can get together and do some Hood Canal diving after I do. If there is anything I can do to help with a 3-4 day trip in the Channel Islands, let me know.

 

[Luky1]

If you are looking to dive in San Diego, check out Power Scuba (on-line dive club) that is on the meetup.com website. Free to join and get on their email list. They charter local boats and do the dives "at cost" so it is very reasonable. They have stuff going on all the time and boats fill up fast. It has been a couple of years since I dove with them, but we did the oil derek's up in Orange county and it was pretty cool. Lots of fresh scallops to eat when we came up. Definitely want at least a 7mm down here (I wear a 7mm + 5mm hooded vest over it).

 

[Smiley61]

Hi.

I live in Calgary and will be in Santa Barbara on business Sep 11-13. I'm planning on arriving in Santa Barbara early and doing some diving. Should I stick around the Santa Barbara area or head further south? Where would you recommend, and with which dive outfits?

Thanks

 

[JamesBon92007]

I think everyone should experience California diving but for me, living here, in some ways it's easier to get to Mexico than Catalina and it's way cheaper. I didn't notice it mentioned but even in the warmer months, once you hit that thermocline at around 30-35 feet it's still gonna be cold. I just got a new super-stretch 7mm jumpsuit that I need to try out and see if it's as warm as my old farmer john. For one thing it's a lot easier to get on and off. Now I just need to get a boat.

 

[Trailboss123]

Hi.

I live in Calgary and will be in Santa Barbara on business Sep 11-13. I'm planning on arriving in Santa Barbara early and doing some diving. Should I stick around the Santa Barbara area or head further south? Where would you recommend, and with which dive outfits?

Thanks

The only dive operator in Santa Barbara is Truth Aquatics and they run multi-day trips during the summer and there are no trips scheduled that work for your dates, even if you came in the weekend prior to your business days.

If you go south to Ventura, there are multiple dive ops that do day trips out to Anacapa and Santa Cruz islands, (weekend only) and some run on Friday also. You'd have to come in with the intent to dive the Friday/Saturday and/or Sunday prior to the 11th-13th. If inclined, let me know and I can list the dive operators.