Staircases,,,is the best dive spot off of Malibu...Never had a bad dive and they keep getting better and better...
Favorite So Cal Shore Dive?
- Thread starter TerryTat
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OP
TerryTat
Contributor
Thanks Again For All Of The Info...
TerryTat:
I use a couple of methods to gauge conditions.
1) The conditions page by Laguna Sea Sports, located here: http://www.lagunaseasports.com/conditions/conditions.asp. While it's not necessarily reflective of Laguna as a whole, it's probably a pretty good indicator.
2) The conditions page on the supposed-to-be-dead myoc.com site, located here: http://www.myoc.com/weather/ocean.shtml. It's not nearly as good as the LSS link, but it's worth looking at. If a large South is building, surf in Laguna is probably going to be a problem.
3) I use the surf forecasts at http://www.surfline.com. Again, if surf is coming up, they'll note it. If it's gonna be a good South for surfing, it's probably bad for diving.
4) Also at SurfLine, I use the LOLA forecast models. They indicate general swell strength and direction. These maps are probably available through LOLA directly, but I get them from surfline. Example map of south Orange County from today (2006.08.28):
Looking at the right window, you can see the swell backing off throughout the week (darker colors are better for diving). Not a good indication of viz, but somewhat indicative of wave height. Note that Laguna is toward the bottom right of the map.
Example map of Palos Verdes and surrounding areas:
OML is at the south west tip of the peninsula, and as you can see in the left window, is nicely sheltered from south swells by Catalina. Note the decreasing swell throughout the week, and the relatively low levels of swell in the OML area and up at Redondo.
5) Finally, I use the dive reports located in the southern California section of this web-site. The currently active one can be found here:http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=153147
My one complaint about the dive report forums is that people don't report when they went down to the beach but weren't able to dive because of conditions. In my opinion, that's probably more valuable information to distance divers like yourself than is a good dive report. I'm guilty of this too, and need to start doing it.
TerryTat:
If I had a nickle for everytime any of the local reports or swell sites said conditions were going to suck, and they actually were quite diveable when I arrived, I'd be on an island someplace right now.
The simple truth is you never really know until you get there. A year ago I had to make a change in my dive team, simply because one of the members kept canceling whenever conditions were forecasted to be, lets say less than perfect - based on swell models, websites, webcams and phone in reports.
You take all the available information, come up with a plan for your main objective, one or two back up locations and you just go for it. Make sure your back ups don't all face the same direction, you know?
One of the wonderful things about SoCal shore diving is within a few minutes drive you can go from a South facing beach to a West facing beach. The former may be undiveable one morning, while 15 or 20 minutes away you have perfectly acceptable conditions.
I won't ever let a website or phone report kill a dive. I gotta go and see the swells, see the conditions. If its unwise to dive at Site A, I move to Sites B or C.
If they're all blown out, time for breakfast. Thats never happened yet, though.
I usually dive hungry....
---
Ken
limeyx
Guest
Mo2vation:
Agreed, Redondo was going to "Suck" sunday am according to the reports.
OK, there were definitely some waves when I got there but nothing special (although it might have built up later in the day). Definitely divable.
I ignore weather/surf reports (Unless I am looking for an excuse not to dive
undrwater
Contributor
Besides, we dive when the surfers are out anyway, right?
"Are we not men?"
"Are we not men?"
limeyx
Guest
undrwater:
WHen I am being dragged out of Redondo on my backside, I do begin to wonder why/what I am doing
scottfiji
Contributor
undrwater:
I like to dive underneath them, and occassionally grab their calves.. you should see them jump!
limeyx:Agreed, Redondo was going to "Suck" sunday am according to the reports.
OK, there were definitely some waves when I got there but nothing special (although it might have built up later in the day). Definitely divable.
I ignore weather/surf reports (Unless I am looking for an excuse not to dive
We went Sunday night and had the place to ourselves. There were surely waves - the biggest ones we've seen in a couple of weeks. But they were powerless (thanks to the "Vets shelf") and we got in and out with doubles without any incident.
As 'Chica says - 80% of life is just showing up.
---
Ken
ckaspar
Registered
Does nobody dive Little Corona?
I love that dive site. Espescially during the day. There is a lot of kelp and wildlife there.
Parking sucks sometimes but I have always been able to find a spot. The hike up the hill sucks a little too but hey who doesn't need a little exercise.
Other than Little Corona I hit Shaw's, Crescent and Redondo. In that order of preference.
I love that dive site. Espescially during the day. There is a lot of kelp and wildlife there.
Parking sucks sometimes but I have always been able to find a spot. The hike up the hill sucks a little too but hey who doesn't need a little exercise.
Other than Little Corona I hit Shaw's, Crescent and Redondo. In that order of preference.
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