Where to dive in LA area?

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I STRONGLY recommend that you hire a DM to give you an orientation to cold, low vis California diving. It's way safer and you'll see more stuff.

Too many warm water divers, many with much more experience than you, have gotten into bad trouble here.


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Yeah, maybe I'm being too pessimistic. Although I honestly can't remember the last time I saw anything near 60ft vis around here, even on a boat dive.

This is taken at 200 feet with no strobes (total ambient light only) just last year :)

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I think Lee is being a little bit harsh. No, you won't have 100 foot visibility and the water is more likely to be green than blue, but you don't really NEED lots of viz as the stuff you're likely to see will be small and on the rock reef and kelp anyway. Since you'll need to rent gear anyway, just rent a 7mm suit when you pick up the rest of your gear. The islands generally have better visibility than the shore sites, so head out to Catalina on any of the day boats. If you call ahead they can hook you up with a DM or you might be able to buddy up with someone on the boat. I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you've got experience in a 7mm suit already then the rest is just working with the cold and the dark. Diving in California is very different but it's every bit as good as diving tropically, IMO.
 
I think Lee is being a little bit harsh. No, you won't have 100 foot visibility and the water is more likely to be green than blue, but you don't really NEED lots of viz as the stuff you're likely to see will be small and on the rock reef and kelp anyway. Since you'll need to rent gear anyway, just rent a 7mm suit when you pick up the rest of your gear. The islands generally have better visibility than the shore sites, so head out to Catalina on any of the day boats. If you call ahead they can hook you up with a DM or you might be able to buddy up with someone on the boat. I wouldn't worry about it too much. If you've got experience in a 7mm suit already then the rest is just working with the cold and the dark. Diving in California is very different but it's every bit as good as diving tropically, IMO.

Just for clarification - I've done most of my 225+ dives right here in SoCal, and I consider it to be world-class diving. I've also dived in Cozumel, Bali, Bora Bora, Belize, Galapagos, and Costa Rica, among other warm-water destinations, so I think I've been enough places to make a reasonable comparison.

My description was not meant to be "harsh", but to be realistic. Too many people who've never done a dive that wasn't led by a DM in crystal-clear, bathtub-warm water have come here and been disappointed or, worse, gotten themselves in trouble by being unprepared for the conditions and expectations around here. Not too long ago we had a rash of tourist divers who lost their lives entangled in kelp, with much speculation that it was due to their lack of preparedness in how to deal with kelp, cold water, low vis, and lack of DM guides.

So if I sound like I'm being critical of our wonderful local diving, please understand that it was only to ensure that the same thing doesn't happen to another unprepared tourist. Knowledge is power. Conditions ARE more challenging around here than many other popular dive destinations, and it certainly behooves anyone who plans to dive out here, to know what to expect.

All that being said, as much as I love warm-water diving (and I do it whenever I can), I am absolutely enamored of our spectacular underwater world out here. There is nothing more magical to me than finning through a kelp forest, feeling like I am actually flying through woods on land, weaving in and out of the "trees" like I'm Superman. I love seeing bat-rays, I love watching our ubiquitous sea lions frolicking, I REALLY love bug-hunting (or, when out-of-season, taking photos of bugs in holes), and we have some of the coolest nudis around. I don't mind the low vis, unless of course it gets down to zero. I'm happy to find myself a nice rock reef and take macro shots of all the cool little stuff there. And on good vis days, the scenery down there just can't be beat, especially when you see the sun dappling down through the kelp fronds and lighting up a swirling school of bait fish.

If someone is willing to do a little homework so they are prepared for how things are around here, then they will find some of the best diving on the planet. :)
 
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I've looked through the accident forums and Google, but I can't find any mention of a rash of tourist divers entangled in kelp. Do you remember when that may have occurred?
 
One was in San Diego... I'll post the link to the thread in the accidents/incidents forum tomorrow. (It's late now.) don't remember the specifics about the others but I'm sure Ken could provide detailed information about CA diver fatalities linked to kelp, cold water & bad vis.

I'm surprised you don't remember the SD one...it was about two years ago. I thought I recalled you in that discussion. He died in the kelp with his weights still on and I recall much conversation wondering about why he didn't ditch his weights.
 
LeeAnne I think the writer in you tends toward the exageration. I don't even think we've had a rash of scuba fataliies let alone them being tourist divers. From Ken's talk we have about 4 or 5 a year, I wouldn't call that a "rash" of them, and most are local divers.
 
I remember one at Casino Point about a year ago supposedly getting tangled in kelp at 70 ft and one in Laguna too (freediver). Don't have the links or details but remember reading about it.
 
I remember one at Casino Point about a year ago supposedly getting tangled in kelp at 70 ft and one in Laguna too (freediver). Don't have the links or details but remember reading about it.

In any case, diver accidents don't happen any more frequently here than they do anyplace else.
 
LeeAnn may exaggerate a bit about a rash of tourist divers dying (I do recall at least one - the experienced warm water diver who got tangled in kelps in San Diego and how the charter's DM got involved, blah, blah, blah).

However, for people who are not used to heavy exposure suit, heavy lead weight, cold water, middlin' to low viz, it could be daunting. They'd be trying to survive and won't enjoy the dives much if at all. Do they need paid DM service? Probably not if they were to team up with one of us SoCal divers who are on the same trip and can help them tune in. If none of us are available, then I'd recommend DM service. Also a warning up front on what to expect as far as temp & viz go (not to mention kelps and surges), I think that LeeAnn is right. They need to know what to expect.
 
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