California diving

[lowlysubaruguy]

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. Filling his position with the right person will take time. Its going to kill any lengthy dive trips until I have captains to man both shops so to say.

Im near Portland Oregon while diving the Oregon coast or the sound up in Washington is an option I have done it enough to find myself reluctant to make it top of my list. I had hoped for a trip to the Philippines was in the works. It also seems like by the time Im made the drive hit 40 degree water for three or four days I come home more tired than I left and I spend almost as much on these short weekend trips as I would have taking a trip tropical.

Cal is a short flight for me I’ve seen a few 4 and 5 day live aboard trips advertised. And the closest dive shop to me has done a couple of them. He has nothing planned. But the waters still pretty cold there right? Am I going to regret not taking a longer vacation and going some place that is on my list of WANT TO DO DIVES. I have had a long year havent taken any time off in over a year now and all work and no dive has made Jack a dull boy. We are slow usually through March so the time to leave is within the next two months. Once May rolls around if I haven’t found a replacement there wont be any enjoyable time off till Jan next year.

 

[Bob DBF]

I normally dive NorCal, and when I get down to the Channel Islands I always get told I have my zipper down on my 7mm farmer John. I leave it down because the water is warmer and I don't want to overheat, after a few dives I cool down enough to zip it up. Cold is relative.


Bob

 

[NorCalDM]

First the water temperature is going to be in the 50’s it will vary some depending we’re you go but most of the liveaboards are going out of southern Cal. I use Truth Aquatics out of Santa Barbara but flying in close to there mat be an issue. You can book directly with them they run 2 to 4 day trips to the Channel Islands which is great diving. As a side note Philippines has amazing diving so keep it on your must do list!

 

[Trailboss123]

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. Filling his position with the right person will take time. Its going to kill any lengthy dive trips until I have captains to man both shops so to say.

Im near Portland Oregon while diving the Oregon coast or the sound up in Washington is an option I have done it enough to find myself reluctant to make it top of my list. I had hoped for a trip to the Philippines was in the works. It also seems like by the time Im made the drive hit 40 degree water for three or four days I come home more tired than I left and I spend almost as much on these short weekend trips as I would have taking a trip tropical.

Cal is a short flight for me I’ve seen a few 4 and 5 day live aboard trips advertised. And the closest dive shop to me has done a couple of them. He has nothing planned. But the waters still pretty cold there right? Am I going to regret not taking a longer vacation and going some place that is on my list of WANT TO DO DIVES. I have had a long year havent taken any time off in over a year now and all work and no dive has made Jack a dull boy. We are slow usually through March so the time to leave is within the next two months. Once May rolls around if I haven’t found a replacement there wont be any enjoyable time off till Jan next year.

I totally feel your pain. I lived in Portland for 6 years before moving down here to So Cal a year and a half ago for work. Can't tell you how many dives I have done at Sund Rock or Octopus Hole in the Hood Canal. Well, I probably could, I just don't want to take the time to count. Anyway, if you come down here in the next month or so, you will find the water at its coldest in the Channel Islands. Low 50's to 55 right now. Best liveaboard options are with Truth Aquatics out of Santa Barbara as @NorCalDM already mentioned. There are direct flights into Santa Barbara from PDX on Alaska Airlines- but usually expensive. Problem with this time of year is that there are not an abundance of multi days trips (mostly 1 and 2 day). There is a 3 day trip next weekend due to President's Day; a 3 day March 9-11 and the best offering would be a 4 day Southern Channel Islands trip March 25-28. Upside to the cold water temps thi time of year is that the visibility is pretty awesome and the water is blue vs the emerald green of the Puget Sound. So, all of that being said, have you considered a hop down to somewhere in the Caribbean instead (Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Bonaire)? Happy to help in any way I can with additional info on So Cal or Caribbean. Also, I wouldn't rule out the Philippines either. March/April is a good time to hit someplace like Puerto Galera. All the best!

 

[outofofficebrb]

You can’t just drop Philippines in there with California diving and then expect anything else......I will second @Trailboss123. If you have some time now, take it to go to Philippines. When things get crazy, you won’t be able to get away or if you can, it is much easier to go to California later. As mentioned, April and May is a good time to be going to a Puerto Galera, Coron, etc.

 

[george_austin]

I'd do a multi day in southern California in the summer. The multi days are more frequent and you're not going to freeze your ass off in the water or topside. Truth Aquatics - yes. Backside Santa Cruz Island when it's on can be the best diving anywhere in the World. Same with San Clemente Island and San Nicolas.

Wherever I dive, anywhere in the World, I always compare it to Southern California. Don't forget to do the rigs and Farnsworth Banks.

 

[yle]

We are slow usually through March so the time to leave is within the next two months. Once May rolls around if I haven’t found a replacement there wont be any enjoyable time off till Jan next year.

Unfortunately, your slow time is also the coldest months for So Cal waters. The local beaches are in the high 50's right now, and the Channel Islands (as was previously stated) tend to be in the low to mid 50's. You'll need at minimum a 7mm suit that fits very well. The water doesn't get warmer until around May.

You'll also find that most dive trips in So Cal happen on the weekends because they cater to locals and not so much to people visiting on vacation.

If you find scheduling So Cal diving awkward, consider that while getting here is probably a 2.5 hour flight from Portland, a flight to Cancun is probably only 2 hours further (if you can fly direct.) Once you're on a plane, distances that seem huge on a map are really only a matter of a few hours away.

Lastly, if you are interested in the boats that leave out of Santa Barbara or Ventura (e.g. the Truth Aquatics boats) to the Channel Islands, you might want to check out Burbank airport. I think Southwest flies into Burbank and it's about 60 miles from Ventura or 90 miles from Santa Barbara. The driving distance from LAX to either SB or Ventura is comparable, but Burbank is a smaller airport and you avoid having to drive through LA.

 

[stretchthepenn]

If you go a bit further south, to San Diego, you can dive the HMCS Yukon (a purpose-sunk destroyer) and also catch the Horizon dive boat to the Channel Islands. It's a far longer boat ride than from Santa Barbara, but I've had several really good trips with them.

 

[StefinSB]

April is the hottest month for the Phillipines and the coldest for SoCal waters.

 

[pasley]

I live in SoCal and did the Philippines October 20 to November 1, 2017 and it was amazing. In fact I and some friends are going back June 23-July 7, 2018. We are spending 1 week in Dumaguete at a photo workshop ran by Bluewater Photo and Travel ($2,876pp Double Occupancy) and another week on Bohol diving Magic Oceans Resort $1,375pp. Plus a ferry ride ($20) and airfare round trip no-stop from Los Angeles to Manila and on to Dumaguete . Cost is $1,363.31. All for under $6,000. Join us, there is still room.

Also at this time our water temperature is a balmy 58F in the Los Angeles area (Catalina). A tad cooler say in Anacapa or Santa Barbara Island.