Getting info for possible California trip...

[Lorenzoid]

How long a trip (or did I overlook where you stated that)? I rarely dived in CA when I lived for many years in San Diego—too cold, and a drysuit would only come 10 years later—but for a topside adventure, the classic San Diego to San Francisco coastal road trip can’t be beat.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

....topside adventure, the classic San Diego to San Francisco coastal road trip can’t be beat.

To OP: Highway 1 is now open all the way through Big Sur. The drive from Santa Barbara to Monterey along CA-1 is spectacular and only takes about 4 hours. Be sure and stop in and explore Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park https://g.co/kgs/8spCtM.

Jade Cove, where @Sam Miller III and I used to make a yearly trip together to dive for Jade is a good pit stop on the drive (the cove is opposite Plaskett Creek Campground). Shorediving for Treasure at California’s Jade Cove

A two or three day trip on a dive boat to the Northern Channel Islands out of Santa Barbara/Ventura, a drive up Hwy 1 to Monterey followed by a couple days of boat/beach diving there would be a great intro to California diving. Don't get me wrong, the Southern Channel Islands are spectacular too. A trip to Catalina is wonderful (even if for one day just to dive the Underwater Park in Avalon). Diving the kelp beds off Point Loma in San Diego is great too. No way to do it all in one short trip. My 2psi. M

 

[Akimbo]

Number one is the diving. Water temps are a factor, neither of us own drysuits and I especially am cold intolerant.

What kind of wetsuits do you have? A 7mm two-piece is probably the minimum choice for Southern California and cold intolerant divers. Of course depth is a factor. For me, a custom two-piece 7mm is OK down to about 50' in Monterey. Investing in two drysuits is a big commitment, and change in hassel factor. On the other hand, they certainly broaden your diving range.

Then topside we would love to explore some of California’s natural wonders. Neither of us care much for big cities and we are not wine connoisseurs. So thinking maybe a drive along route 1?

The channel islands off Santa Barbara is my preference for Southern California diving and is a small town; compared to LA and San Diego anyway. I spent most of my adult life in San Diego and know all the islands very well; from the Coronados in Mexico to San Miguel.

I just returned from Palau and was reflecting on my favorite dives in the last 50+ years. For me, Carmel Bay is easily the best -- when conditions are good. Unfortunately, that is a relatively rare condition. Most of the day boats out of Monterey seldom make it around Point Joe to Carmel Bay due to the sea state. The very best conditions tends to be in the winter between storms. I have seen dead flat and 100' of visibility during hard-to-predict intervals in December through February.

The coast between Morro Bay and Monterey is spectacular. The best drive is north to south because the car is on the coast side of the road. Give yourself a full day so you can stop frequently. California is very different once you get north of Point Conception -- under and above the water.

Wine is produced all over the state. I now live on the fringe of "wine country" in Mendocino. Napa and Sonoma counties are the best known and have the most vineyards. The most popular (and expensive) time is the early fall for the grape harvest but I prefer the spring before the grass turns brown and it gets hot. It doesn't matter for wine tasting since you can't taste the newly harvested vintage for a year (or five).

The other thing to remember is California is a really big place. People from the US east coast and Europe often misjudge distances and are surprised how different it is from the arid south to the Redwood rainforests in the north. I fear that I have not made your decision any easier.

 

[Sam Miller III]

Welcome back @Akimbo !
You and your great informative post were missed
I agree always fly in to San Francisco and drive south -- the drive - the scenery can be only described with one word ~~ spectacular ! ~~

@Scuba Lawyer

"Jade Cove, where @Sam Miller III and I used to make a yearly trip together to dive for Jade is a good pit stop on the drive (the cove is opposite Plaskett Creek Campground). Shorediving for Treasure at California’s Jade Cove"

Those were the days !
The present day divers seldom dive Jade Cove do to the hike-- recall how we would make the hike 2 -3 times a day ?

The modern diver
"If you can fall off a boat it is not really diving ! "

Sam III

 

[uncfnp]

Some of my old notes in case it helps - My Notes For Researching My California Dive Trip - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/my-notes-for-researching-my-california-dive-trip.532316/ and a few follow up thoughts:

1.) In a wetsuit, you will have some issues with cold if you're sensitive and diving a lot.

2.) The constant breeze across the water created an evaporative cooling effect; oddly enough, as I'd been warned, it was colder to stand around on back of the boat in my wetsuit than to strip it off. A Vet told me they use water or alcohol to wet over-heated animals to take advantage of this, so the effect was familiar to him.

3.) I grew up hearing horror stories about traffic in L.A. (e..g: the 'freeway shootings,') but Santa Barbara looked like a laid back place I could've drove around.

4.) I did a 'limited load' trip; not much more money, more room on board and from what I read the food tends to get spruced up a bit. It was also a very popular annual trip. Be mindful a trip that doesn't get enough bookings can get cancelled. You may wish to ask the trip provider for a guess as to the 'security' of your proposed trip going.

5.) When I went, of the 3 boats, Truth Aquatic's boat the Vision has a water maker; the Conception didn't. Between that and the limited load trip, there wasn't much pressure to conserve water. Not sure what other situations would involve.

6.) Be ready for some lifting. The way the setup worked on the Vision, BCD/tank/reg. setups were on the 'floor' around a central structure; when ready to don gear, we picked them up and moved to atop peripheral benches, then got them on.

7.) It was a great value. No, it's not 'like an Aggressor boat,' but a lot cheaper.

Thank you! I actually found this thread last night and read it through.

Edit. Lifting is an issue for me. I know California divers are a very independent sort but are they willing to help a lady in need if Eric isn’t readily available?

How long a trip (or did I overlook where you stated that)? I rarely dived in CA when I lived for many years in San Diego—too cold, and a drysuit would only come 10 years later—but for a topside adventure, the classic San Diego to San Francisco coastal road trip can’t be beat.

Looking at 10 days. Work constraints and helping with my by then 90 year old mom makes it tough to do more. But I could push it to 12. Or just plan multiple trips.

To OP: Highway 1 is now open all the way through Big Sur. The drive from Santa Barbara to Monterey along CA-1 is spectacular and only takes about 4 hours. Be sure and stop in and explore Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park https://g.co/kgs/8spCtM.

Jade Cove, where @Sam Miller III and I used to make a yearly trip together to dive for Jade is a good pit stop on the drive (the cove is opposite Plaskett Creek Campground). Shorediving for Treasure at California’s Jade Cove

A two or three day trip on a dive boat to the Northern Channel Islands out of Santa Barbara/Ventura, a drive up Hwy 1 to Monterey followed by a couple days of boat/beach diving there would be a great intro to California diving. Don't get me wrong, the Southern Channel Islands are spectacular too. A trip to Catalina is wonderful (even if for one day just to dive the Underwater Park in Avalon). Diving the kelp beds off Point Loma in San Diego is great too. No way to do it all in one short trip. My 2psi. M

Thank you. Since I am not familiar with California the more concrete info the better.

What kind of wetsuits do you have? A 7mm two-piece is probably the minimum choice for Southern California and cold intolerance divers. Of course depth is a factor. For me, a custom two-piece 7mm is OK down to about 50' in Monterey. Investing in two drysuits is a big commitment, and change in hassel factor. On the other hand, they certainly broaden your diving range.



The channel islands off Santa Barbara is my preference for Southern California diving and is a small town; compared to LA and San Diego anyway. I spent most of my adult life in San Diego and know all the islands very well; from the Coronados in Mexico to San Miguel.

I just returned from Palau and was reflecting on my favorite dives in the last 50+ years. For me, Carmel Bay is easily the best -- when conditions are good. Unfortunately, that is a relatively rare condition. Most of the day boats out of Monterey seldom make it around Point Joe to Carmel Bay due to the sea state. The very best conditions tends to be in the winter between storms. I have seen dead flat and 100' of visibility during hard-to-predict intervals in December through February.

The coast between Morro Bay and Monterey is spectacular. The best drive is north to south because the car is on the coast side of the road. Give yourself a full day so you can stop frequently. California is very different once you get north of Point Conception -- under and above the water.

Wine is produced all over the state. I now live on the fringe of "wine country" in Mendocino. Napa and Sonoma counties are the best known and have the most vineyards. The most popular (and expensive) time is the early fall for grape harvest but I prefer the spring before the grass turns brown and it gets hot. It doesn't matter for wine tasting since you can't taste the newly harvested vintage for a year (or five).

The other thing to remember is California is a really big place. People from the US east coast and Europe often misjudge distances and are surprised how different it is from the arid south to the Redwood rainforests in the north. I fear that I have not made your decision any easier.

As to cold intolerate, I just did Bonaire, 79 water temps, in a Mako open cell 2 pc 5 mil and by day 3 felt chilled. I trained briefly in a compressed neoprene drysuit and actually loved diving dry. We have discussed buying many times but just haven’t spent the cash. With cooler NC waters and even Florida in winter months I think we would get our money’s worth of use.

No you haven’t made it harder to decide but definitely harder to wait til next year!

 

[lexvil]

Thank you! I actually found this thread last night and read it through.


Looking at 10 days. Work constraints and helping with my by then 90 year old mom makes it tough to do more. But I could push it to 12. Or just plan multiple trips.

Thank you. Since I am not familiar with California the more concrete info the better.

As to cold intolerate, I just did Bonaire, 79 water temps, in a Mako open cell 2 pc 5 mil and by day 3 felt chilled. I trained briefly in a compressed neoprene drysuit and actually loved diving dry. We have discussed buying many times but just haven’t spent the cash. With cooler NC waters and even Florida in winter months I think we would get our money’s worth of use.

No you haven’t made it harder to decide but definitely harder to wait til next year!

Since you have plenty of time, look at Seaskin for your drysuits, you’ll get two custom suits for less than most other off the rack choices, for ease of travel and versatility the Nova is probably the better choice, their compressed neoprene dives more like a wetsuit though.

The reality is you cannot really ever count on one part of the year being better, in Monterey, than another part, fall used to be amazing but the past few years have some big storms hitting in the fall, water temps have gone weird, Friday we had 59° last Saturday 55° it’s all sort of a toss up lately.

Let me know when you firm things up and I can probably meet you there. A drive down the coast is a once in a lifetime event, once is usually enough for most people. L.A traffic is also a once in a lifetime thing, or so it can seem when you spend 6 hours going 5 miles.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I will warn that the Truth Aquatics “liveaboard” is not for the liveaboard fanatic/addict (myself). I love camping in a tent, sleeping with a sleeping bag on a Thermarest mattress and not showering for days but I couldn’t handle the sleeping/showering arrangements on the boat. I have since dubbed it camping at sea but worse than actual camping (for me) at the risk of sounding like a delicate flower. It is YMMV and I may be the only exception out of everyone here. The diving is good, and arguably has some of the best visibility that California has to offer, but I won’t be back because of the boat but I suppose I’m also a warm water whimp which doesn’t help.

You do bring your own pillow and sleeping bag. The foam mattress pads (with privacy curtains) in a dormitory setting were not comfortable and there were only a couple showers to be shared by everyone. Bring earplugs and an eye mask! I can’t remember which Truth boat I was on but when everyone was eating inside there wasn’t enough space for everyone which sucked because I was always cold. They did have a hot water hose on deck to warm up before or after a dive. Help with gear was minimal at best and setting up on the floor then moving it up to a center raised area was accurate and the case as another poster mentioned. You can buddy up when you arrive and dives are up to you and your buddy with no guide.

 

[StefinSB]

If you decide to day a day trip from Ventura to Anacapa (Spectre or Peace) I may join. The Santa Barbara are good for 2-3 day trips.

 

[Bob DBF]

The other thing to remember is California is a really big place. People from the US east coast and Europe often misjudge distances and are surprised how different it is from the arid south to the Redwood rainforests in the north. I fear that I have not made your decision any easier.

CA is 770 miles long and 250 mi wide. Think NYC to the Georgia Florida border and from the east coast 250 miles inland. From LAX to Santa Barbara is about 100 mi (hour and a half), or to San Diago about 120 mi but closer to two and a half. The car trip Santa Barbara to Monterey on 101 (inland) is about 4 hours, but plan on taking all day to drive the coast road back down to SB because it is long, winding, beautiful, and around six hours with blinders on. My wife and I spent a half hour stopped watching Condors fly, with a juvenile perched on a guardrail 10 or 12 feet from us, with his buddies coming and going to visit.

Ten days could do a nice SB-Monterey trip and dives, but you can see how travel time can be a large factor if you wanted to fit in a Catalina trip. And there are a lot of other non diving diversions along the way. I would suggest SB-Monterey and if you like it come back and branch out.


Bob

 

[Akimbo]

As to cold intolerate, I just did Bonaire, 79 water temps, in a Mako open cell 2 pc 5 mil and by day 3 felt chilled. I trained briefly in a compressed neoprene drysuit and actually loved diving dry.

It is a no-brainer then... drysuit with varying weights or layers of underwear. This argues in favor of avoiding the summer. Diving is usually not the best and gearing up on a hot deck in a drysuit is not the most fun. Air temperature on the coast is rarely hot compared to your part of the world, but the water is a lot colder -- expect 50-60° F. underwater between San Diego and Monterey.

As you have probably read, don't expect guided dives or even dive briefings beyond "the pool is open". Buddy diving is rarely enforced or even inquired about on California dive boats. They expect you to be responsible adults and competent divers. The DM stays on deck for assistance and rescues. On reflection, that is an aspect of diving I miss the most in every Caribbean and South Pacific dive site I have ever experienced except the Odyssey in Truk.

Boats provide LP steel 80s and lead. Nitrox requires a card but is not offered on many (any?) LOBs for refills. You can arrange for Nitrox and/or DIN valves on most day boats. LOBs have a single bunk room instead of 1-4 person cabins. Food is generally decent but don't expect concierge diving.

Shore diving requires surf-entry skills in most sites, especially north of Pt. Conception. Current usually isn't bad, especially compared to the Gulf Stream near you. SMBs are never a bad idea. Pt. Lobos can be spectacular but is limited and requires a permit. Come to think of it, the Pt. Lobos park is worth at least a half day of hiking if you make it to the Monterey area.