diving farallon islands

[Farty]

Can anybody recommend good one day scuba diving tour to farallon islands (I live in SF)? I was looking around, I found only sharks cage diving which I'm not interested in.


thanks a lot

 

[fisheater]

I haven't heard of any commercial dive ops heading to the Farallons (except for the shark cage op).

 

[Farty]

if there is anybody out there who goes in next month and has a spot on the boat, please send me a private message.

thanks a lot

 

[Peter_C]

From what I know, it is private boat only. The Farallon's are a high current area. Do you carry an SMB and spool, and are you comfortable with launching an SMB from depth? There needs to be someone on the boat that can actually drive the boat. The last place you want to be floundering around is at the surface.

Personally I wouldn't go with anyone I hadn't dove with prior to the trip, and on multiple occasions at that. On that note, at some point I do want to dive there. Hopefully I can do so next year, after we all have more boat dives.

 

[CaptainHornblower]

If you guys decide to put together a trip I'd be willing to drive the boat. I've sailed my sailboat around the islands, which we could use as a "mother ship (actually a boat)" but we'd need a good inflatable for entry/exit.

 

[coreypenrose]

Chuck Tribolet has been out there a few times...even has a list of procedures to follow, IIRC.

Also, for what it's worth, Bluewater Gold Rush/The Odyssey of a California Sea Urchin Diver has some great accounts of what diving the Farallons are like.

 

[liamfulton]

I have been interested in diving these Islands( at the correct time of year)for some time and with the right people. As Peter_C mentioned, this is a place you would want to know your dive buddy's diving action and responses well, so many lead up dives first and then start planning dates when you are all diving as a team. I am interested and can provide some logistics to this possible venture. I live in SF, and frequently dive Monterey and Carmel.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

I just stumbled across this. The Trips folder seems to be for advertising trips. It would have been more obvious in the NorCal folder one level up.

Yes, I've been out there several times. There are a VERY small number of divers I would dive with there, and a VERY small number of folks that I would take as a buddy boat. It should be noted that Kawika Chetron, who provided the most input to my procedures, violated those procedures diving another offshore site, and most likely died as a result (no body has been recovered).

And The Landlord may show outside of his normal date range.

Since I last updated the procedures in 2007, some areas have been closed to (at least) boat traffic by the MLPA process. They are "special closures". Off the top of my head, the Isle of St. James" is closed. There may be other areas that are closed.

I'll see if I can figure out how to post the PDF of my procedures. If you go there, it's at your own risk.