New to SF

[DiveShopBarbie]

Hi all,

I am new to SF and need to find the best ways to get my scuba fix. I'm due for a new BC and need a great LDS (preferably something in the city, which I have been unable to find thus far). I'm looking for a place with great equipment knowledge / selection and also with PADI instruction. I'm aiming to complete my AOW this year and start on Rescue next year.

I would also love the scoop on local dives from some seasoned NorCal divers. I have almost exclusively dove warm / tropical waters to this point (other than a quarry and some winter Hawaii diving) and must admit I'm unsure how I will fair in cold water. What are the average temps in the nearby waters? Is there anything closer to town than Monterey / Point Lobos that anyone recommends? Once I get a good LDS / group of dive sites and buddies, I'd love to go several times a month - should I start thinking about an investment in a dry suit, or can you get away with 7mm in summer NorCal diving?

Lots of questions, I know... But the help & recommendations are much appreciated!!

Cheers!

PS: I know there have been a few posts that are similar to parts of my question, but haven't found an all inclusive answer. Apologies if there is more about this on a previous thread that I couldn't find - links appreciated!

 

[dshorwich]

This is a good place to start:

New Monterey Diver Information

 

[g1138]

Aquarium of the Bay is always looking for volunteer divers to help out. You need to be OW and have at least 10 dives in cold water, although they do let you in otherwise until you prove otherwise in their checkout dive.

They ask for a once a week commitment 8am-3:30pm. All gear is provided except for mask, fin, gloves, and booties.
You do scrubbing, vacuuming, lift bagging sand, and feeding the animals.

It's a good way to keep up on dive skills and meet a good community of divers and ocean lovers.
I'm there every Mondays right now, feeding the 7-Gill Sharks.

Volunteer | Aquarium of the Bay

 

[Bogie]

Any Water sports 1344 Saratoga Ave San Jose, CA 95129
(408) 244-4433

Family Owned, knowledgeable, great equipment

 

[beaverdivers]

Welcome to SCUBAboard!

Good Luck & Good Diving.

 

[dshorwich]

To answer some of your specific questions...as far as I know, there isn't any diving worth doing between SF and Monterey.

I'm not very familiar with the LDS options in the city itself...I don't think there are many. Bamboo Reef has been around a while; they also have a store in Monterey, although they're SSI, not PADI. In the South Bay, Any Water and Diver Dan's are both PADI and are both good shops. Taking a Rescue class is definitely a good idea if you're planning on diving our local waters regularly.

In my experience the water temperature doesn't much correlate with the season - I've had 55F dives in January and 47F dives in August. The question of whether to dive wet or dry depends in part on your cold tolerance (not to mention your budget tolerance). I dive wet in a 7mm jumpsuit with a 7mm hooded vest, 5mm booties, 3 or 4mm gloves. This works well enough for me, although I do get chilled with the temp gets sub 50F, and I tend to stay on the shallower side (say 50' or so) because you really notice the effects of compression on a wetsuit much more in cold water than you do in warm.

The yahoo group ba_diving is another good place to ask questions.

Happy and safe diving!

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

The temperatures on the bottom USUALLY are the coldest in March/April, warmest in September/October. This year is running cooler than usual.

 

[Eric Sedletzky]

Everybody always forgets that there are also dive shops up in Marin county right across the GG bridge.
There's Harbor dive center in Sausalito and also Jon's new dive shop in San Rafael along the freeway (can't remember the new name) it used to be Marin Dive Center and then Marin Bamboo Reef.
The only catch is bridge toll, but you could make a day out of it and do some wine country touring.

The water temps in Northern California don't change much. The coldest times are usually in spring when the winds come up and bring up ice cold Alaskan deep current water. I've seen as cold as 42, and the warmest I've ever seen was low 60's during a freak El Nino.
Average is 50 degrees.
I've seen vis close to 90 feet once in Mendocino County and low to zero vis more times than I want to talk about.
Average vis is 10 to 15 feet up north, and a little more in Monterey/Carmel area.