What's the deal with air in Catalina off season?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

beth_castroll

Contributor
Messages
134
Reaction score
43
Location
Oakland, CA
# of dives
100 - 199
My husband and I will make our first dive trip to Catalina November 10-13th.
We are not early risers but would want to do 3 dives a day.
I've read the stickies. I think we will stay at the Seaport Village Inn. I called the Catalina Dive Supply and they said they were under new management and didn't know what kind of services they would be offering off season mid week.

We would need to rent tanks, wetsuits and weights while on the island. We would want to buy the dive map.

I guess my basic questions are these:
How many dives do people generally do a day?
How do you get a later afternoon tank filled mid week off season?
How do you get those tanks back and forth from the casino?
Is it best to rent more than one tank?

Any other tips like food and night life would be appreciated.
 
Dives? I'd say two to three.
Fills? If CDS isn't running the airfill station at the Casino, you'll have to schlep your tank(s) to ScubaLuv's shop.
Xport? Carry. Use a handcart or handtruck (like you used to get your gear to the island). Rental golf cart. Taxi.
# of tanks? One should do you.
 
My husband and I will make our first dive trip to Catalina November 10-13th.
We are not early risers but would want to do 3 dives a day.
I've read the stickies. I think we will stay at the Seaport Village Inn. I called the Catalina Dive Supply and they said they were under new management and didn't know what kind of services they would be offering off season mid week.

We would need to rent tanks, wetsuits and weights while on the island. We would want to buy the dive map.

I guess my basic questions are these:
How many dives do people generally do a day?
How do you get a later afternoon tank filled mid week off season?
How do you get those tanks back and forth from the casino?
Is it best to rent more than one tank?

Any other tips like food and night life would be appreciated.
We usually do 2-3 day dives and a night dive. However, that's with being able to fill tanks at the park. Bummer about not having a fill station. It's awfully hard work humping everything back and forth. That's going to change things for us, especially with my bad knees.
We would probably do one morning, one afternoon,one night dive, max in this case.
We really like the Hotel McRae. It's not fancy but the rates are fantastic in the off season, its quiet and they give us the laundry room with a door in the alley to store our gear.
We usually rent a cart or two from the shop in town. The carts or sort of heavy wheelbarrows, hard to describe.I think the shop is Scuba Luv but I'm not positive. I would probably get fills from there, since its right across the street for the McRae, if the fill station is closed. We bring one tank,each. Whichever cold water tank you prefer, or rent it on the island, which is easier, since you have to schlep it on the ferry. Same with weights.
dont forget to eat at the Lobster Trap. Best clam chowder anywhere!
 
Scuba Luv has always been accommodating by letting us use one of their hand carts when we've needed to haul gear around the island. Doing the hand cart thing is some work, but it's not bad if you have a couple of people pulling it.

-AZTinman
 
Well, hopefully the CDS station at the point will be open for you guys.
I believe they generally open around 8am and close at 4pm. At least that's what they told me a couple of weeks ago.
If it is, they rent everything there, I believe tank rental is either 13-15 per day, fills are $7.
They keep your card and you pay when you are done.
Update on the lockers: They are no longer at the point, gone.
If you are staying at the seaport village inn, they will pick you up at the dock and take to back and forth to the park, a nice service.
Breakfast is pretty basic.
I have a few pictures of the place in my profile.
Ask for an upgrade on the room as they are a bit nicer and not a whole lot more money.
We stay there often and like it.
Lobster trap also has good beers.
If you are up to a walk, make your way up to the sand trap. They have $1 tacos and $2 beer for their happy hour.
The casino dock cafe is close to the park and not bad.
Well my night life consists a couple of beers and sitting in the grassy area at the hotel and watching the boats in the harbor.
Don't think you need to buy a dive park map, you can find it on the web.

Ok, have fun.:coffee:
 
The great thing about Seaport Village is they will bring you and your gear to the dive park and pick you back up. Excellent service for divers. A new restaurant recently opened up at Seaport and I hear it is very good.

As for the number of dives, I've done as many as 7 in a day and as few as one (or none) depending on conditions. Average is probably 2-3 for most divers. Of course I strongly recommend night dives there as it is a safe place to do it and the difference is... well, like night and day!
 
When I have done this and the fill station is closed, I rent enough tanks for the day, use the cart to bring them to the Point, and then you don't have to shlep tanks back and forth to town. Tell Catalina Scuba Luv what you are doing to avoid the back and forth and see if they can cut you a deal.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

Back
Top Bottom