Diving in LA/Santa Ana, Calif. USA!?

Swills · February 26th, 2008, 09:04 PM

Got the nice news that the planned basic training in Barcelona and Dublin has been put aside for 6 weeks at the head office in Santa Ana, California US.

Excellent deal I must add! But onto the dive stuff;

- I understand that a trip to the Kelp forests is a must? =)
- Beeing a wreck nerd - Anything in the area that is a must see?
- Recommended stores?
- Recommended boats?
- Any Tech/DIR inspired facilities?
- Anyone bored and want's to deal with a Swede between the 23/3-14/4 and 5/5-24/5 over the weekends? =) Could possible stay longer and return later if the right activity pops up!

Trained GUE Tech2/PADI OWSI/NAUI Instructor and a Gavin Junkie!

Basically - Should I make room for a DUI and Regs in the luggage?

Take care!

aleksi · February 27th, 2008, 12:37 AM

I was just in LA, did not have time to get wet

Anyway, I got nice service from Hollywood divers buing some kit. They are a H & DUI dealer and seemed to organize gue training occasionally and had lots of trips. Might be a good place to start.

-Aleksi

limeyx · February 27th, 2008, 01:07 AM

Quote: (Originally Posted by aleksi)

I was just in LA, did not have time to get wet

Anyway, I got nice service from Hollywood divers buing some kit. They are a H & DUI dealer and seemed to organize gue training occasionally and had lots of trips. Might be a good place to start.

-Aleksi

If you go to scubaboard.com (am I allowed to post such a link?)
there is a thread under the SoCal regional area that has a huge amount of information about diving in the Los Angeles and Orange County area.

Some summary info

Catalina Island is the most popular (but not the best) diving.
Many many dive boats go there, approx 2-3 hours each way by boat.
Most boats will supply single tanks (you may need a DIN-YOKE convertor or rent a DIN tank). Typical dives are average 60-80 feet and many of the boats will just fill AIR and not nitrox.

You can also get a ferry to Catalina for $60 USD approx and dive in the (rather small but beautiful) Dive Park (Casino Point)

Other Islands that are awesome are:
- San Clemente (usually requires overnight trip and you may not make it but it's beautiful)
- Anacapa (further North, very shallow -- maybe 50 feet, but a huge marine reserve)
- Santa Barbara Island (full of Sea Lions)
- And a bunch of other good ones (Santa Rosa, San Miguel etc.)

As far as dive spots, you will be spoiled.

- Oil Rigs (45 mins from harbor) -- good to do once, can be awesome vis, tons of life and Mola Mola. Depths: up to 600 feet

but very nice at 50-70 feet
- Ships rock (Catalina Isl) very beautiful, and you can dive at any depth up to 240 (need a scooter for the >160 dives ideally)
- Farnsworth Banks (consistently ranked one of the best if not the best dive sites anywhere in the area). On the Backside of Catalina (maybe a 40/60 chance to dive it based on weather) and depths go from average 110 down to about 150 without a scooter and I think you can go deeper with a scooter

Wrecks:

LA area
- check "http://www.cawreckdivers.org/" for a comprehensive list
Good ones
- Moody (140-150 feet) sunk for a movie in the 50's
- Caissons (not really a wreck but 3 huge 40x35 foot concrete tubes filled with life)
- Palawan 400 foot artificial reef (some penetration possible) 120 ish
- Tuna Clipper (Catalina) 180 ish
- Submarine tower (200 ish but a short dive)
- A smattering of others (ACE-1, Radio Tower, Jenny Lynne)

San Diego (south)
- Yukon -- artificial reef in 80-100 (good penetration, very clean)
- Missile tower (160ish) small but good
- La Jolla cyn -- not a weck (down to 350 if you want)
- Ruby/E 80 feet
- ElRay (a kelp cutter) 80 feet

So quite a bit of variety

If you dont mine a 5-6 hour drive north, there is Montery, CA (awesome state park at Pt Lobos for up to T2 dives)

Stores:

Ocean Adventures in Venice Beach is where I get my fills and most of gear.
One of the instructors is GUE tech1/cave1, as well as IANTD certified.
They fill 50%, 100% and all kinds of trimix for decent prices.

http://www.oceanadventuresdiveco.com/

I would say if you dont bringyour gear, you will be pretty sorry person!

There are a few of us GUE-types here. Some with Tech1, couple with T2 and a couple of us have Tech1 and NAUI Trimix1 (with AndrewG)

I can help out with doubles, 50% bottles and maybe some single tanks.
I can probably also drum up some 100% bottles and an an bottle.

Boats are not cheap for tech diving, and kind of hard to come by
You can check California Dive Boats : The Official Page for a full list of boats

Tech-friendly are
Second Stage
Sundiver II

Yellow Boat (PM me for contact info for this one)

I should be around for at least some of the dates you listed (if I can get the day/month/year parts right

Will be in Monterey for March 22/23 and 29/30, and I will be in Mexico May 2-11 but others may well be around.

Definitely bring the regs & D/suit, backplate etc.

for more Info, PM me or I can post here.

EDIT:

There is also really good beach diving all up the coast.

You can also check my blog in my sig for reports & photos from many of the listed spots.

Maren · February 27th, 2008, 09:08 AM

Hi Swills,

maybe it's a good idea to try to get in contact with Karim, who is on this forum and part of Hollywooddivers, which aleksi already mentioned. I'm sure, he can answer you all your questions.

Wish you a great time in California! Definitely a "YES" concerning the question, whether you should take your DUI with you! I'm jealous!

Swills · February 27th, 2008, 11:13 AM

Excellent!
Thank you all for the nice info, will check with tickets and airline with regards of weight regulations and look into the all the items described.
Nice to haul 45 pounds of equipment half way around the globe.

Aleksi - I will check out Hollywood Divers for any excursions during my stay.

Limeyx - Oceanadvantures seems quite Ok and advertise local excursions on March 30th as well as 4th, 7th, 17th and 18th of May. Running both Anacapa and Catalina. Could be a plan if nothing else comes up.

I will browse the web further and get back with any questions.

Over and out for now!

February 26th, 2008, 09:04 PM	#1 (permalink)
Swills(Offline) New Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 7	Diving in LA/Santa Ana, Calif. USA!? Got the nice news that the planned basic training in Barcelona and Dublin has been put aside for 6 weeks at the head office in Santa Ana, California US. Excellent deal I must add! But onto the dive stuff; - I understand that a trip to the Kelp forests is a must? =) - Beeing a wreck nerd - Anything in the area that is a must see? - Recommended stores? - Recommended boats? - Any Tech/DIR inspired facilities? - Anyone bored and want's to deal with a Swede between the 23/3-14/4 and 5/5-24/5 over the weekends? =) Could possible stay longer and return later if the right activity pops up! Trained GUE Tech2/PADI OWSI/NAUI Instructor and a Gavin Junkie! Basically - Should I make room for a DUI and Regs in the luggage? Take care!

February 27th, 2008, 01:07 AM	#3 (permalink)
limeyx(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 707	Quote: (Originally Posted by aleksi) I was just in LA, did not have time to get wet Anyway, I got nice service from Hollywood divers buing some kit. They are a H & DUI dealer and seemed to organize gue training occasionally and had lots of trips. Might be a good place to start. -Aleksi If you go to scubaboard.com (am I allowed to post such a link?) there is a thread under the SoCal regional area that has a huge amount of information about diving in the Los Angeles and Orange County area. Some summary info Catalina Island is the most popular (but not the best) diving. Many many dive boats go there, approx 2-3 hours each way by boat. Most boats will supply single tanks (you may need a DIN-YOKE convertor or rent a DIN tank). Typical dives are average 60-80 feet and many of the boats will just fill AIR and not nitrox. You can also get a ferry to Catalina for $60 USD approx and dive in the (rather small but beautiful) Dive Park (Casino Point) Other Islands that are awesome are: - San Clemente (usually requires overnight trip and you may not make it but it's beautiful) - Anacapa (further North, very shallow -- maybe 50 feet, but a huge marine reserve) - Santa Barbara Island (full of Sea Lions) - And a bunch of other good ones (Santa Rosa, San Miguel etc.) As far as dive spots, you will be spoiled. - Oil Rigs (45 mins from harbor) -- good to do once, can be awesome vis, tons of life and Mola Mola. Depths: up to 600 feet but very nice at 50-70 feet - Ships rock (Catalina Isl) very beautiful, and you can dive at any depth up to 240 (need a scooter for the >160 dives ideally) - Farnsworth Banks (consistently ranked one of the best if not the best dive sites anywhere in the area). On the Backside of Catalina (maybe a 40/60 chance to dive it based on weather) and depths go from average 110 down to about 150 without a scooter and I think you can go deeper with a scooter Wrecks: LA area - check "http://www.cawreckdivers.org/" for a comprehensive list Good ones - Moody (140-150 feet) sunk for a movie in the 50's - Caissons (not really a wreck but 3 huge 40x35 foot concrete tubes filled with life) - Palawan 400 foot artificial reef (some penetration possible) 120 ish - Tuna Clipper (Catalina) 180 ish - Submarine tower (200 ish but a short dive) - A smattering of others (ACE-1, Radio Tower, Jenny Lynne) San Diego (south) - Yukon -- artificial reef in 80-100 (good penetration, very clean) - Missile tower (160ish) small but good - La Jolla cyn -- not a weck (down to 350 if you want) - Ruby/E 80 feet - ElRay (a kelp cutter) 80 feet So quite a bit of variety If you dont mine a 5-6 hour drive north, there is Montery, CA (awesome state park at Pt Lobos for up to T2 dives) Stores: Ocean Adventures in Venice Beach is where I get my fills and most of gear. One of the instructors is GUE tech1/cave1, as well as IANTD certified. They fill 50%, 100% and all kinds of trimix for decent prices. http://www.oceanadventuresdiveco.com/ I would say if you dont bringyour gear, you will be pretty sorry person! There are a few of us GUE-types here. Some with Tech1, couple with T2 and a couple of us have Tech1 and NAUI Trimix1 (with AndrewG) I can help out with doubles, 50% bottles and maybe some single tanks. I can probably also drum up some 100% bottles and an an bottle. Boats are not cheap for tech diving, and kind of hard to come by You can check California Dive Boats : The Official Page for a full list of boats Tech-friendly are Second Stage Sundiver II Yellow Boat (PM me for contact info for this one) I should be around for at least some of the dates you listed (if I can get the day/month/year parts right Will be in Monterey for March 22/23 and 29/30, and I will be in Mexico May 2-11 but others may well be around. Definitely bring the regs & D/suit, backplate etc. for more Info, PM me or I can post here. EDIT: There is also really good beach diving all up the coast. You can also check my blog in my sig for reports & photos from many of the listed spots. __________________ my divelog: http://www.mydivinglife.com/limeyx

February 27th, 2008, 12:37 AM	#2 (permalink)
aleksi(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 88	I was just in LA, did not have time to get wet Anyway, I got nice service from Hollywood divers buing some kit. They are a H & DUI dealer and seemed to organize gue training occasionally and had lots of trips. Might be a good place to start. -Aleksi

February 27th, 2008, 09:08 AM	#4 (permalink)
Maren(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: North of Germany Posts: 80	Hi Swills, maybe it's a good idea to try to get in contact with Karim, who is on this forum and part of Hollywooddivers, which aleksi already mentioned. I'm sure, he can answer you all your questions. Wish you a great time in California! Definitely a "YES" concerning the question, whether you should take your DUI with you! I'm jealous!

February 27th, 2008, 11:13 AM	#5 (permalink)
Swills(Offline) New Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 7	Excellent! Thank you all for the nice info, will check with tickets and airline with regards of weight regulations and look into the all the items described. Nice to haul 45 pounds of equipment half way around the globe. Aleksi - I will check out Hollywood Divers for any excursions during my stay. Limeyx - Oceanadvantures seems quite Ok and advertise local excursions on March 30th as well as 4th, 7th, 17th and 18th of May. Running both Anacapa and Catalina. Could be a plan if nothing else comes up. I will browse the web further and get back with any questions. Over and out for now!