Posted by seahunt on February 27, 2003 at 18:12:34:
In Reply to: Dive in California posted by Vadim on February 27, 2003 at 16:48:01:
Well, welcome to California. The diving is great, though April may not be the best time of year.
Expect water temperatures near 62f. This means you will need a good wetsuit. A good plan is to bring your mask and fins as well as perhaps your regulator and BC, then rent the rest.
All things considered, your best bet is probably to dive at Catalina where the conditions will be best at that time. You can either take a dive boat there from LA or Long Beach. Check www.californiadiveboats.com for boats and schedules.
Another good way to dive there is to take the Catalina Express over to the town of Avalon on Catalina. You can rent gear at Scuba Luvs (http://www.scubaluv.com) in Avalon and either take a boat (King Neptune) from there or walk to the Casino and dive in the Dive Park. It is excellent diving with stairs for entry. There is a van there that rents tanks and weightbelts. It also does fills right there. At the other end of town is Lover's Cove that is a reserve that can only be snorkled, It is full of fish because that is where the glass bottom boats go all day and feed the fishes. It is a fun dive if you like snorkeling. Expect 30 to 40 feet of visibility, though that may change up or down..
For more information than you want about California diving, look at www.diver.net/seahunt.
California diving is beautiful and vital.
Enjoy the diving, seahunt
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PS. Look at http://homepage.mac.com/rogerc/avalon/ for some recent pictures taken at the annual Avalon Bay cleanup dive.