Posted by Walt on November 01, 2004 at 22:04:26:
In Reply to: Re: LA for a day posted by stephen clark on November 01, 2004 at 07:43:20:
Agree on these boats - great captains and some great dive spots; get additional info re: the boats via this site's California dive boats link.
The G.E. has a twilight dive open boat special for the Friday after Turkey day going to Catalina. Its docked in Long Beach - a little tricky to find the first time, but check out their web site for good directions. Catalina is a good site and Capt. Tim will know where the best diving is. Too bad he isn't going to San Clemente Isle that day - that's about the best diving around. But Catalina has some great Cal dive sites.
The Peace and Spectre are both out of Ventura and have open party diving at Anacapa island on Fridays. Both are great bargains, as they include air and food plus both of these boats have hot tubs (California diving can be chilly).
You'll likely find someone to buddy with on any of these boats.
Don't know if you've experienced Cal diving - don't expect warm water, so a 6 to 7 mil wetsuit (or dry suit) is recommended. You'll also likely dive in some kelp, but that's where you'll find the best sights - get some pointers on how to dive in kelp and oyu'll have a safe, memorable dive.