Posted by Walt on February 04, 2005 at 21:55:16:
In Reply to: Re: Boat recommendations? posted by seahunt on February 04, 2005 at 15:59:58:
Its not the boat as much as its the island and the Captain.
My favorite is San Clemente and the boat to go there is the Great Escape (Tim) - look for and book on a charter (no students) - listed on their web site. The best deals going are the Memorial Day and Labor Day 3 day trips. Santa Barbara I. is good, especially the Sutil Island area, again, Great Escape.
Definitely go out of Ventura to Santa Cruz I. - there are some great, uncrowded mid-week deals on the Spectre (Ted) and Peace (Eric) and you won't have a cattleboat of newbies to deal with.
When you get more advanced, hit Talcot shoal, San Miquel, and Santa Rosa in that order on a Truth boat out of Santa Barbara. I'm not a big fan of the Truth operation for Captain proficiency or crew attitude, but the boats are first class.