In Reply to: Re: Catalina diving in August posted by Dave Ryan on July 29, 2005 at 18:40:38:

There seems to be a misconception out there that "colder" water diving suffers from a lack of variety in fish and interesting features, but this is simply not true. Southern California diving, particularly around Catalina and the Channel Islands is some of the best diving in the world. Granted, the display of color isn't quite as spectacular as you might find in warm water sites such as Palau or the Caymans, but the enormous abundance of underwater flora and fauna you get in Southern California is truly magnificent. There is nothing better than making your way through a dense stand of kelp to explore a reef system, and then looking up to see the dappled sunlight filtering through the towering kelp above. Spectacular!

I think the best comparison between warm water diving and cold water diving in Southern California can be demonstrated in the difference between a tour of the African savanna versus a trek through an amazon rain forest. While you might see a lot of colorful favorites on safari like lions and giraffes, you would miss the towering canopy of trees and the dense ecosystem that you would find in the rain forest.

It should also be noted that warm water diving is often much easier than any kind of cold water diving, particularly the Southern California variety. If you can dive Southern California water, you can dive almost anywhere. So if your looking for a bit of a challenge, you can't go wrong with SoCal.