In Reply to: Setting the Record straight about the Great Escape posted by Erik Wade on October 14, 2005 at 16:50:09:

I've been on a number of trips on the G.E. with Capt.Tim - some trips destined to outer locations that we didn't make for weather and/or swell conditions, and some trips when we were able to make all of the more difficult destinations. Personally I've been pleased with his calls, and I do know for a fact this his overall objective is complete customer satisfaction, subject only to safety concerns. It's not necessary for a dive boat captain to take his boat all the way to the West End of Catalina and peek around the backside to make a final call on sea conditions. There are regularly updated reports from the Coast Guard, as well as radio reports from private and commercial boat traffic which traverse both the inside and outside passages of the Channel Islands. If the conditions on Catalina's backside and beyond are reported as being poor, I'd much rather spend time diving on the frontside than on a long transit to "take a peek" and then have to backtrack to find divable sites.