In Reply to: Re: Re: Dive CA posted by Captain Tim Great Escape Charters on October 19, 2012 at 16:24:31:

"What I was trying to say and I am saying is that Casino Point does not help divers in the real world. Pretty much there are no currents there and no other conditions that may be contrucive to your diving."

I don't think that's accurate at all. When I was there with a small group two weeks ago, the current picked up signifcantly on our third dive and the dive plan was altered to deal with that.

While there are certainly limitations to diving the Park, the place has kelp, surge, depth, sand, navigational challenges, a wreck, rocks, and you still need to monitor air, control buoyancy, and pay attention to your buddy. Which of those skills do you think don't help divers in the real world?

"I never said anything derogatory about any boat in CA."

No, you simply took a cheap shot at instructors and shops who use Casino Point as one tool in their teaching arsenal.

"What I said was if the diving was so good at Casino Point why there are dive boats that run out of Avalon and go other places?"

I'm going to suggest it has a lot more to do with boats not being allowed to anchor within the boundaries Park and divers being technically prohibited (without a special permit from the Harbormaster) from swimming outside the Park boundaries to inside (and then back) as you'd have to do from a boat anchored outside the Park, as well as you'd be sending your divers through active boat traffic lanes which doesn't seem like a good plan.

As to why the Avalon boats don't dive the Park, well, why would they since it's shore-accessible. Why would I get on a boat to go 100 yards to dive the Park, when I can get on a taxi and do the same thing? It's sort of like in Bonaire: You don't use boat dives for the shore-accessible dives, you use them for things like Klein Bonaire or Rappel which are not shore-acessible.

And it seems to me you've been to the Valiant on some occassions. That's only a few hundred yards from the Park and the condntions (and the alleged lack of current) are similar. Are you saying that's not a "real" dive either?

- Ken
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Ken Kurtis
Owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, CA
www.reefseekers.com