CopyRight @ 1997
Catalina is fun and sunny. It is the only one of the Channel Islands on it, let alone dive shops
and some dive boats. At the edge of the town of Avalon is the Scuba Park by the Casino. It is a
protected reserve with a great deal of life to see and even a couple of small wrecks. There is
a fill/rental truck right there and stairs that go right into the water. Avalon itself is a very fun town for browsing, shopping, site seeing and dining.
The Front Side of Catalina, that is the protected side that faces towards shore, is a place of vital
kelp forests in calm clear coves. The diving is typical of what is described in Diving
The Front Side.
Catalina is a good place to hunt lobster, especially at night. That is one of my favorite hobbies and
I have a number of stories written about it.
The backside of Catalina is different. Like the other islands, part of it is exposed to the open ocean.
Large reef areas that have been sculptured over the years by constant waves from far out in the pacific.
The backside is far less visited and can offer excellent diving that is rarely visited.
There is one unique thing about Catalina. All around it are a number of pinnacles in deeper water. Some, like Eagles Reef are well known, but the majority are only visited by a few divers that want to go to the
remote places that few divers see.
On the back side is the another well known pinnacle called Farnsworth Bank where divers can make a
fairly advanced dive to some of the best photography at the Channel Islands. It is covered with
colorful hydrocorals and more colorful anemones. There is an incredible variety of other invertebrate
life to be found there as well.
For more diving information see Southern California and Santa Barbara
These are links to other stories, that occured at this island.