Channel Islands..the Vision

[bubbles]

Doing a 4 day trip on the Vision in the Channel Islands with my dive buddy. Anyone been on the Vision? Also going to be in the Santa Barbara area for 4 days prior to the trip and want to do shore dives. Suggestions? Thanks! Kinda bummed out to be leaving my HP steel behind...all that seems available to rent are low pressure steels or an aluminum 80

[RECDiver]

I was on the Vision many years ago. It is the biggest and best of the three boats that Truth Aquatics uses. Is this your first trip? You will be amazed by the marine life, but take a drysuit or 7mm suit. The water temp was always in the low to mid 60s, even in July. Have a great trip.

[CompuDude]

I haven't been on the Vision, but I've heard good things about it. You should have a great time.

There are a number of places that rent steel tanks in SoCal, although I don't know the Santa Barbara area as well. Somewhat depends on where you are based, since your profile doesn't really say where you're from. It's worth checking in with the Peace Scuba Center in Ventura... I have a vague recollection that they have some steel tanks for rent. If you make it as far down as L.A., Hollywoodivers has a few HP steel tanks they rent if you check ahead of time, but that's a good 2 hours South of Santa Barbara.

I'm not overly familiar with Santa Barbara diving (although wine tasting is another story!), but you might want to check in with the Beach Crabs... they're based out of the Oxnard/Ventura area, IIRC, and so may be more familiar with the SB area.

[bubbles]

This is my first trip to CA for diving (my boyfriend's second trip to CA). Both of us dive primarily in New England so we dive in dry suits normally. When I travel I prefer wet suits if I can get away with it (feels more "free") so we were thinking of 7mm. Thanks Rec Diver for the leads on water temps...my boyfriend will probably dive dry! Very much looking forward to kelp diving. Thanks for the lead to "Beach Crabs" CompuDude. Michael and I want to do some shore diving prior to the 4 days on the Vision so they may be helpful and Ventura isn't too far.

[CompuDude]

No prob. You can do fine in a 7mm... that's what most people wear, esp. when they can't afford drysuits. It may impact repetitive diving, however... the majority of people diving wet often can't make the 4th and 5th dives (if that) of the day, due to the cumulative effect of the heat loss from diving wet in cold water. Not really an issue on a shore dive, but on a liveaboard it can be kinda sad to sit out a dive you've paid for just because you're cold.

Now that I finally splurged on my drysuit, I only dive wet during the warmest summer months, and even then mostly only for beach dives.

I highly recommend you arrange a dive with some experienced locals (such as people from the Beach Crabs group) for your first shore dive if you're not familiar with surf entries in So.Cal. I've known a lot of divers who came visiting from elsewhere in the country (Florida, Boston, etc.) who had a really hard time dealing with the surf... it's unlike anything you have to deal with back East.

[bubbles]

Ah yes...have heard stories (and seen pics) of CA surf! We intend to hook up with some local divers courtesy of the person arranging the liveaboard trip. Hooking up with the Beach Crabs group may also be a great option for us. I'm a big fan of "learning from a local diver". Despite the fact that both of us have quite a bit of varied dive experience, it can make a big difference learning about local sites from the divers in the area. Great advice!

[Athena2c]

We were on the Vision a couple years ago, and it was good. Some good dives and they have good food! You should be fine with a 7mm.
The bunk style sleeping and small dive deck leaves a little to be desired though. When we were there, suiting up was a free for all when we got to our dive spot and the dive deck got a little chaotic. I'd suggest handing back a little and getting in once things have cleared a bit.
Have fun!

[J-Cub]

I haven't been on the Vision, but I have been on The Great Escape a couple of times. It's docked in Long Beach and I would recommend it to anyone wanted to experience the Channel Islands.

[CompuDude]

Originally Posted by bubbles

Ah yes...have heard stories (and seen pics) of CA surf! We intend to hook up with some local divers courtesy of the person arranging the liveaboard trip. Hooking up with the Beach Crabs group may also be a great option for us. I'm a big fan of "learning from a local diver". Despite the fact that both of us have quite a bit of varied dive experience, it can make a big difference learning about local sites from the divers in the area. Great advice!

Let me know when you're going out with the Beach Crabs, if you end up taking advantage of that. There's a possibility I could join the group. :-)