Long overdue

[scubastud]

Need a fix but work demands dictate only maybe a long weekend.
Does anyone have info/advice on Catalina?
Must dives, Hotels, food conditions in summer.. the works..
Oh and wife told me to include shopping and surface stuff to do... (just you wait I'll get her breathing underwater yet!)

Thanks

[Desert_Diver]

Catalina has a shore dive area that they call the Avalon Casino Dive park. It has a lot of students/instructors on the weekends. There is a "Franko's Map" showing attractions to see in the dive park.

There are two dive boat ops out of Avalon, one is Scuba Luv and the other is Catalina Divers Supply. Catalina Island Scuba Diving and Snorkeling from Catalina Divers Supply on Catalina Island in Avalon CA and Welcome to Catalina Scuba Luv They are both day boats. There are some liveaboards from the mainland, but I don't know them in any detail. There is a recompression chamber at Two Harbors.

Be advised, the water can be nippy. Below the thermocline, it can be in the mid to upper fifties. Dry suits or heavier neoprene wet suits are advised especially if you are doing repetitive diving. The surface temps (that the locals like to quote) can be more up towards the seventies. If you've never dove kelp, catalina has some great beds. You will see the occassional harbor seal there too.

If your wife is a shopper, she will die and go to heaven in Catalina. All kinds of tourist junk for sale at extremely inflated prices. Topside activities are targetted at tourists. There are good restaurants and a wide variety of hotels (all a little over priced). Summer is obviously their high time. I would call and make sure you have confirmed reservations. Same with the Catalina Express Ferry (it leaves several different points on the California mainland- I have only used the Long Beach-Avalon route).

Have fun. Dive safe.

Art

[robjoubert]

Catalina Express info - Catalina Express // Daily Trips To Catalina Island

If you can wait that long, there is a "Dive In" being organized for the weekend of July 11 & 12: SoCal Dive-In July 2009 Dive Weekend - Catalina Island, CA - The Dive Matrix Forums Good company & good dive buddies!!

One of the other boards/forums used to have a "sticky" dedicated to diving in Catalina but I just cannot find it now!!!

[CompuDude]

There was a pretty good sticky in the SoCal forum on ScubaBoard.

There are TONS of hotels on Catalina, but only a few of them cater to divers specifically, as opposed to being regular hotels (aimed to regular tourists) that tolerate divers. I prefer the Seaport Village Inn, which is VERY diver-friendly, but it's hardly a luxury hotel. It's a short walk to the dive park, however, and they offer shuttles to haul your gear back and forth, rather than trying to wheel it down the sidewalk or having to pay for a cab or gear shuttle.

Staying in Avalon, your scuba choices are the dive park (which is quite nice, but quite crowded on summer weekends) or one of the two boats that anchors in Avalon for day trip: Scuba Luv and King Neptune.

Summer air temps can vary wildly, but generally will be in the pleasant-to-hot range, depending on your personal body's reaction to heat. When it's hot I tend to prefer a 7mm to my drysuit, just so I don't have issues with sweating too much into my drysuit undergarments and turning it into a damp suit. I'd agree you should expect temps in the low-to-mid 50's at depth... definitely need a full 7mm suit with hood and gloves. Snorkelers can get away with much less, as the first few feet near the surface can indeed hit the 70s.

Early in the summer there should still be a good amount of kelp to explore, but it dies off as the water heats up later in the summer.

[scubastud]

Thanks guys!

[Travelnsj]

Although I am not a cold water diver anymore...I have used both Scuba Luv and Catalina Divers (which has a new owner) both good operations. The dive park is good diving...just do not go on a weekend...crowds. Lots of Hotels and nice ones that cater to divers and the restaurants (I have found over 20 years of owning a business there) are very good. Want a sandwich do Lori's Good stuff. Spend plenty of money at retail establishments on Sumner Ave....I'm still getting paid off!

[robjoubert]

Found the Scubaboard "sticky" on Catalina - *UPDATED* The Great Catalina Island Info Sticky Thread - ScubaBoard