Diving near Santa Catalina Island

Finding a boat to take me to Catalina was the hardest part of planning the trip. I checked out a couple web sites that listed the charter boats that serve the LA area. I contacted a lot of the boats but very few got back to me, probably because I always left my Chicago number. The one that I did manage to book before heading to California canceled the day before the trip. Fortunately I had already visited a couple dive shops and got local recommendations for boats. I had already scheduled a second day of diving on the PSALTY 5. I'm glad I did as that turned out to be the only day of diving I was able to do.

The PSALTY 5 departs out of the Ports O' Call Village in San Pedro. It was about 45 minutes from my hotel in LA. I picked up my rental gear from Pacific Wilderness in San Pedro the day before. Three tanks are included in the PSALTY 5 package so I didn't need to rent any of those. We departed bright and early in the morning for Santa Catalina Island while eating a breakfast aboard the boat. Along the way we were treated to the sight dozens of Dolphins that followed the boat for a while.

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We were on the way at the crack of dawn. Viewed: 106 times. More: Dive 152	Checking out the scenic Port of LA on the way to Catalina. Viewed: 110 times. More: Dive 152	Several Dolphins just out of the water. Viewed: 270 times. More: Dive 152

The Actual Diving

Once situated and in the water I was amazed how good the visibility was. The only cold water diving I've done was in quarries near Chicago and in Lake Michigan. The water was just as cold but the visibility was only a few feet if you were lucky. Here the visibility was around 70 feet! At my maximum depth of 75 feet I was still barely able to make out the tops of the Giant Kelp. The Giant Bladder Kelp itself was impressive in how dense and tall it grew. I was concerned about getting tangled up since I didn't bring a knife with me but fortunately it was very easy to get free the couple times I did get stuck on it. All four of us dove within sight of each other so there was always someone else to help out in case there was trouble.

Another thing that really surprised me was how many fish there were. I was expecting a rather barren landscape with Kelp and the occasional fish around. There were literally schools of dozens to hundreds of fish almost everywhere. The Garibaldi (California state fish) were really bright orange and often curious and friendly. The Kelpfish were really odd looking and blended well in the Kelp. There were many other really cool fish that I haven't identified yet. The highlight for me was when we found a Horn Shark. It was small but not afraid of my presence so I was able to linger really close without scaring it away.

I'm definitely going to have to do this again. The Kelp forests are amazing and well worth braving the cold water. Next time I'll be sure to get a better fitting wetsuit and a camera housing that doesn't leak. For more details, a list of the dive sites and a LOT more pictures be sure to check out my dive log, specifically dives 152, 153 and 154.

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I think this is a Kelpfish hanging upside down. Viewed: 256 times. More: Dive 152	Here is a view looking up at the surface. Viewed: 213 times. More: Dive 152	One of the other divers found this Horn Shark. Viewed: 359 times. More: Dive 152
A Garibaldi giving me the 'Are you looking at me?' pose. Viewed: 264 times. More: Dive 153	Some kind of shellfish. Viewed: 218 times. More: Dive 153	A great shot of a Starfish with a red fish behind it. Viewed: 223 times. More: Dive 154
I'm checking out the roots of the Giant Kelp that keep it firmly attached to the rocks as a Garibaldi watches on. Viewed: 197 times. More: Dive 154	I don't know what kind of fish these are. Viewed: 333 times. More: Dive 152	A bright orange Garibaldi passes by. Viewed: 162 times. More: Dive 154

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