Catalina & Monterey - Logistics help?

Hey all,

I'm currently planning a trip out to CA for some diving around October. The general plan is to rent an appropriate sized SUV, load up the gear and road-trip it out and back...starting with Catalina and finishing-up in Monterey. As we plan on diving our own cylinders, a primary concern is getting 32% fills without having big old ugly green & yellow "NITROX" banners on our stuff.

So, with that, can anyone recommend :

"DIR-friendly" shops/fill stations in these areas?
Good Boat operations?
"'must see" boat-dive sites in the 40'-100' range?

Also...we are planning for some shore diving and would like to be scooter-equipped, so we are also looking for a shop in each area that offers scooter rentals.

Any info y'all can provide would be most helpful and appreciated.

Thanks,
Jay

Tags: Catalina, Monterey

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Permalink Reply by Don Chennavasin on July 6, 2010 at 8:03am

In Monterey, you'll be able to get 32% fills without issue at Aquarius or Bamboo Reef.

As for boats, Escapade is good choice. The captain, Jim, is GUE Tech 1. And with Phil Sammet captaining the Monterey Express, it's also a good operation. But now that I've done a mid week dive off Phil's rib, I've been spoiled. That would be my boat of choice.

Let us know when you're here in MoCal.

-Don

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Permalink Reply by George K. Watson on July 26, 2010 at 11:47am

Jay if the timing works out, you will be able to get my scooter. Also Steve Zeder now has two and would probably be willing to part with one for a bit.

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Permalink Reply by Maciej Arkuszewski on July 27, 2010 at 9:33am

Hey Jay.

Casino Point at Catalina is an excellent 1 day destination if you didn't do it yet. As far as boat recommendations, Peace out of Ventura is excellent and has 32% fills, Magician out of LA has 32% fills on board, SeaBass out of LA has O2 and compressor and can fill 32% if needed. Other boats usually fill only air. Good operations to consider: Spectre out of Ventura (typically catering to beginner crowd), Sundiver out of Long Beach, any Truth Aquatics boat out of Santa Barbara.
DIR friendly shops/fill stations: Hollywood Divers at Hollywood and Ocean Adventures at Venice and if you don't mind the drive, UTD HQ at Carlsbad. Both shops can rent you a scooter, but I would call in advance to make sure it will be available.

And obviously let us know what the exact dates for LA portion of the trip are and we will try to sync up our dive plans. Community here is doing something every weekend

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Permalink Reply by Jamie Astorino on July 27, 2010 at 2:08pm

Hi Jay!

Casino Point is fun! But the most amazing dive I have ever had is Farnsworth Banks. You'll need a dive boat to take you out...it's a bit far off the coast of Catalina. Gorgeous place! Depth gets deep....but my dive was at 100 feet...and it was perfect! 60-100 feet will be beautiful!

Check out this video my boyfriend made of our dive there: