The first weekend in October, a contingent of Patowmack Divers went west to test the waters of California. If you haven’t dived California before, I recommend it.

We did our diving off Catalina Island with Psalty Adventures, out of San Pedro. In my opinion, this is the only way to dive Catalina. San Pedro is less than 20 miles from LAX, so one can be on the boat an hour after landing in Los Angeles. Psalty V is a Hatteras 46 sportfisher, converted to diving. It cruises at about 25 knots, so it can be out to Catalina in an hour flat. It has beds for five and couches in the main cabin that could sleep two more in a pinch. We stayed on the boat for four nights days and found it quite comfortable, not to mention much cheaper than staying in a hotel on Catalina. With a compressor on board, we were able to dive pretty much at will. Between dives, we could catch the Sunday football games on the 27 inch TV.

One obvious difference between east coast and west coast diving is the presence of kelp beds on the west coast. Diving in kelp is a truly mystical experience. In shallow water, the bright kelp overhead adds a kind of halo effect. At deeper depths, it gives the feel of being in a catherdral. It’s magic in another sense too. You enter a kelp forest with a group of divers, and you come out a solo diver!

Another cool thing about California diving is the Garibaldi fish. They’re about the size of a dinner platter and bright orange in color. They’re the official state fish and are protected by law. They would fit right into a Caribbean color scheme, although California waters are much cooler. Average temperature was about 66 degrees. I was nice and warm in my 7mm farmer john—but not too warm, as I had feared. Visibility on our trip was not the best at 20-40 feet. Blue water with 100 foot vis is not unusual, but we were not that lucky.

Despite the poor vis, we did see some giant sea bass—maybe five feet long, weighing several hundred pounds. We also saw some seals, although we didn’t see them while diving.

We were unable to experience the “high voltage” diving on the oil platforms because they were closed to diving because of repairs. Maybe next time.

Our captain, Gary, took us anywhere we wanted to go, including a two-hour visit to Avalon, the largest town on Catalina. Tarri, our mate, made us feel right at home. She’s a fine cook, not to mention a hot babe. She made herself handy in many ways, offering up a dry towel, a hot meal, or a cold beverage. “KO”, the dog provided comic relief and a keen eye for seals. Overall, it felt like we were diving with old friends. It’s not surprising that most of their business is from repeat customers.

I found a site with some pictures taken by another diver on a trip Catalina.

http://acept.la.asu.edu/~rod/photography/catalina_7_2001/

Linda Anderson has some great pictures she took on her 1999 trip, but our list-server won't allow big attachments. Maybe we can show them at a future club meeting.