Here is a quick video about our Catalina Island SCUBA trip. Below I’ll just make a few notes about the day, the experience and lessons learned.
Deciding To Go
When we embarked on this journey, it wasn’t because I actually desired to go.
I actually didn’t want to go at all.
I assumed that it would be cold and dark off the coast of Catalina Island. There was a big part of me that was afraid of seeing Great White Sharks too. There is no part of me that wants to dive with Great Whites. Coral Sharks and big Leopard Sharks are fine, but I have no desire to swim with the man-eating sharks.
Also, I was badly out of practice. This was to be my first time diving since we dove in the Similian Islands.
What I love about having adventurous friends is that they push me to do things that are uncomfortable. David put it best: “We dive because we would rather look back at life, saying ‘I can’t believe I did that’ instead of ‘if only I had’.”
Visibility
The visibility was great. I feel like I could see 20 – 40 feet. The water was clear and the video doesn’t come close to describing how beautiful the sea is. SCUBA diving allows the diver to see things no one else can describe. No picture actually does this justice.
Kelp
Diving in kelp is a blast. We swim through it, get stuck in it and help your partners out of a tangled kelp situation. I love it.
Cold Water Diving
Because I was wearing a 7mm suit with gloves, booties and a hood, I never felt cold in the slightest. The most uncomfortable part was putting the gear on and the initial plunge. After that, it was great.
At first, I thought the additional neoprene made it hard for me to get my buoyancy right. I later came to the conclusion that my buoyancy problems were due to my inexperience. I hadn’t dived in a long time. I forgot to add air to my BCD so I was heavy the whole time. This was a very rookie mistake and I adjusted for it the second dive.
The first dive we went to 27 meters which is very deep. Even down there, the visibility was great. The second dive we didn’t go so deep. Both dives were beautiful.
Catalina Island Helicopter Company
That’s it. Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comment section below.