Just a couple of weeks ago I participated in a "Vets & Newbies" dive event where veteran divers were buddied up with divers who hadn't logged many dives yet or were maybe a little rusty since their last dive. I had the pleasure of diving with a young gentleman visiting San Diego on a short-term stay before he returned to Alaska. He had recently obtained his open water certification in Maui and this was his first experience diving in San Diego.
I introduced him to the pleasures of shore diving from the beach of La Jolla Shores, and as can be typical for our waters, although the surf was not too difficult, the visibility was a little challenging (approximately 8-10' in the shallows to 60' depth). We had an enjoyable dive and got to see some of the usual suspects along the wall before it was time to head back in.
After the dive, while breaking down our gear, we talked about some of the challenges of the dive, like the surf entry, remembering to do the "stingray shuffle", San Diego's hit-or-miss visibility, and its cool waters. He asked me about other places I had dove, and of course "where was my favorite place to dive?", to which I answered, "It depends on what I'm looking for". He then continued on to ask that if I had gone to such beautiful warm-water destinations, why on earth would I still dive here? Well, let me tell you, THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME.
Don't get me wrong. I will admit I am a bit of a whoosie-diver. Anyone who knows me will tell you, I hate to be cold. I am not a big fan of all the gear we need to wear here. And, being that I stand a whole 5'2", I hate big surf knocking me over. But despite all that, there is so much sealife to see hear in San Diego, why would I not dive here!
San Diego has so much to offer in the way of diving. You have shore diving and boat diving. You can grab a charter boat to the Coronado Islands, or adventure a little further to the Channel Islands. And let's not forget our wrecks, like the Yukon and Ruby E in "wreck alley", or the NOSC Tower, the Hogan, Lazy Days, and more.
Now of course you can find shore diving, boat diving, and wreck diving in tropical destinations, but I will tell you what you won't find in these destinations. You won't find kelp beds in warm tropical waters and I love our kelp beds. There is always something peeking out from those kelp fronds, wondering if you have spotted them. And if you are a fan of the sea slug, you can find a beautiful variety of nudibranchs in our waters without having to travel to far-off lands.
If you haven't jumped into San Diego's cool waters since your open water certification. Or, if you learned to dive somewhere else and have never dove our waters, you are missing out. To list all the sealife would be endless, but you can see angel sharks, horn sharks, leopard sharks, soup fins and seven-gills to name a few. And let's not forget kelp fish, rockfish, lizard fish, giant black sea bass, spinning bait balls, halibut, mola mola, stingrays, bat rays, electric rays, guitar fish and more. Then there are many types of shrimps and crabs, octopi and squid, and different types of jellies. I've even seen a green sea turtle while diving the Marine Room. Never mind having fun playing with our curious sea lions. I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea.
There is so much to see here, and every dive is different.
So why are you sitting on the shoreline? Brave our chilly waters and see what you will discover on your next dive.
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