Ventura County Deep Hole Area
Channel Islands Dive Adventures has the Explorer chartered for a trip to the Deep Hole area of Ventura County on Sunday, August 5, 2012. Diving the Deep Hole area can be very exciting as it is not a place where many divers get to dive. There are very few chances to dive the coastal areas and CIDA is the leader in coastal diving!
The plan is to board at 7:00am Sunday morning (or after 7:00pm on Saturday night) and depart at 8:00am for a nice ride to the Deep Hole area of Ventura County located about 20 miles south of Ventura Harbor and ½-1 mile offshore. We will be doing all 3 dives in the same general area with us getting back to the dock about 5:00pm. The 1st dive will be about 60’-90’ deep and the 2nd and 3rd dives will be about 40’-70’ deep.
The Deep Hole area is large and very dramatic and is comprised of large boulders, small rock piles, walls and pinnacles along with beautiful kelp forests, sea fans, bat rays and more. There are deeper sites such as Sea Fans, Deep Hole, Painted Rocks and Sweet Spot and there is a shallow (40’-60’) spot called “The Ring” with its rocky reef and kelp forest that can rival any spot on the islands on a good day. The depths range from 40’-100’ with visibility from 20’-60’. This can be a very good hunting spot for fish and bugs (when its bug season) and an excellent area for photographers.
This trip is best suited for intermediate to advanced divers and above that have experience in cold water conditions including possible current, swell, limited visibility and deep water. Dive sites are to be determined by “BEST CONDITIONS” based on water visibility, tides, current, surge, swell and wind. Most importantly, good buoyancy control is needed and surface signal tubes are always recommended.
Trip Details
- Where: Ventura County Deep Hole Area-20 miles south of Ventura Harbor
- When: Sunday, August 5, 2012
- Time: Board at 7:00am Sunday morning (or after 7:00pm on Saturday night)with the Explorer departing at 8:00am, the approx. time back to the dock is 5:00pm.
- Cost: $120.00 includes, 3 dives, food, snacks, drinks & air
- Pay Online-click here to pay with MasterCard, Visa, Discover, PayPal, Google or call to pay by check or cash
The Explorer is 65’ x 22’ and set up for 28 divers, but 18-22 works best. Her owners Tony and Candee have been running the Explorer for a long time now, always treating their customers like family. Safety is of utmost importance to them and having fun diving some new places is right behind that plus their crew is very friendly and helpful. There is a nice comfortable galley with seating for about 18 where you can get your cooked to order meals.
You can get things like breakfast sandwiches, burritos, burgers, tuna melts, chowder, soft drinks and to top off the day special treats like Klondike bars, plus lot’s of snacks between dives. Above the galley there is also a very nice and large uncovered upper deck which also doubles as a place to store dive bags.
The dive deck has wrap around bench seating with gear storage and for the hunters there is a bait tank in the middle of the dive deck and 2 large fresh water buckets for cameras. The submerged swim step and large platform is easy to exit the water and air fills are done with 1 compressor filling to 3400psi (please bring only 1 tank) and there is no nitrox available on the boat. There are several options for nitrox, but this would have to be taken care of before the trip. The Explorer is also rebreather and doubles friendly.
The Explorer also has 26 single and 8 double bunks if you want to have a nap between dives or if you would like to board the night before a trip. Bunks are available on a first come first serve basis (please try to save the double bunks for couples). There are 2 bathrooms outside on either side of the boat and 1 outside shower on the port side and 1 shower all the way forward in the bunk room. The Explore does not provide rental gear, but you can reserve rental gear through the Peace and they will deliver it to the boat and pick it up afterwards.
All trips on the Explorer include food, snacks, drinks & air.
The Explorer Dive Boat is located at Ventura Harbor, 1583 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura, California, 93001, Dock D-11 (Directly behind the Greek Restaurant). Ventura Harbor Village is located on US-101 approximately 30 miles south of Santa Barbara and 65 miles North of Los Angeles. For a map click here. For general information about Ventura Harbor Village, you can visit them online at www.venturaharborvillage.com
To sign up and pay for trip or if you have any questions, please contact Ken at
info@channelislandsdiveadventures.com or call 805 469-7288
