West Santa Cruz Island
Channel Islands Dive Adventures has the Peace chartered for a single day trip to the west end of Santa Cruz Island on Saturday, March 24, 2012. On a good day, the west end will keep you coming back for more!
The plan is to board on Friday night, March 23rd after 8:00pm with the Peace departing at 4:00am Saturday, March 24th for West Santa Cruz Island. Captain Eric and crew always do their best to get to the best dive sites possible. Santa Cruz has many excellent sites to offer from beautiful kelp forests and large rocky reefs to pinnacles with tons of life on them.
Diving west end of Santa Cruz can be a very exciting experience. Because the west end is more exposed to the weather the dive sites are more dramatic then some of the other areas of Santa Cruz. There are some excellent dives sites at the West end of Santa Cruz such as West Point, Fraser Cove and Forney’s Cove along with some deeper outer pinnacles. From these sites it is a short distance to Gull Island on the back side and Painted Cave (the largest sea cave in the world!) on the front side. West Point, Fraser Cove and Forney’s Cove have some excellent reef structure with lush kelp, fish and other marine life and depths of about 20’-60’ deep. Then there is also some excellent scallop hunting (due to the currents) between Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz islands. The west end dive sites have something for everyone and are good for the photographer, sightseer or hunter. One thing is for sure, the further west you get on Santa Cruz, the better the diving gets.
This trip is best suited for intermediate or advanced divers that have experience in cold water conditions possibly including current, swell, kelp, possible limited visibility and possible deep water. Dive sites are to be determined by “BEST CONDITIONS” based on water visibility, tides, current, surge, swell and wind. Good buoyancy control and surface signal tubes are always recommended.
Trip Details
- Where: Peace to West Santa Cruz Island
- Depart from:Ventura Harbor
- When: Saturday, March 24, 2012
- Time: Board on Friday night, March 23rd after 8:00pm with the Peace departing at 4:00am on Saturday, March 24th
- Cost: *$155.00 includes 4 dives, meals, air & reserved bunks (bunk layout)
- Pay Online-click here to pay with Mastercard, Visa, Discover, PayPal, Google or call to pay by check or cash
The Peace is widely known as a first class dive boat ideal for single and multi-day trips to the Channel Islands and beyond. The Captain and crew are all divemasters and DAN oxygen providers. The safety of the passengers is of utmost importance to them and at the same time they are happy to get you to the best possible dive sites that they can.
The Peace is 65’x22’ and has single and double bunks that sleep 32, (see bunk room layout). All bunks have privacy curtains, lights, pillows and blankets. There are 2 heads with showers along with an outdoor fresh water shower. There is also a clothes dryer if needed.
On the dive deck there is plenty of room for everyone along with a sundeck, live game well for all the hunters, 12’ inflatable chase boat, two 18CFM compressors for air and nitrox and the world famous hot tub. The Peace can fill to 3500psi and for nitrox (additional charge) they are equipped with a DNAx membrane system setup for 32% fills. With the membrane system there is no need for O2 clean tanks.
Inside there is a large galley with a TV and VCR player and this is also where all the delicious meals are cooked and served. Meals for a typical day will include a starter breakfast of oatmeal, toast, bagels, fruit, cereal, juice and more. You then can make your first dive and afterwards have a full hot breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes and more. For lunch there is always a big spread with a theme like Italian, Mexican or something else. Save room, because later in the day there is still a homemade desert usually along with ice cream. If you’re on a multi-day trip, then there is still a big dinner along with more deserts. Just make sure you dive as much as possible to burn off all the food. For drinks there is a soda machine, ice and there is always water available. If you feel inclined to bring your own alcoholic drinks, that is also OK, just please bring your own cooler and ice to store them in.
All trips on the Peace include food, snacks, drinks & air.
For trips on the Peace you will need to bring all your own gear and 1 tank, gear rentals are available if needed and this can be arranged in advanced with the Peace. If you are a photographer there is a camera table and plenty of outlets to charge batteries.
The Peace is in the Ventura Harbor and is located next to Island Packers at 1691 Spinnaker Dr. G – Dock. For directions, please see there map and for more infromation please see the California Dive News Peace review.
