This past September, I dove off of Catalina Island. This day trip was one that I scheduled using Beach Cities Scuba Center in Huntington Beach, CA.

The store manager Chris is a great diving professional and is willing to work with your needs and desires to get you placed on the right day-trip not only in regards to your talent and skill level, but just as importantly for your enjoyment.

The store can be found online at www.beachcitiesscuba.com .

The trip used the Bottom Scratcher charter boat and offered a full day of Catalinia diving, that 3 great meals, a great breakfast, lunch and topped off with a three-course Italian dinner!

We met the charter at Pier C Berth 55 in Long Beach for a 6:30am check-in and departed just after 7:00 AM. The only fault I could find with the trip was the number of divers allowed on-board. We had 38 divers in total. We could have had a little more room and enjoyment in the set-up area if we only had 35 divers. But even with this large amount of divers on board it was an enjoayable day that lasted until our 6pm return.

Due to dive conditions the locations we dove included Bird Rock and Rock Quary just off of Catalina`s eastern coast. Underwater, the kelp forest was lush and in full bloom. The fish in the area were plentiful and while there were some sharks in the area, the kept their distance from us. However for unique wildlife during my second dive I was able to catch a digital shot of a fellow diver startled response to his meeting of an eel.

The cost of the dive was just over $100 and I considered it a bargain.

If you want to enjoy good diving... check out Catalina.