California offered both breath taking, religious kelp experiences and zero visibility high surf hair raising challenges. Often heard around the shores of Monterey, CA, if you learn to dive here, you can dive anywhere. I'm a believer. Water temps can range from the mid 40s to low 60s in Monterey Bay, while just a short drive south, the Channel Islands and Catalina Islands range from the low 50s to the low 70s.
Bottom Line: California is a great place to dive and train. Conditions and sites offer the diver all they need to push their skills to the limits.
Farewell California. I wish my divers the best. I also wish the shops and instructors I have had the pleasure of working over the past four years great luck and safe diving.
If you're ever in California and looking for quality folks to train and dive with then check out the following shops. There are more than what is listed, but these are the shops I would recommend from my personal experiences.
Monterey Shops:
Breakwater Scuba
Aquarius Divers
For my GUE and Technical crowd, check out Bay Area Underwater Explorers
BAUE also has great resources and maps on their page, available to the public.
Monterey Boats:
Mary Jo's Beach Hopper II
Dive Central's Escapade
Southern Central Coast Shops:
Ocean Sports Scuba and Free-diving (Lompoc)
Santa Barbara Aquatics
Ventura Dive and Sport
Southern Central Coast Boats:
Spectre Dive Boat
The Raptor
Truth Aquatics