So-Cal best spot for kid's first time snorkeling?

[jimqpublic]

Hi all,

I want to find a nice low stress spot to take my daughter snorkeling for the first time. She's 6 year old and is a pretty good swimmer, having just finished another set of swim lessons. I have her equipped with a US Divers mask/snorkel/fins set and she has a life preserver. I will get her a wetsuit as well.

We have reservations for a couple nights in Catalina next month. I'll get her familiar with the snorkel & mask at the pool, but before going to Catalina I want to find a good spot for the first salt water experience. Preferably calm & somewhat clear.

I'm in Long Beach, so closer is better than farther. Are any of the spots around Laguna especially calm? I'd rather not take her to the nasty water in one of the small boat harbors, although the water is quite calm- like the public beach in Long Beach Marina.


Jim

[IronLung]

Crystal cove and those areas are pretty clear, calm depends on the waves, but it usualy isnt too bad. Any of those coves actualy are generaly clear, LA. Times has a surf report in the California section that included yesterdays vis reports.

[RydDragyn]

The more eastern areas of Laguna are a little rough and rocky in my experience, depending on the swell conditions. Plus the last time I was there I saw a lot of sharks relatively close to shore. Just juvenile leopards, but enough maybe for a child to get scared of. Lots of interesting life to see in the vegetation though.

Diver's Cove in western Laguna can be calm if you get beyond the surf. There's lots of coral, purple urchins, starfish, and sea slugs to see. Diver's Cove has its own metered parking just of off PCH, too. I've seen dolphins and sea lions there as well.

If you've never been to Catalina before, I'd take her to the areas just East of the Avalon port - just for starters. They're calm, shallow areas that attract a lot of families with kids.

Hope that helps.

[beamjoel]

try Cresent Bay in Laguna only on a calm day!!. that is where i taught my daughter, you can either go to the right or the left from the beach and see some nice sights, also try shaws cove just next door to Cresent Bay. Try going to Laguna Sea Sports they have a dive sight locator with conditions and discriptions of nice sights all around Laguna.

Joel

[aesthetic]

Originally Posted by IronLung

Crystal cove and those areas are pretty clear, calm depends on the waves, but it usualy isnt too bad. Any of those coves actualy are generaly clear, LA. Times has a surf report in the California section that included yesterdays vis reports.

i agree. a very good beginners spot, usually very good visibility and plenty of cool things to see. just check the surf report that day before heading out to make sure there arent any swells coming in

you can usually get live cams and quick readings from surfline.com, although im not sure they would include crystal cove. nearby surf spots are salt creek, strands, newport, laguna, etc.

it should be pretty similar all around.

[Lockedin]

Also try http://www.wetsand.com/ > Home Page for fairly accurate forecasts. Between Surfline and wetsand you can get a pretty accurate picture of the conditions.

[aesthetic]

Originally Posted by Lockedin

Also try http://www.wetsand.com/ > Home Page for fairly accurate forecasts. Between Surfline and wetsand you can get a pretty accurate picture of the conditions.

also a great site.

[calicojack]

It's a bit of a drive for you, but I think that La Jolla Cove is tough to beat for a first dive on our coast. Very easy entry, very protected, shallow, and lots to see. My son started there around 4 1/2 - 5 years old. Hope you have a great experience........

[jimqpublic]

Thanks all. We never did get a "first" dive in before our trip. No prob though because her first ocean snorkeling experience was Descanso Beach and the Casino Dive Park at Catalina. We caught the ferry last Thursday after the last day of kindergarten and spent two full days in and around the water.

She was a bit upset over having to stay on the surface- the wetsuit and snorkeling vest made sure of that. Generally though she did great.

Visibility was well over 30' and we saw thousands of fish. She saw and identified at least ten different types- Adult & juvenile garibaldi; male & female sheepshead; calico/kelp bass; blacksmith; senorita fish; surfperch; giant kelpfish; halfmoon; opaleye; and sardines (by the million).

We fed them fish food and peas. At Lover's Cove the calicos literally mobbed her- even nipping a finger. I bought a disposable water camera so hopefully we got some good pictures.

Sunday we went out to Redondo for some freedive training with Vaclav H. I had planned to keep the kids on the beach but basically my daughter wouldn't have any of that. Water was murky, confused, and choppy. She didn't seem to care- swimming around like it was a calm lake. I on the other hand was too stressed to do any useful diving.

The girl is going to be a fish.

We're camping for a week at Doheny in late July, so that will be a good chance to make it to La Jolla.

Jim