Diving at Catalina Sea Camp

• Skin Diving
• Advanced Skin Diving/Freediving
• Skin Diving Photo/Video
• Try Dive/Scuba Diver
• Open Water Scuba Diver
• Advanced Scuba Diver
• Rescue Diver/BLS
• Master Scuba Diver
• Kelp Restoration Diver
• Catalina Diver
• Night Diver
• Scuba Video
• Scuba Photo
• Advanced Scuba Photo
• Recreational Avelo Diver

Our dive program takes advantage of the best diving in Southern California. From majestic kelp forests to rocky reef, to eel grass beds, to sandy bottom, all our dive sites are fantastic and chock full of marine life.

Shore Diving

Most diving at Catalina Sea Camp is done from shore at Toyon Bay.  Campers may enter the water doing a shore/surf entry or from our floating dock doing a giant stride entry.  Toyon Bay is mostly sandy bottomed, with rocky reef and emerging kelp forests on either end.  Pier pilings and reef balls add structure to the middle of the bay.

Our confined water diving area is a buoyed off section adjacent to the pier.  It has a sandy bottom with depths to about 20 feet (6 meters) with multiple bottom lines and floated ascent/descent lines.

Boat Diving

Boat diving is done aboard the chartered vessel, the SCUBA Cat operated by Catalina Divers Supply out of Avalon.  The boat makes morning and afternoon trips to areas with the best diving conditions on the island.  Common destinations include Twin Rocks, Bird Rock, Ship Rock, the West End Quarry (the Crane), and Ripper’s Cove.

Dive Park Diving 

Campers have the opportunity to dive at Casino Point, the oldest protected area on the island.  The Dive Park is open to the public and is one of the best dive sites on Catalina.  Abundant kelp forests, marine life, and frequent sightings of Black Sea Bass make it a camper favorite.  Divers use cement stairs for entries and exits.

Night Diving

Campers can participate in night dives during elective program evenings (3 elective evenings per session).  Participation in a night dive is required for Advanced and Master Diver certifications and is optional for other courses.

Our policies are developed to make scuba diving as safe as possible.  We are extremely conservative with our youth divers.  More details on these policies can be found in our Scuba Guide.

• Age: Campers must be 12 years old to participate in scuba at Catalina Sea Camp. Students participating in Rescue Diver or Master Diver certifications must be 15 years old.
• Insurance: Campers must have health insurance that covers scuba diving activities or DAN Dive Accident Insurance (diversalertnetwork.org), please use our referral number when purchasing (1459079).
• Health: We require medical clearance for scuba diving, with a physician’s signature, for all campers participating in scuba. Certain medical conditions, such as seizure disorders, diabetes, and current asthma will disqualify campers from scuba diving. Other medical conditions, including a past history of asthma, ear and sinus problems, and a history of cardiac disorders, may disqualify campers and may require extensive testing. See our Scuba Guide (link) for more information.
• Motivation:  Campers must have personal motivation to participate in scuba diving activities.  Those diving solely to please someone else will not be allowed to participate.  If a camper chooses not to participate in a scuba class while at camp, they will be moved to another available activity.
• Paperwork: All paperwork should be submitted in a timely manner. Please be responsive to communication regarding necessary edits (see paperwork tab for more details).
• Certifications: All certifications are earned, not given. Campers must complete all required skills, dives, coursework, and exams to earn their certification.  If a certification cannot be completed during camp, we will provide a referral for it to be completed elsewhere.
  • Online eLearning is required for some certification courses and must be purchased (dive-store.myshopify.com) and completed prior to camp.
• Skills Verification: For campers who are already certified Open Water Scuba Divers (or above), we will conduct a skills verification, or check out dive, as the first dive for every course.  All skills must be completed before the diver can continue in open water dives.
• Supervision: All diving activities are directly or indirectly supervised by a member of the Catalina Sea Camp Dive Staff (NAUI Instructors and Divemasters).  Our snorkeling/skin diving ratios are 1 dive leader: 8 campers, our scuba ratios are 1 dive leader:4 campers.
• Limits: On most dives, divers are limited to depths of 40 feet (12 meters) and bottom times of 40 minutes.  Courses that require deep dives (Advanced and Master Diver) will conduct deep dives under direct supervision of a dive leader.  Exceeding these limits will result in suspension of diving privileges at Catalina Sea Camp.

Catalina Sea Camp provides most of the gear a camper will need to scuba dive, including wetsuits, weight integrated BCDs, regulators, weights, weight belts, timing devices, and compasses.  We also provide specialized equipment needed for specific classes, such as underwater photo and video equipment, lift bags, and underwater flashlights and marker beacons.

For certification classes we ask that campers provide their own mask, snorkel, fins, and booties.  Personal dive computers are encouraged, but not required, for already certified divers. Our equipment is serviced annually by a certified technician and inspected by daily by staff.

Masks, snorkels, fins, booties, dive computers, eLearning packages, and additional accessories can be purchased at our online dive store, designed exclusively for enrolled campers (dive-store.myshopify.com).  Ordered items will be delivered to campers upon arrival at Catalina Sea Camp.

We cannot ship any items.

In addition to the general paperwork required for Catalina Sea Camp, forms specific to the dive program must be completed and submitted.  Campers will not be allowed to scuba dive unless all necessary paperwork has been received and approved by the Dive Director.  We suggest starting on the scuba paperwork as soon as possible.

All forms can be accessed by families of registered campers in your Camper Account at gdi.campintouch.com.  Paperwork must be submitted by April 1 to allow sufficient time for review and corrections.

We are not able to release our NAUI Waiver until June 1.  It will be available online. Once released, please complete and upload immediately, we apologize for the inconvenience.

New to the dive paperwork process? Check out our “How to do Scuba Paperwork” video.

FORMS REQUIRED FOR ALL CAMPERS WISHING TO SCUBA DIVE

• Scuba Medical Form (must be reviewed and signed by physician)
• Scuba NAUI Waiver (will be released June 1)
• Scuba Questionnaire (online): Includes; Dive History, Insurance Verification, Medical Verification, Safe Diving Practices, Sea Camp Scuba Waiver

   FORMS REQUIRED IN LISTED SITUATIONS

• Scuba Documentation From – Required for certified campers and those with DAN Insurance to show proof of certification cards and DAN cards.
• Scuba Asthma Form – Required for campers with a history of Asthma or Reactive Airway Disease (RAD).  This form must be filled out by a physician familiar with dive medicine and respiratory health.
• Scuba Equipment Service Record – Required for campers bringing their own BCD and/or Regulator to camp.

Forms marked with the computer symbol can be completed online.

Forms marked with barcodes must be printed and filled out completely.  Maintain copies of all forms for your records. Submit forms using one of the following options:

• Upload on the CampanionApp. *Recommended*

• Upload to your camper account as a PDF.  If the document has multiple pages, make sure they are combined into one PDF.  Uploading multiple documents will delete those submitted previously.

• Fax documents to (949) 627-8084.  The barcode must be visible at the bottom of each page.