Ready to experience the ultimate in Southern California Shark Diving? Let us show you the true nature and beauty of our sharks with an excursion to the Channel Islands of Southern California.  Our trips take you to the islands of Catalina, Santa Barbara and San Nicholas*.  You will get the opportunity to get up close and personal with Blue Sharks, Mako Sharks, Leopard Sharks, California Sea Lions and Harbor Seals.   Our three and four day excursions start in San Pedro, California, which is a 20 minute ride from Los Angeles International Airport.  Ground transportation to The PSALTY V, a 50ft custom yacht, fully appointed for your comfort, is arranged by Psalty Adventures.  The PSALTY V is a fast, stable vessel with accomodations for six divers.   Our itinerary is designed for short running times to Southern California’s premier dive sites.  This gives you the opportunity for more dive time and relaxation in our many protected coves and harbors.  With visibility ranging from 50-100 ft in the summer and 100 ft+ in the fall and winter, you will be introduced to the most popular dive sites this area has to offer.  Wall diving, cavern diving, kelp diving, as well as our critter dives are all possible on a Psalty Adventures excursion.  Between dives, relax to soothing sounds from the stereo/CD player, or watch one of the many movies from our video library.  Of course with more food than you can imagine, you may want to just eat, sleep and dive-dive-dive. Catalina layovers also allow for some island exploration and tours of the Catalina Chamber.

Itinerary:

Day One has us departuring for Catalina Island at 7:00 AM arriving at Isthmus at 8:30 AM. You will be served a hot breakfast while being briefed for the days activities. We start with a morning acclimation dive to make sure you are comfortable with Southern California diving. You will have the opportunity to dive our famous kelp beds and clear water at sites like Isthmus Reef, Ship Rock and Blue Cavern Point. After your morning dive we head to one of many shark locations and start chumming the water. With an onboard chummer that is quite unique, you will get the chance to try your hand at bringing in the sharks. Once the chumming begins, we will lower the cage and prepare for the sharks arrival. To pass the time until the sharks arrive, we will have onboard entertainment for you. The boat is equipped with a great stereo sound system, and a vcr for afternnoon and evening movies. When the sharks arrive, everyone has the opportunity to enter the water when they are ready. With a custom made 7-person cage, there is never any "waiting for your turn." This gives you maximum time with the sharks. Upon completion of day one activities, we head to Santa Barbara Island. This leg of the trip will take 1.5 hours and puts us at the Sea Lion Rookery for the night. Enjoy a late afternnon or evening dive with the very friendly and playful California Sea Lion or Harbor Seals. If we are real lucky, we may even get an Elephant seal. After a sumptuous dinner, a slide show on sharks from around the world will be presented followed by a movie, or just some great conversation. The choice is yours.

Day two has us diving the beautiful sites found on Santa Barbara Island. Sutil Island, Shag Rock, Jackson’s Reef, and Arch Reef are the sites we have to chose from. The best part is, they are all great sites, with plenty of life and great photographic opportunities. There is plenty of time for a dive or two before heading out to the shark site. The rest of the days activities are the same as day one. With luck, we may get the Pacific Whitesided Dolphins to come in and see what we are

Day three will be back af Catalina Island to dive with the Leopard Sharks. We will also get the chance to dive    Farnsworth Bank, voted one of the top ten dive spots in California, and one of the few places in the world where   purple hydra-coral grows. This open ocean deep water pinnacle comes up from 200 foot plus depth to within 50   feet of the surface. With amazing visibility and an abundance of marine life, this is a must do dive. Diving activities   will end around 4:00 PM getting us back to San Pedro will be 5:30 PM. There is a gear washing station available   to those who would like to pack clean equipment for the trip home. After showers and general clean up we can     go to one of the local restaurants for dinner and socializing. (If you are on a 4 day trip, this will be your itinerary for   the last day and day 3 is explained in the next paragraph)

Day three of a four day excursion will find us at *San Nicholas Island. One of the most primitive islands in the Channel Islands Chain, San Nick is very remote and is the least visited island in the chain. As a result of it’s location, the marine life is rich and abundant, with excellent photographic opportunities. We will make dives at Dutch Harbor, 3-Mile Reef, 7 Fathom Reef or the Boiler, before going out to the shark area. Upon completion of the day of shark diving, we will head for Catalina Island for day four activities. Thisleg of the trip will take 3.5 hours.

*Note: San Nicholas Island is controlled by the U.S. Navy. The island is occasionally closed for military exersices. If the island is closed we will spend an additonal day at Santa Barbara Island.

Trip includes: Round trip airport transfers, all diving activities, food, air, tanks, weight belts and our 5* service. Not included: hotel (we schedule our trips to allow you come directly to the boat before departure, and to stay on the boat the night of our return. You do not need a hotel room unless you prefer.)

Trip cost:   3 Day-$850.00    4 Day-$995.00

Psalty Adventures is owned and operated by Gary Jackson. A seasoned professional in the diving industry, Gary has dive store management experience as well as having been on staff of PADI International and Scuba Schools International. The past six years have been spent running dive charters and shark excursions in Southern California. This experience has allowed Psalty Adventures to become one of the most active charter operations in Southern California with a booking rate of 70% repeat customers. With a "fast boat and small group" philosophy, you get excellent customer service, and uncrowed dive sites.