Power your way through vast curtains of kelp and come eye to eye with bass, opaleye, lobsters, nudibranchs and sea lions, the kings of the kelp jungle. The Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is a 100-mile spread of islands off the coast of LA, with visibility up to 100 feet and water temperatures in the 53- 70°F range. The water's cold , but the diving here is among the best in the west, especially off of Catalina Island, 45 minutes by speed- boat from the LA Harbor. For more information, contact the Channel Islands Council of Divers, www.venturaweb.com/cicd/cybrlink.htm.
The Coronado Islands, 21 nautical miles south of San Diego, host colonies of sea lions, northern elephant seals, rock reefs and purple hydrocorals. Boats leave daily from San Diego's West Mission Bay Marina. From downtown San Diego, get on the Freeway 5 North. Exit onto Sea World Drive, go west and make a right on West Mission Bay Drive, stay in right lane, go to first signal light and make a left onto Quivira. Make a left and follow it al l the way out to West Marina. For more information, contact Dive Pro San Diego, 760-632-7060, www.diveprosandiego.com.
To locals, Baja is known as the " pelagic paradise." From Cabo San Lucas, you can dive two different chains of islands off Baja's Pacific Coast. In the fall , dive operators run out to Socorro, Clarion and San Benedicto Islands. In summer, divers journey to the Sea of Cortez with Cabo Pulmo in mind. Cabo Pulmo is eastern Pacific's northernmost coral reef, famous for giant manta rays, whale sharks and schools of hammerheads. From San Diego, you can fly straight to Los Cabos International Airport (US$270- 300), where you'll take a bus to Cabo San Lucas. For more information, contact Amigos del Mar, 800-344-3349, www.solmar.com.
