Revision 9/12/2010 11:47 PM
There`s something for everyone at White Point. Beginner and expert divers will find interesting underwater vistas to explore. Ship wrecks and old construction have left bits and pieces of history strewn through the area. Plus, reefs and kelp around the point are harbors for the elusive critters.
Entry can be tough as there are a ton of rocks to get through before you can get your fins on. Dive near high tide for easiest entry and exit.
We first went to Laguna’s hot spots to find 4ft surf and poor viz. We headed up to PV and dove White’s Point. We didn’t get into the water until 11am (high tide was 11:31am), but the entry was easy (though rocky). You’re not going to be overwhelmed by the wild life here, but I was amazed by what I’d consider to be giant sea stars. We kicked out well past the exposed rocks on the west side of the cove and found the water to be apx 20~23ft with viz in the 10~15 foot range once in the deeper water. I’d dive this site again, but I think I’d enter from the Royal Palms beach (south end) and kick over to the cove (I didn’t like the rock entry and exit). You can expect to see several species of sea stars, urchins (at least two species) and cold water anemones. We also saw an octopus scooting across the bottom and a couple of empty lobster traps. There was very little current and found ourselves being pulled to shore as the tide was coming in.
Most people do not understand that when you dive White Point it’s actually two parks. Facing the ocean to the left is White Point with the hot vents and to the right is Royal Palms which is a heavy kelp forest. Went diving in January and had a vis of 20-30 feet. Entry was rocky however waves were no taller then a foot and just take your time. Saw the railroad tracks from the little train from the hotel. Hot vents were really interesting, look for white hairs on rocks look closely and you can see the heat coming up. Mostly a rocky bottom on White Point side little bit of kelp. Saw 14 inch sculpin and a legal size lobster. Looking forward to the Royal Palms side of the park. Water temp was around 53 and went no deeper then 38 ft.
We dove this site after attempting to dive at Long Point (Old Marineland)- the gate there was closed, so we drove on to White Point. As a result of this, we started our first dive about an hour after high tide. It has a rocky entry, which only became longer and more difficult to navigate throughout the day. We had good spirits about clattering about (at one point I fell on my back and got my BC wedged into some rocks like a turtle). It’s well worth the potentially tiresome entry! Even with visibility in the 8-12 ft range the site was really beautiful, full of sea life. The bacterial mats were interesting, and the water was full of huge clouds of krill.
http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/USA_West/CalM/White_Point/index.htm