Diving Anacapa Island | A world-class scuba destination that’s closer than you think

The one-of-a-kind diving at Anacapa Island will undoubtedly blow your mind away! Read on and be prepared to rearrange your scuba bucket list.

When you think of a diving destination, what do you envision? Colourful reefs? Friendly fish? Shipwrecks? Clear water? Spectacular reefs with walls and drop offs? All these probably came to mind. How about a diving destination where you had all of these, plus majestic kelp forests, frolicking sea lions, and a variety of depths and activities for all levels of diving? Sound too good to be true? Divers who spend time at Anacapa Island in the Channel Islands National Park quickly become believers!   

 

Channel Islands – the “Galapagos of North America”

Anacapa is part of California’s Channel Islands. The Channel Islands are separated into “northern” and “southern” groups. The southern group is made up of Santa Catalina, San Nicholas, and San Clemente Island. The northern group is comprised of San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and Anacapa Islands. These 5 northern Channel Islands also comprise the Channel Islands National Park. This gem is often referred to as the “Galapagos of North America”.  

 

What makes diving at Anacapa Island so special?

Anacapa is southernmost island in the “northern” group. Sitting about 11 miles (17 km) off shore, Anacapa is the closest of all the islands to the mainland. The island is actually made up of three small islets that are separated by the sea, even at low tide. Anacapa runs roughly east-west. The north (front) side of the island facing the mainland and the south (back) side facing the open Pacific Ocean. The eastern end of the island is where the iconic lighthouse sits, just above Anacapa’s signature rock arch.

Due to its middle position in the chain of northern and southern islands, Anacapa receives a combination of cooler currents traveling down the California coast and warmer “plumes” of water that are pushed up from southern waters. This variability in temperatures make Anacapa unique among the Channel Islands. Thus allowing it to support a broader range of underwater life throughout the seasons.

 

Conditions and water temperature

Anacapa’s reefs are home to critters found in the colder northern parts of the state, as well as those from the warmer southern waters.  Surface temperatures commonly reach 70° F (21° C) in late summer and fall. They do, however, drop to 50° F (10° C) in the winter and spring. Most divers use a 7mm wetsuit or drysuit all year-round when diving Anacapa Island. Visibility at Anacapa averages 30’ (10M) year-round but can be as good as 100’ (30M) when conditions are favorable.  

 

Getting there from Southern California

Anacapa’s proximity to Southern California also makes it an easy destination for divers to reach. Boats departing Ventura and Oxnard can reach Anacapa in a little over an hour. Boats out of Santa Barbara take a bit longer but Anacapa is easily within range for a one-day trip. There are departures in the early morning and returns in the late afternoon.  Most operators run weekends year-round and add additional weekdays during the summer and fall “tourism” season.

Anacapa can be reached by a number of full-service dive charter operations. California dive operators typically provide air fills and meals during the diving day, and divers can expect to make 2-4 dives on a single day trip.  You can make arrangements for any dive gear you might need or even a dive-guide before your trip. 

The closest airports are Los Angeles (LAX) or Santa Barbara (SBA). Some dive boat operators offer special packages with nearby hotels. Thus, divers spending multiple days aboard have a place to stay.

 

Crossing the Santa Barbara channel – one of the richest marine environments in the world

The adventures at Anacapa Island begin before you even get wet! This happens with a crossing of the Santa Barbara channel, which is one of the richest marine environments in the world. Common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) are an almost certain encounter while crossing between Anacapa and the mainland.

Depending on the time of year, grey whales, humpback whales, blue whales or, on a rare occasion, killer whales can be spotted on the crossing.

Almost all the boat captains will stop for a few minutes to let the divers watch the show from the boat deck. Other life in the channel seen by divers from the boat during a crossing can include, pinnipeds, sharks, Mola Mola (Sunfish), or even a swordfish on a lucky day!

 

Picking a spot

Once the boat reaches Anacapa Island, it comes down to picking a dive site. Like most California diving, dives at Anacapa Island are self-guided. The boat provides a divemaster who will check you on and off the boat. They can assist you with problems at the surface like a scuba lifeguard. The captains and crews on these boats are knowledgeable and will gladly provide information about the dive site. Your briefing will include info about depths, features, and marine life you might encounter. For divers who are less self-sufficient at cold water diving, most dive boats will even let you arrange, ahead of time, for a dive guide to join you underwater and show you around. 

 

The most amazing dive sites of Anacapa Island

Finally getting underwater at Anacapa Island, lets divers understand what it’s all about. The island was one of the first places where Marine Protected Areas were established in the United States. Some of these “MPA’s” have been in existence at Anacapa for more than 40 years.

 

Cathedral Cove and Goldfish Bowl

At dive sites like Cathedral Cove and Goldfish Bowl, divers get close-up encounters with fish made fearless by generations of hunting-free encounters with divers. These friendly fish include the bright orange California state marine fish, the Garibaldi. You can also see shoals of señoritas, blacksmith, opaleye, and perch.  Seals, sea lions, bat rays, lobsters, eels, octopus, and even colorful nudibranchs round out the healthy kelp forests and reefs.  

 

Coral Reef

The dive site Coral Reef is arguably one of the best dive sites at Anacapa Island. It offers a towering rock wall covered with colorful sponges, gorgonians, and anemones. The wall cuts vertically from 30’ (10m) down to 90’ (29m), where it becomes a downward sloping underwater boulder field. Divers can explore the deep sections, then make their way back up to the top edge of the wall, where the shallow kelp forest makes a great spot for a safety stop.

 

Rat Rock

The western end of Anacapa is known as the dive site Rat Rock for the “rat” shape formed by the end of the island. It offers stair-stepping ledges that fall away to depths well beyond the safe sport diving limits and call to the “tech” divers out there.

Underwater Arch, Surveyors Rock and Channels

At dive sites like Underwater Arch, Surveyors Rock, or Channels, divers can be surrounded by sea lions or followed by a playfully curious harbor seal. The island has several beaches that serve as haul-outs for these marine mammals and they routinely swim out to investigate divers. 

 

Fishing

Divers who possess a California fishing license can hunt the south side of the island for Sheephead, Halibut, White Sea Bass, Yellowtail, Lobsters and Scallops. Some parts on the north side of the island, where the MPA’s are established, are open to lobster fishing by divers during lobster season. The boat crews can always tell a diver what can be legally harvested and where to look. 

 

Wreck diving at Anacapa Island

For wreck seekers, a US Navy TBM Avenger airplane, from a crash in the 1950’s, lies on a sand bottom in 120’ of water near the east end of the island.  For an easier dive, the historical wreck of the Winfield Scott lies in very shallow water on the north side of Anacapa. This paddle-wheeler ran aground in 1853 and divers can still see sections of the giant paddle wheel amid other debris overgrown with reef life.  

 

Photography

Divers with cameras will not lack subjects to shoot. With its clear water, divers can often shoot wide angle images of kelp sunbursts and marine mammals. At the right time of year, you can see the amazing giant sea bass that frequent many of Anacapa’s reefs. Giant sea bass were virtually extinct until the State of California protected them in 1982. These huge fish can grow to 7’(2M) and 500 lbs (225 kg). They show up at Anacapa Island during the warmer summer months to spawn in shallow water. 

 

The healthy reefs also support a network or smaller animals for year-round macro photography. These include more than 50 species of nudibranchs, colorful juvenile fish, fringehead blennies, or even octopus. 

 

To everyone, who wants to capture memories of their dives without a big camera, we’d love to introduce the revolutionary DIVEVOLK SeaTouch 4 Max housing! This innovative case is compatible with any smartphone brand and model. It is waterproof up to 60m/200ft and is the first and only full-touchscreen underwater housing.

The touch-membrane works with neoprene gloves and a finger cot for dry rubber gloves. You can access any app on your phone, including fish-ID, external photo and video applications and even use your phone to make calls and send messages at the surface, while it’s still in the housing.

For a thorough exploration of the potential of this revolutionary accessory, check out our in-depth review here!

 

Who to dive with?

If you are looking to dive Anacapa and the nothern Channel Islands, then the most convenient starting point is Ventura, CA. Our top-choice dive operator is Raptor Dive, whose boat is designed and built with the divers’ needs and comfort in mind.

The Raptor boast has a spacious upper deck equipped with comfortable seating, a closed main cabin to shield you from the brisk fall and winter weather at Anacapa, and a top-notch satellite sound system.

Traveling at a cruising speed of 17 knots, the Raptor ensures you can reach the mesmerizing Channel Islands for a diving adventure in just about an hour! The aft deck and swim step are adorned with substantial rails, facilitating easy fin donning and positioning you just one giant stride away from extraordinary dive sites.

And best of all, the small size of the boat guarantees it will not be crowded underwater!

 

Falling in love

The diverse types of diving available make Anacapa a destination suitable for all divers. The island is easy to get to and easy to dive. With the variety of dive sites and levels of diving available, divers can return to Anacapa island repeatedly to have new experiences every time. Divers who visit for the first time will surely fall in love with the colour, life, and spectacular diving that Anacapa Island offers. 

Finally, Anacapa Island is more than just a diving destination! The Channel Islands National Park offers a variety of other non-diving adventures. Non-divers can enjoy a day of snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, or bird watching. All this while taking in the spectacular views from the high bluffs along the island.

Be sure to read more about the scuba diving in Southern California and the amazing critters you can find re-inhibiting empty shells.

 

About the author

Douglas Klug is a scuba instructor, underwater photographer, and diving writer based in Santa Barbara, California. He took his first underwater breaths on certification dives at the Monterey breakwater over 35 years ago. Since then, “Diver” Doug has continued to explore California’s waters as well as many tropical destinations. His favourite destinations are the kelp forests of Southern California’s Channel Islands. But his adventures have taken him to the sea turtles of the Hawaiian Islands, the great white sharks of Guadalupe Island, the stunning walls of the Cayman Islands, the coral reefs of Fiji, and even the humpback whales of Moorea.

Doug’s photo-essays have been published in print world-wide. You can find them in articles in California Diving News, DAN Alert Diver, and Dive Training. His images have been used in numerous print and digital formats including use by the US National Park Service, US National Marine Sanctuary, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Google, and Microsoft.

Doug’s experience includes being a recreational scuba instructor as well as diving with Nitrox and Rebreathers. He holds professional level certifications from NAUI, SSI, PADI, NASDS, and TDI. Doug also participates in volunteer scientific diving for organizations like Reefcheck.

He is a former dive-shop owner and scuba repair technician. Doug still teaches private scuba lessons to interested new divers in Southern California. He also teaches underwater photography skills to more seasoned divers, and even offers an on-line course on Southern California nudibranch identification.

Doug now splits his underwater time between taking photographs and showing new divers the underwater world. You can view his underwater work on his Instagram feed or on Flickr.