Island Time
In our harried life these days it sometimes seems difficult to get together an entire day to go diving. Your Saturdays or Sundays are filled with errands and evening activities, and next thing you know, the day you set aside for diving has been whittled down such that it seems impossible for you to get out on that Catalina Island dive trip you’ve been looking forward to.

Take heart! There is the Island Time dive boat. This boat is special to serving Catalina Island in that you return to the mainland dock a mere six hours after departure. Most of the Island Time dive trips are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. leaving you plenty of afternoon to visit your mother, get the car washed, get ready for an evening out or whatever you need to do that may have otherwise taken you away from diving.

Island Time, operated by Express Divers, is a very fast dive boat operated much like many of the resort operations in your favorite tropical destination. The boat departs between 6:30 and 8 a.m. depending on the particular day. You are greeted by helping hands and a continental breakfast of muffins and fruit. Tanks are supplied as are lunch and drinks. The run over to Catalina is only about 75-80 minutes, giving you just enough time to suit up and perhaps assemble a camera. After a sandwich lunch and a second dive, the boat heads back and in about 75 minutes you are at the dock. You’ve had some great diving and still have a bit of afternoon to do other stuff, but this time with a big salty grin on your face!

Oh... so you’re not a morning person? With this boat, you have an option—an afternoon dive trip! While not run as often as the morning trips, the afternoon trips depart between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m., makes two dives and is back in about six hours. Night diving trips are also occasionally run.

But don’t get the impression that these trips are all rush-rush. Because the crew takes on the resort-style all the way, the atmosphere is quite relaxed. If you wish, you are helped in and out of your tank. There is also full assistance at the huge swimstep both in water entry and reboarding the boat.

The Island Time is a 2001 Custom, 48 feet long and 16 feet wide built specifically for diving by one of the most respected dive charter boat builders in the business. Twin 450 horse power Caterpillar engines glide the boat along at a 22 knots cruising speed in a surprisingly smooth ride.

The configuration of the boat is ideal for day diving. The rear transom and swimstep is wide open and makes getting in and out of the water a breeze. Two divers can use the swimstep simultaneously and still have room for the helping hands of the crew.

The back deck is wide open with lots of room for suiting up and dressing down. Benches with storage below are along the port and starboard rails with tanks behind. There is also a storage rack above. Tanks supplied are standard 80-cubic-foot aluminum but you are welcome to bring your own tank. There is a compressor onboard, but all tanks are full before diving begins so there is no waiting between dives (other than for a bite to eat and a little surface interval).

About half the deck is completely enclosed to get out of the breeze and most of the deck is covered overhead for protection from the sun. There are no bunks below deck but a large dry storage area and a head.

For speed and convenience of scheduling, the Island Time gets very high ratings. For ease of onboard dive operations and service from the crew, again, the boat gets very high marks. With the Island Time you have an excellent comfortable option for a lifestyle that can sometimes squeeze us for dive time.

For more information, visit www.expressdivers.com online or call 866-488-3483.