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All of Laguna is an MLPA area and everything has been protected since 2012.
So all of Laguna is a 'Not take' area. When ALL of Laguna is compared, by far the area with the best overall conditions and visibility, it is Deadman's Reef. Crescent Bay has some of the easiest surf entries & exits there are, in all of Laguna, all sand. On days when most of Laguna beach is suffering from bad conditions, Crescent Bay can have decent conditions. BUT if it is "Really" bad here, chances are it will be bad or dangerous over all of Laguna Beach. In these cases the lifeguards will close ALL of Laguna to diving.Parking around Crescent Bay is free (Unless you park up closer to PCH) and there isn't much in the way of traffic, except for divers looking for the "Perfect" parking spot. When the area around "Cliff drive" gets full, park at the "Next level up" off Crescent Bay drive (Left off of PCH), follow the road around to where the road starts to go down hill, park off to the left somewhere. Either way, it is best to access Crescent Bay from the "Steps" rather than the "Ramp" because chances are you will dive on the "Right" side of the cove. Just like "Most" of Laguna, Crescent Bay faces South so saying that the best diving is on the North is "Misleading" even though you may think that, use a compass and see what I mean, most of Laguna faces this direction. |
Fast Facts: Map of Deadman's Parking meters: Up near PCH, $2 for 2 hours, otherwise free parking. Structure: Rock and Sand. Precautions: Surf & surge, be prepared for "Fast moving" Sea Lions. Experience levels: In close to beach ALL levels (Great for beginners or 'Rusty' divers), Seal Rock is beginning to Intermediate (Depending on conditions) and Deadman's Reef is for the experienced. After Diving spots: Burgers at the Husky Boy ($) on PCH, all the way up to Las Brisas ($$$$). There are many more places in the downtown section of Laguna. |
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Here is a picture of Crescent Bay from in between Seal Rock & Deadman's Reef.
Yes, it does "Look" like a long swim, well, it is, that's why Deadman's can
and does have the best viz in all of Laguna, it's WAY out there. To put things
into perspective, Seal Rock is over to the LEFT of this picture, What used to
be known as Pinnacles WAS almost directly below us and Deadman's was still
another 50 yards or so behind us. More on what used to be Pinnacles below.
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Crescent Bay is an extremely large area, so if it "Looks" like there are a lot of divers on shore, chances are you won't see them while you are "Out there". The 3 best areas here to dive are "Deadman's Reef", "Seal Rock" (Should be called Sea Lion Rock), and the area in between the 2. There is quite a lot of "Diver training" going on here, because of the flat sandy bottom in the middle of the Cove and easy surf entries & exits.
What used to be Pinnacles. This area once had many large rock formations that used to "Stick straight up", they were covered with all kinds of sea life. But during the worst El Nino year (1997) the high surf just destroyed all of the tall rock formations (Up to nearly 20 feet). During that year Crescent Bay experienced some of the largest surf ever seen in Laguna, some reports had the surf measured at 18+ feet!! That's extreme for Laguna. There are only 1 or 2 of the Pinnacles left and they are still full of life, see these now before the next El Nino. They are very fragile, yet a real sight. It is located about 1/2 way between Seal Rock and Deadman's Reef.
Deadman's is where it is AT, however. But you need to be in "Deadman's shape" to make this long swim. Deadman's is considered to be an ADVANCED dive, not because of the rough conditions but because of it's distance off shore, more on this later. Here's what we do for a Dive Plan: After entering the water, we swim past the end of the point, keeping those Rocks in the above picture directly in line with us, then between the 2 rocks of Seal Rock, align a Gray house w/Gray roof in the next cove (Emerald Bay). THIS is where we decend. Once we make it to the sandy bottom is, we use a South/SouthWest heading and swim the 2-3 minutes to Deadman's Reef. The Reef comes up sharply to points Vertical from a depth of about 50 feet all the way up to about 10-15 feet (Depending on the tide) if you hit 45 feet without finding the reef, YOU have missed the Reef to the left, turn sharply to the right parellel to the 'lines' in the sand and you will find Deadman's in the 42-50 foot range again. Sea life in and around Deadman's is always incredible, Morays, schools of fish and it seems that everything is just moving with the surge, most of the "Critters" here are diver friendly they are used to us by now, except the lobsters during "Bug season". Many trips here will also yield an experience or two with Crescent Bays resident clown, "Sea Lions". About 10-25% of the time you will have at least one Sea Lion "Messing" with you, and they too are diver "Too friendly", it's a good idea to "Take off" your snorkle before the Sea Lions do. We've had as many as 6-8 Sea Lions on one dive.
Here's a picture of a "Comb Jellyfish" that I saw here on May 5, 2001, in just 10-15 feet of water, combine that with Sea Lions, 30-50 feet of VIZ. Now is this diving, or what??? The rest of Laguna was only getting 5-10 foot VIZ on this day, another fine example of Crescent Bay & Deadman's Reef. Keep in mind that the best viz is in Nov/Dec as it is with most of Laguna. 
Diving here can be a challenge. Remember that Deadman's Reef has that name for a reason, DO NOT SURFACE out here unless it is an emergency, YOU can & WILL get run over by some of the boaters out there who do not know there is a reef system here, you can actually "SEE" the boat hulls go over your head at times. In fact, in April 2001, EVEN a lifeguard boat did this, from what we were told back on the beach, I heard and saw the hull "Go over" about 15-20 feet above us, it can be "Real nerve racking" when this happens, remember that you have AIR, don't panic when this happens, just stay put on the reef or bottom. The rule I use here is simple, START your return trip between 1000-1200 lbs or air. Once you become "Familiar" with Deadman's and the rest of Crescent Bay, you will realize how big it really is. It takes more than a "Few" dives here to get the scope of the size of the structure. There are plenty more stories leading to the "Lore" of Deadman's Reef, I only provided one type for this.
Seal Rock. On those days when there is NO SURF what so ever and the VIZ is in the 30-40 foot range, this is a MUST SEE, go directly towards Seal Rock underwater and position yourself on the bottom about 20 feet in front of the entry/exit point for the Sea Lions. From here you will get a "Wild show" from the Sea Lions, but you MUST remember to remove that snorkle, or you COULD loose your mask, for some reason, they love "Grabbing" the snorkles in their mouths and "Run off" with it. I've found up to 6 snorkles on one dive there. But don't move in too close to the Sea Lions, let alone the fact that disturbing Marine Mammals is a Federal offense, it is also NOT safe, especially when the big Bull drops in to tell you that he thinks you are too close to his females, if this happens DO back off about 10-20 feet, don't make him mad!!!
In all of these areas, if you are into underwater photography, have your camera at the READY, things can happen here so fast, you can & will miss it. If you decide to take your camera with you, make it easier on yourself by putting your rig into a goodie bag with a "Clip" on it to attach it to yourself. I find lots of gear here, I would love to find another camera... "Word to the wise..."
Here's a shot of Seal Rock, this is an average day on the Rock for it's inhabitants. It is not unusual to see the Sea Lions going into & out of the water from here. |
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![Map of Deadman's](javascript:wlink1("/images/dmreef.gif","550","475")){kind=link}