Spectre Dive Boat — Local services in Ventura

WARNING: DO NOT DIVE HERE. It's certainly concerning when a dive boat gets 5 star Google reviews citing only the good food but not one word about the dive gear or operation, so I was exceptionally curious to check the Spectre out. The food was fantastic. The dive operation was subpar.

I did 3 tank dives with the Spectre in July 2024. They allowed a 10 year old to dive who was a brand new diver and entirely inexperienced. He struggled in the water, and I had to hold his hand while his mom had both him and her daughter cling on to her while trying to dive. There was no guide or dive master in the water with us, and we were 45 divers on 1 boat.

My gear was tampered with and disassembled three times by staff after I set up my own gear, all prior to my first dive. My initial rental tank by them was empty (under 1,000), and they had a compressor on-board that they started using only after I set up my gear. The whole operation was disorganized, and staff members were lazy. When I needed more weight in the water, I was dismissed and told to swim back to the boat and get it myself. I will note that staff are highly intelligent, many with undergraduate and graduate degrees in marine biology. That said, they could not care less about safety of divers, proper dive procedures, borrowed gear being correctly fitted (for example, my boots were too small as they gave me the wrong size; they had no alternatives onboard and told me to just deal), or the harsh conditions of Pacific Ocean diving. People come from all over the world to dive Channel Islands, and the staff is almost neglectful of divers in the water.

When I raised these concerns, the overall demeanor of staff was that "this company has been operating for 20+ years". Obviously just because it's the oldest doesn't make it the best by any means. The only saving grace was Nathan - the caring Captain and owner, who genuinely took the time to listen and recognize areas whereby his dive operation could be improved. I would certainly dive with Nathan 1 on 1 and he is truly excellent. The rest of the staff I wondered if they were even DiveMasters or certified Scuba Divers at all, as they seemed to fumble with the gear and constantly told me to "hang on" and "wait" when I had gear-related questions.

If it were not for the incredible recreational scuba divers who were guests on-board, and the awesome community that is the diving world, my experience would not have been nearly as wonderful as it was. I met an Australian software engineer, made another new friend from Oregon, another guy who's a former U.S. Marine but now a photographer, and an underwater researcher - and I love and cherish these newfound friendships. If you're anything like me, this experience of diving Channel Islands is a Bucket List item for you, and I paid close to $400 just for the boat + gear, not to mention additional cost of travel and hotel (easily a $1,000/day experience). So I was determined to have a great time despite the not-so-great experience. Henceforth, do yourselves a favor and find a PADI-accredited dive operation (this one is not) that cares more about diver safety...

Note that you are not paying for a guided dive. The dive masters all stay onboard during the dive, which is not explicitly stated on their website. Also no guarantee for 3 dives, which is miscommunicated on their website. They will not fill your tank for your last dive if you're cutting it close to leaving time. Parking is free at Ventura Harbor. The crew were all friendly and made the best of less than ideal conditions. It was extremely windy that day, surgy/strong current water conditions with maybe 20'-15' visibility. Food and snacks provided throughout the dives, which is nice. Four ways to exit the boat to dive, two by large stride and two by ladder entry. Crew does a safety check before you enter water. Ladder entry to get back onboard. Tank fills are on-board and quick. Dive sites are small and shallow (40' when you hit the sand). The crew said the site is behind the boat and there's pretty nothing to see out in the sand, so just stick to the rock piles by the island coasts. Saw many sea stars (one giant sea star, many orange and blue bat stars, one white spiny star..not positive on the identification here), many sea cucumbers, few lobsters, nudibranches, shark embryo sacs, kelp, abalone, urchins, various fish and schools of fish. Saw dolphins and flying fish in/out of Ventura harbor, which is always a bonus. For any new divers, I can't say I would recommend this trip just because of the lack of guidance. I prefer to have my first dive at any site I'm new to, to be somewhat guided--not necessarily because I absolutely need it (been diving for many years now), but that's what I was trained to do. I get that its not required in California, but it's at your discretion. Also there wasn't much additional information given about the sites even when asked. In all my diving experiences, the crew are usually super informative and can tell you which animals you may see, spots to go to to look for particular animals or whatnot, but wasn't really the case here. I feel like usually divers are enthusiastic in sharing dive information, even when they're total strangers, and enthusiastic about getting into the water to see cool things. We saw lots of cool animals on the trip diving and on the boat ride, but I personally wouldn't do this trip again.juat because cost-wise this was surprisingly about the same price as my first trip out to catalina island/casino point in Avalon, that is including a guide and gear, so I could definitely go back out to Catalina...

Very highly recommend these guys and would absolutely dive with them again.

I got my PADI certification almost a year ago and was looking for an affordable dive that would keep me in practice and perhaps have some guidance since I wasn't fully confident yet.

A friend suggested the Spectre boat dive in Channel Islands and I'm so glad I took her advice. Myself and 3 friends booked a trip. The price was reasonable and included full meals on the boat which had a legit bathroom and even a small hot tub to warm up between dives.

We embarked for the Channel Islands from Ventura at 7am. Breakfast on the way there with coffee and snacks all day. Upon arrival, they scouted the spot with the best visibility, filled our tanks, and off we went. At each spot we stopped, which were 3 total, they gave us an overview of the area, which direction they recommended going in, how the current was, and how long we had before we should be back on the boat. Each time, there was someone at the back of the boat to hand us our fins and take them from us when we came back on board. They kept watch to make sure everyone was good, and the day was very flexible. You could be first off the boat and last on if you wanted to, skip a dive completely, if you wanted to, we never felt rushed or pressured. Plus, the dive masters were very helpful. If we had any questions or asked for recommendations, they were there. They even helped me when my mask was majorly fogging on the last dive, worked their magic, and cleaned my mask so I was able to enjoy it.

Rentals were also super easy. I chose to rent my BCD and wetsuit from other company, as a I had a promotional credit. But I rented my weights and tank from these guys. All of their rentals are loaded on and off the boat for you, so all you have to do is show up. I even added my tank rental a few days before because I thought I'd be borrowing a friend's and that was no problem.

Did I mention, midday, you also get a full lunch, and you're greeted from your final dive with dessert and a cash bar for the...