Advanced divers and up
Is it worth the trip?
62Good out of 100 for your dates
2 days tie for best
Mon 2 · 65 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.9 m
- Wind
- 3 kn
- Gusts
- 7kn
- Air
- 21°C
Tue 3 · 60 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.1 m
- Wind
- 11 kn
- Gusts
- 16kn
- Air
- 19°C
Wed 4 · 42 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.3 m
- Wind
- 19 kn
- Gusts
- 26kn
- Air
- 20°C
Thu 5 · 63 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.0 m
- Wind
- 8 kn
- Gusts
- 12kn
- Air
- 22°C
Fri 6 · 63 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.0 m
- Wind
- 6 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Air
- 22°C
Sat 7 · 62 out of 100
- Sea
- 1.1 m
- Wind
- 1 kn
- Gusts
- 6kn
- Air
- 24°C
Sun 8 · 65 out of 100
- Sea
- 0.8 m
- Wind
- 5 kn
- Gusts
- 10kn
- Air
- 24°C
Tap a day for sea, wind and water. Full forecast
Forecast: next 10 days
Full forecast- Sun 168, good
- Mon 265, good
- Tue 360, good
- Wed 442, poor
- Thu 563, good
- Fri 663, good
- Sat 762, good
- Sun 865, good
- Mon 965, good
- Tue 1064, good
The site in five facts
- Down to 12 mits deepest
- From a boathow you get in
- Advancedand up
- Water 17 °C7 mm wetsuit and hood
- Faces SWswell from there reaches it
Full forecast
every day, every number
The score doesn't know currents, the visibility on the day or your certification.
Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. Scored for Advanced divers.
| Day | Score | Sea | Wind | Gusts | Air |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 1Nov | 68, good | 0.9 m | 18 kn | 26knboats in | 19°C |
| Mon 2Nov | 65, good | 0.9 m | 3 kn | 7kn | 21°C |
| Tue 3Nov | 60, good | 1.1 m | 11 kn | 16kn | 19°C |
| Wed 4Nov | 42, poor | 1.3 m | 19 kn | 26kn | 20°C |
| Thu 5Nov | 63, good | 1.0 m | 8 kn | 12kn | 22°C |
| Fri 6Nov | 63, good | 1.0 m | 6 kn | 10kn | 22°C |
| Sat 7Nov | 62, good | 1.1 m | 1 kn | 6kn | 24°C |
| Sun 8Nov | 65, good | 0.8 m | 5 kn | 10kn | 24°C |
| Mon 9Nov | 65, good | 0.9 m | 1 kn | 7kn | 23°C |
| Tue 10Nov | 64, good | 1.0 m | 4 kn | 7kn | 20°C |
Sea is the waves near the site, in metres; wind and gusts in knots. "Boats in": gusts that keep dive boats in. More
Tide
- Sun 1 NovHigh 04:03 +0.3 mLow 08:10 +0.1 mHigh 14:04 +0.6 mLow 21:41 −0.9 m
- Mon 2 NovHigh 04:51 +0.4 mLow 10:04 −0.1 mHigh 15:37 +0.5 mLow 22:39 −0.8 m
- Tue 3 NovHigh 05:29 +0.6 mLow 11:21 −0.3 mHigh 16:59 +0.5 mLow 23:29 −0.8 m
Local clock times; heights about mean sea level. On open coasts the times are usually within a quarter of an hour; in bays, estuaries and on the Gulf of Mexico they can be an hour or more out. Slack water, the safest time to dive where there is current, is about half an hour either side of each high and low. Tide: EOT20 global ocean tide model, Hart-Davis et al. 2021, DGFI-TUM (doi:10.17882/79489), CC BY 4.0. Times and heights computed by us. A model, not a tide table: check a local table before you go.
Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.
Best time to go
No month stands out
Good diving days in a typical week, each month, for Advanced divers, from 2016 on (ERA5 history scored the same way).
- Jan7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Jan
- Feb7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Feb
- Mar7of 7: a trip from Sat 6 Mar
- Apr6of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Apr
- May7of 7: a trip from Sat 1 May
- Jun7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Jun
- Jul7of 7: a trip from Sat 3 Jul
- Aug7of 7: a trip from Sat 7 Aug
- Sep7of 7: a trip from Sat 4 Sept
- Oct7of 7: a trip from Sat 2 Oct
- Nov7of 7: a trip from Mon 2 Nov
- Dec7of 7: a trip from Sat 5 Dec
Tap a month to see this spot for a trip then.
Typical, not a forecast: the sea and the mean wind of each day, with no gusts or rain in the history.
Map
the site and its town
S.S. Chickasaw on Google Maps · Directions
Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.
The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.
One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
About
the place in full, sources, credits
About S.S. Chickasaw
A wreck dive. It goes down to 12 m. You get in from a boat. It suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it. The coast faces SW: swell from the SW reaches it, and wind from the NE blows out to sea. No dive centre within 50 km on the map: book a liveaboard or a boat from further off. The sea is about 13°C in April, its coldest month (7 mm semi-dry or a drysuit), and 18°C in August, its warmest (7 mm wetsuit and hood). No town nearby. Nearest beds: Isla Vista, 62 km. Nearest airport: Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA), 64 km.
- What it is Wreck.
- How deep Down to 12 m.
- Getting in From a boat.
- Who it suits Suits Advanced divers and up, as a dive guide states it.
- Dive centres No dive centre within 50 km on the map: book a liveaboard or a boat from further off.
Water about 17°C: 7 mm wetsuit and hood. Typical sea temperature for the time of year, not a forecast.
Visibility about 8 m. Typical for the time of year, estimated from ten years of NASA satellite water clarity, not a forecast. Clearest in Jan, Feb, Jul, Aug, Sep, Nov and Dec (about 10 m).
The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).
Rough cost (estimate): about US$750–US$1,420 each
about US$750–US$1,420 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, hire car, food.
Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.
How we worked it out
| What | How we worked it out | Each |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | return ORD to SBA, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bag | about US$255–US$529 |
| Hire car | 6 days, shared | about US$154–US$255 |
| Food | 7 days eating out | about US$342–US$636 |
| Total | about US$750–US$1,420 |
No town nearby, so no stay is in it. Guided dives are not priced yet: we have no sourced price, so it is not in it. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.
Where to stay: nearest beds 62 km away
No town nearby
Nearest beds: Isla Vista, 62 km. Nearest airport: Santa Barbara Municipal Airport (SBA), 64 km.
See places to stay near Isla Vista, 62 km away · Booking.comDistances are straight lines: a site out at sea is reached by boat.
Getting there: about 7h 50m
About 7h 50m door to door from Chicago
Fly ORD → SBA, direct, then 1h 25m by road
Flights ORD → SBA on your dates · Skyscanner
An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.
In the water
Dives and courses in S.S. Chickasaw · GetYourGuideDive gear hire in S.S. Chickasaw · GetYourGuide
Dive centres nearby
No dive centre mapped within 50 km.
Dive centres: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Credits
What you might see
Animals divers and surveys have recorded within 2 km of this site in the last 15 years. A record says someone saw it here, not that you will.
Bat ray Myliobatis californicaRay
Seen in 527 records, mostly Aug to Oct.
Bat star Patiria miniata
Seen in 2352 records, mostly Nov.
Red sea urchin Mesocentrotus franciscanus
Seen in 1937 records, mostly Nov.
Anthopleura sola
Seen in 1812 records, mostly Nov.
Purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
Seen in 1802 records, mostly Nov.
Oxyjulis californica
Seen in 1449 records, mostly Aug to Oct.
Sebastes mystinus
Seen in 1448 records, mostly Aug to Oct.
Cribrinopsis albopunctata
Seen in 1353 records, mostly Nov.
Warty Sea Cucumber Apostichopus parvimensis
Seen in 1273 records, mostly Nov.
Pisaster giganteus
Seen in 1144 records, mostly Nov.
Blacksmith Chromis punctipinnis
Seen in 1142 records, mostly Aug to Oct.
Bodianus pulcher
Seen in 1120 records, mostly Aug to Oct.
Records: OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, IOC-UNESCO), from the datasets named here, CC0 and CC BY records only. Names: WoRMS, through OBIS; common names from Wikidata. Largest datasets here: PISCO fish transects; PISCO swath transects; cfceb150-bbe2-4efb-8682-14cfc7167e7c; MARINe CBS - Quadrat Surveys Summarized; MARINe CBS - percent cover from point contact surveys. Credits
This week: visibility about 20 m, clearer than usual (satellite plankton reading, 24 Oct). Estimated from the month's typical visibility and this week's satellite chlorophyll against the site's normal; heavy rain before a dive can still muddy it.
The current no free forecast gives. Ask a dive centre before you book.
Saved: this link opens the same trip
The link holds the trip itself: nothing about you is kept. Check the forecast again before you book.