Sundiver Charters

Captain Kyaa Heller, formerly of the Sundiver Express, had to surrender her boat operator credentials after she left a diver in the water. The diver is presumed dead.

Might want to read these before you book:

Awesome and professional operation, Kayaa has an intimate knowledge of her dive sites and helps make your dive as best they can be.

Dove with Kayaa on ⁶⁄₄. Was a great trip. Food was good & staff was very thorough on checking everyone’s gear for safety & roll checks at start and end of each stop. Very knowledgeable of the area and kept boats from entering the diving area.
I suppose the negative review from today was from the person parked in our dock when we returned who didn’t want to leave. Not the fault of our captain as they were parked illegally.
Would definitely dive again and again with this crew. I highly recommend them.

The woman captaining the Sundiver Express was extremely rude and unprofessional. She was yelling and screaming at drivers of other boats and was making the patrons on her boat and everyone around her extremely uncomfortable.

Awesome time with amazing sites. Each site was very different and so beautiful. Captain Kayaa and team were awesome and made sure to keep us safe from nearby fishing boats and such. This is my second time with them and I will definitely be back again.

I love The Sundiver Crew Captain Kyaa makes you feel safe and right at home. This is for sure my #1 favorite group to dive with in Los Angeles.

Great local dive boat, what else to say. Capt. Kyaa is very nice person (that gets very firm when it comes to diver safety). Plans for the day are never set in stone, it is always as flexible as it gets to give you the best possible experience. It might happen sometimes but I never heard of trip cancellation due to too few divers signing up. I have been on a trip with 5 (yes, five) divers aboard and trip went as planned on a large boat (Express was in for maintenance and Sundiver II out on a trip) even though, I am sure, payments barely covered fuel cost. Day begins different from most other boats because captain starts with «survey» of the divers on what goal everyone has in mind for today and sites are chosen based on «best fit» for today’s group. We never were told to «we are staying in the same spot for the next dive» unless conditions were really great and everyone (or most) wanted to explore it some more. So, no «cattle boats» in my experience on Sundiver.

I had an incredible experience on Sundiver express with Kiyaa and her crew! It was my first boat dive and they made me feel at home. Safety is their priority and they spend a lot of time and care catering to your needs during the dive.
So many skilled divers on the boat w me. I was a Newbie (just got my Pari open water two weeks ago) and everyone was so helpful!
I recommend them to everyone! I was referred and invited by Steve Millington.
The location is a little tricky to find using GPS. It’s at the end of Marina drive just to the right of the Alamitos Bay sign.
I can’t wait to go again!

Great dive trip. I had not been diving for 20 years. Kyaa and Joe were great in helping me regain my confidence. I had an amazing dive aboard the Sundiver Express. Can’t wait to my next adventure with them.

Love diving the Sundiver with Jules and Capt. Ray! The express is a super fast boat and got us to Catalina quickly. Capt Ray knows all the best spots on the island.
You definitely get your moneys worth with this crew.
Thanks Jules for putting up with all our antics!
We will be back soon!

I’ve been out on Sundiver to Catalina a few times and have always had a good experience. Captain Ray and Jules are great. They are very protective of the divers onboard and make sure other boats don’t get too close. They always find dive spots with great conditions. There is plenty of food throughout the day. I have friends who rented gear from them and didn’t have any issues with the rental gear. Overall, very fun diving.

An enjoyable snorkeling and diving day on the near side of Catalina Island. Staff was friendly and food was plentiful. Great visibility and warm water.

Myself and 8 other family members had a great time on Aug 15, 2015. The Captain, Joe and deck hand Brett were very nice and accommodating. Sundiver has donuts and coffee for you on the ride over. Sodas are there for you all day long and a nice lunch of ham, turkey and roast beef platter for you to make your own food.
The boat is not overly crowded and is in nice shape. We left promptly at seven and we’re back to the dock around 4 PM. They never rushed anyone in or out of the water and a good time was had by all. This is the second time that we have used sundiver.

This was my first time on the big Sundiver with Captain Jules… I had such a great time… They made me feel like part of the family.
I want to thank Jules, Ray and Olga for a great time.

Capt. Kyaa is energetic and very helpful. And really knows the great dive sites. One star off because we we late back to shore on Saturday. Probably was because the boat was much too full with dive classes.

I had a complete blast on the Sundiver and with Captain Kyaa and her crew. This dive excursion was going to be my first dive in the open water after just getting certified the weekend before. I was very nervous, but Captain Kyaa and her crew eased that anxiety ten-​fold.
Also, as a spanking new diver, I greatly appreciated all the advise and tips Captain Kyaa and the lead deck hand/​diver master, Brent, provided to me that day. Because of them, I’m a much more confident and better diver. I highly recommend this charter if you’re ever contemplating doing dives around the Catalina Islands.

As an avid diver, I’ve taken advantage of most of the dive boat operations in southern California, and the Sundiver is by far my favorite. Captain Kyaa is professional, helpful, friendly and efficient. She runs a tight ship and employs top-​notch divemasters. As soon as you step on one of her boats, you will be impressed by the organization and quality of the operation. She accommodates divers of all levels from basic open water classes to hunters to technical divers who want to go DEEP. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of southern California’s dive sites from the Channel Islands all the way down to San Diego. If you take the time to chat with her (and you should), you’ll find her full of knowledge about marine life, marine history, and diving in general. She’s a highly experienced diver and instructor herself, and provides great diving advice when asked.
Kyaa gladly fulfills diver requests for specific sites, and her extensive knowledge of the area allows her to quickly redirect to a better site if conditions are lacking at one site. Sundiver provides weight (hard and soft) and tanks (LP85 and AL80s) so you don’t have to carry the heavy stuff down to the docks yourself if you don’t want. Sundiver also can rent gear if you provide them notice and let them know what you need. I’ve never rented gear from them myself, but I have used their tanks, and can attest that they are quite well-​maintained; I assume the same is true of their rental gear.
Kyaa’s top instructor — Sherry Thorpe — is also awesome. She’s exuberant and friendly with a sharp sense of humor. She’s a fantastic instructor — I’ve watched her with classes and spoken to former students of hers who all rave about how great of an instructor she is. Whenever she’s aboard, the boat seems more lively.
Finally, the food is always awesome!
Bottom line — if you’re looking for a GREAT dive trip, get on board one of the Sundiver boats!

Yesterday I took my 2 sons and a friend of my older son on the Sundiver Express. The trip itself was absolutely the best dive off Catalina I have ever had. The visibility was excellent and the boat and crew were also.
Captain Kyaa was very friendly, and patient with every customer on the boat. She took the time to explain each site, and offered lots of tips to each of us. We learned alot. The 2 boat-​hands were also VERY good.
There was at one time a small boat fishing too close. Kyaa didn’t hesitate to yell at them as there were divers underwater.
We were feed very well. Warm breakfast sandwiches and other pastries as we boarded. Plenty of liquids.
BTW, to those who commented on the boat head. Its fixed. They just put a new toilet on board.
Sundiver Charters, the Captains and Crew, are the professional and attentive to the needs of everyone.
There was one lady who upon boarding said is there a dive master I can dive with?
Along California coast, dive masters ARE NOT included in base price as personal escorts. She didn’t like that, but Kyaa was still sensitive and sent along one of the deck hands with that lady to keep her happy. That was way above the call of duty. And she didn’t ask for any more money, etc.

I’ve done 3 live-​aboards on the Big Sundiver and been on all 3 Sundiver boats. Captain Ray, Jules, Ricky, and Kyaa are all first-​rate, professional and very knowledgeable. They always do their best to put us on the best sites that conditions allow and are very cognizant of the safety of their divers.
The big Sundiver is slow and steady and, unlike nearly any other boat in SoCal, pumps nitrox.
The Sundiver Express is fast and can get you to Ship’s Rock in just over an hour. It’s big enough to sprawl out on between dives for some R&R and opens up some of the further out dive sites such as Santa Barbara Island and San Clemente.
The Sundiver II is fast and fun but bring all your own air (or reserve tanks from them) as there’s no compressor on board.
Good dives everyone!