About 100 miles offshore via a 12-hour dive boat journey, these banks are a challenging dive to a submerged island about 2 miles by 7 miles in size. Home to some of the biggest waves in California (even huger than Mavericks), the Cortez Banks waters can be calm if timed right, and you may be able to see up to 150 feet in the right conditions, with depths of 15 to 130 feet or more. Bull kelp, red sea urchins, nudibranchs, sheepshead, pink hydrocorals, even lobster, and schools of yellowtail and tuna can be spotted. cadivingnews.com