Cortes & Tanner Banks

Located nearly 100 miles offshore in the open Pacific, Cortes and Tanner Banks represent the pinnacle of Southern California offshore diving adventure. Remote, demanding, and wildly rewarding, these legendary underwater seamounts rise abruptly from the depths, creating some of the most dramatic underwater topography on the West Coast.

Diving Cortes Bank is considered an advanced open water experience and places divers among an elite group of accomplished watermen who have explored one of California’s most challenging and iconic offshore environments. Known worldwide for exceptional lobster diving and encounters with powerful pelagic species.

Cortes and Tanner Banks are home to yellowtail, bluefin tuna, schools of baitfish, sharks, and seasonal migratory species. Strong currents, deep blue water, and dramatic structure create an environment that challenges even experienced divers.

For spearfishermen and freedivers, Cortes Bank represents the ultimate proving ground. Success here is earned, not given. Those fortunate enough to land a target species from these remote banks wear the accomplishment like a badge of honor.

When conditions align, few places on earth rival the raw beauty and adrenaline of diving Cortes and Tanner Banks.