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Here is a shot of the wall at the Casino Point Dive Park, Santa Catalina Island, CA. It is supposed to keep lookie-loos away from the actual stair area so divers have clear movement. Doesn't always work that way as everyone seems to like to get "in" on the action.
View attachment 196093
How cold is it?
The stairs were added in 1997. Before that you had to scramble down the boulders of the breakwall. "Someone" began adding concrete to the boulders to make it easier to traverse with scuba gear. Sometimes the stairs get so crowded with snorkelers, classes and divers who can't seem to get ready before they reach the bottom step. I have gone around the stairs and entered the old fashion way and got some funny looks from divers who apparently had never dived before stairs were invented.I snorkelled there at age 18 in 1972. When did they build this up into a "dive park"? I do vaguely recall walking down some kind of staircase to the water and a fair bit of tall kelps. I found some dead Abalone shells and a couple of live Norris Top Shells, all of which are still in my collection. But that was 42+ years ago.