Artificial reef in Los Angeles ?

[Hollywoodivers]

The rest of the world is having all the luck with artificial reefs so why can't we. This Project was spawned by the success of the Yukon wreck in San Diego.
"The last meeting was a milestone" reports Bill Strong of Sunken Treasures Society of California. They are now a 501(c)3 non profit organization. The meetings have been attended by Various boat captains around Los Angeles and many concerned divers who want to help. They have been in contact with CA fish and Game and M.A.R.A.D.

We need a site says Bill Strong. A few sites are being surveyed around the LA, South Bay Area. Then the vessel, hopefully something big will be aquired. Taxpayers are paying to keep these boats afloat. Let's use them to bring something back to the diving community. These vessels could provide new sites within a 20 minute boat ride from San Pedro or King harbor.

Call us at 323 969 9800 if you want to know more or if you can help the program reach it's goal of sinking one to five new vessels within the next ten years. Their are plenty of ships to sink but much red tape to cut through. Halhttp://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/data/1169/thumbs/IMAG0776.JPG (http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=32434)

[Jim Lapenta]

Wait for the next big one and there will be a really big artificial reef. Seriously though, my son is headed to the Presidio for 68 weeks. I'd like to visit him and get some dives in. Monterrey sounds great to me but I've never been to L.A. and if they sink something off the coast there it would give me a reason to go.

[PhotoTJ]

I happen to know that a ship that I was stationed on is available, the USS Francis Hammond, FF1067, is available. Be pretty cool to dive in my old rack.

[drbill]

I'm not a big fan of wreck diving, but applaud the effort to create an artificial reef from one of these mothballed vessels since it will enhance interest in diving SoCal. Besides, maybe we could do some science to observe the way it becomes encrusted with critters!

[dpbishop]

The San Diego Ocean Foundation, http://www.sdoceans.org/programs/arti_reef.php , who organized and ran Project Yukon, have a volunteer program to monitor the growth of life on the ship.

Getting another ship sunk could be a really tuff sell for the Coastal Commision, when they approved the Yukon they said they did not want to start a precedent. One commisioner said she did not want to see the oceans being turned into a recreation center. (Hello???)

Congress mandated the disposal of 400 warships in 1995, and a study by the Rand Corp. suggested that artifical reefs were the most cost effective method, but congress has been slow to get on board.

It took over a year and tens of thousands of volunteer hours to prepare the ship to both safe for divers and safe for the environment. A lot of hazardous stuff had to be removed, holes cut and everything cleaned, but I think the San Diego dive community would agree that it was worth it.

If your serious about it, try to contact Dick Long through the SDOF, he was the driving force behind the project and can point you in the right direction.

[MaxBottomtime]

I agree that a new ship would attract divers and fishermen, but we had several artificial reefs in Los Angeles already as well as more than a thousand shipwrecks, most of which are never visited by the commercial boats. With the millions of dollars the Queen Mary loses each year, I would love to see the owners cut their losses and donate it to the Coastal Commision. Sink that sucker off Palos Verdes and you instantly have wreck diving in technical and recreational depths, plus an artificial reef larger than any other.