Unkown wreck outside Avalon Harbor

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Klems

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Location
San Diego, CA
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Hey guys, long time lurker, but my first post on here. I've been certified since I was 15 at Beach Cities Scuba (Dana Point is my hometown), but finally got around to buying my own gear and I am very happy I waited to get some good stuff.

Over the past few years, I have been increasingly interested in the shipwrecks off our coast and since the summer I've been buying every book and doing as much research as I can without buying a $10,000 side scan sonar.

I was looking through NOAA's AWOIS data on California looking for anything interesting below Los Angeles, I ran across this story:
USS20Vincennes20Obstruction_zpsde4eaaad.jpg

Hmm, that's interesting, positive "hit" on an unidentified wreck. That doesn't happen too often. So I charted it in my google earth database.
Avalon20Harbor20Obstruction202_zpsa6fcab4b.jpg

Next, I went and looked at the NOAA chart of the island/harbor area. And it is definitely a charted wreck.
Avalon20Harbor20Obstruction_zpsbb4523ef.jpg

Most recently, I've been looking at the data from the California Seafloor Mapping Project and turned up this:
AvalonWrecksMultibeam_zps07e43540.jpg

Although most of the data I've been looking at is not at a high enough resolution to determine wrecks, I got lucky with this chart overlay and clearly shows the Valiant off Descanso Beach and the mystery wreck I've been looking for. This is a much bigger wreck and I'd probably say on the order of 300'-400' from comparing the size of Valiant.

Too bad the wreck is in 37 fathoms (222 ft) of water and outside the realm of recreational dive limits, but does anyone know what vessel this is outside Avalon harbor?
 
Last edited:
There is a barge near there. That could be what is on the chart. I saw this video and wondered how long this sailboat has been down. The page states that it's been down a year, but it's way too clean. Looks more like a month.
 

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