Damage to wrecks at Casino Point

I was diving Casino Point yesterday (Sun. 09-26), and noticed something I'm fairly sure is new. As those of you familiar with Casino Point know, the wrecks of the Kismet and the glass-bottom boat are located at the bottom of one of the buoys that mark the dive park's border. When we were there on Monday, I took this picture of what appeared to be a lot of fresh damage to the wrecks, seemingly caused by the buoy chain, which looks new. Did they just change the chain out and make it too long? I'm almost certain the wrecks weren't damaged like this the last time I dove them in mid-August. I'm kind of torn about it. I hate to see the wrecks damaged, but I'll be the last to object to buoy maintenance. I'd hate to catch a boat propeller in the head just because the park's borders aren't clearly marked.

I also had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Bill. I was climbing up the stairs, saw him standing at the top, and recognized his face from the photo on his avatar. I briefly introduced myself, but didn't have too much time to talk. Despite his "Dive dry with Dr. Bill" slogan, I'm fairly sure that was a wetsuit he was wearing. Dr. Bill, (assuming that you read this) I'm guessing that you were taking advantage of the pleasantly warm water this time of year?

Pleasure meeting ya at the Park!

Damage to the wrecks, especially the Pisces (glassbottom boat), has accelerated over the past few years. It is a Navy surplus aluminium hulled vessel so it is more subject to damage than a steel hulled boat. Personally, it has been sad to see the Pisces deteriorate since I spent some time on it in the very early 70's before it crashed against the breakwater. The owner was a friend of mine and there were some great parties on it in our youth.

Certainly the chain is accelerating the damage. The wrecks should be well inside the buoy, but for some reason the chain was moved further inshore within the last year. A few of us here have talked about it. Hopefully the chain will be relocated now that summer season is over.

Just to clarify, I never "dive dry" myself (until I complete my "sweep" of the continents by diving Antarctica). I'm strictly a wetsuit kind of guy. The "Dive Dry with Dr. Bill" refers to the readers of my wekly newspaper column, or the viewers of my daily local cable TV show. They can experience the underwater world from the warmth and comfort of their easy chair... not wetsuit required. One of my goals in addition to my scientific research is to make non-divers more aware of the unique species and systems that exist below the surface.

Best fishes,

Dr. B