Oil Rigs & Wrecks 7/21/12

Channel Islands Dive Adventures has the Pacific Star chartered for a single day trip to dive the southern oil rigs (Eureka, Elley & Ellen) and a possible wreck dive (hopefully the Olympic II) on Saturday, July 21, 2012. Diving the oil rigs can be an awesome experience on any day and being able to do a wreck dive on the same trip only makes it better

The plan is to board at 6:00am Saturday, July 21st (or after 8:00pm on Friday night) and depart at 7:00am with us probably doing a dive on the Olympic II first and then ending with two dives at the oil rigs.

Diving the Olympic ll can be a fun dive with good conditions or challenging with poor condtioins. Visibility can be anywhere from a few feet to 50’ plus. She is an iron-hulled three-masted sailing ship and she sunk on the morning of September 4, 1940. She sits on her starboard side in 100 feet water and relatively intact with the bow standing some 30 feet off the bottom. All though there is no penetration diving on the Olympic ll there are still hazards to be aware of and even more so when the visiblty is poor.

Diving the oil rigs Eureka, Elley and Ellen can be an awesome experience. Eureka (about 700’ deep) is the furthest out of the 3 and in most divers opinion it is the best to dive. Then you have Elley and Ellen (around 260’ deep) which are not far from Eureka and are about 8 miles out of Long Beach. Elley and Ellen are connected together by a bridge making them more into an oil rig complex. What makes an oil rig so much fun to dive is the amount of life that has called the legs and cross braces home plus you then have the schooling fish and sea lions swimming around the structure. The rigs legs and cross braces are covered with things like nudibranches, anemones ( including metridiums), lots of fish like rockfish, Cabazon and sheephead, brittle stars and more. The rigs are photographer’s dreams come true. The visibility can vary depending on conditions and depth from 20’-100’. Generally the best vis is 60’ or deeper.

This trip is best suited for intermediate or advanced divers that have experience in cold water conditions including; current, swell, possible limited visibility and deep water. The wrecks visited are unique and interesting and inherently have more hazards and will not necessarily have the best dive conditions. Most importantly, good buoyancy control is needed and surface signal tubes are always recommended.

Trip Details

Where: Pacific Star to the wreck of the Olympic II and then on to Eureka, Elley & Ellen oil rigs
Depart from: 22^nd Street Landing, San Pedro
When: Saturday, July 21, 2012
Time: boarding at 6:00am Saturday, July 16th (or after 8:00pm Fri. night) and departing at 7:00am.
Cost:*$110.00 ($10.00 extra per person for a stateroom bunk)includes, 3 dives, meals, air and reserved bunks (bunk layout)
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The Pacific Star is 65’x 22’ and is a 1^st class dive boat. It is known for its fun & experienced crew, excellent service (they even carry your gear to and from the parking area), large sun deck, nice bunks with semi-staterooms and good food. Partial pressure mixed Nitrox (32%) is available for an additional charge. o2 clean tanks are required. Tank fills are to 3000 psi.

*The Pacific Star also supplies free use of their steel 72′s if needed and they can be filled with nitrox, the only thing you pay for is nitrox fills. There is no charge if you use them and use air only. If you wish to use their tanks you MUST call in advanced to reserve one.

All trips on the Pacific Star include food, snacks, drinks & air.

The Pacific Star is located at the 22^nd Street Landing in San Pedro. Passengers are responsible to arrange for their own scuba equipment including weights and 1 tank and rental equipment is available if needed, including underwater -cameras, video and propulsion vehicles. Please do not forget proof of your Scuba Certification, it is required. For more information about the Pacific Star, visit their website at www.pacificstardiving.com .