I'm sad to report that Santa Catalina Island's famous Casino Dive Park here in Avalon has been closed indefinitively as of today.
Avalon Harbormaster (and neighbor) Brian Bray told me this morning that the park had to be closed for an undetermined period because water quality experts from the Los Angeles County Health Department working with Santa Monica Baykeepers had discovered toxic carcinogenic chemicals leaking into the waters there from the historic Catalina Casino building. Until the precise source of these chemicals can be identified, the park has been closed to ensure the safety of the thousands of divers that use it yearly. It has been suggested that frequent divers there (such as myself) see their doctors and be tested for the presence of acetohydroxychloroquin in their blood.
Frankly I question the validity of these claims. I've dived there for decades and anyone who knows me realizes I'm in great health (well, physically at least). I think the real reason is due to the unusual schools of great white sharks that have been observed swimming the perimeter of the park. Several divers have turned up missing the past two weeks and it is believed they strayed beyond the buoy lines and were quickly snatched by the GW's. Apparently the resident sea lion population at the East End has declined so much in the past month that they no longer offer a reliable food source of these GW's, and they have turned to the more plentiful source of food at the Dive Park.
This second reason makes sense given the City of Avalon's long history of covering up the many great white and other shark attacks on divers in our waters. Can anyone say april fools?
Dr. Bill
Avalon Harbormaster (and neighbor) Brian Bray told me this morning that the park had to be closed for an undetermined period because water quality experts from the Los Angeles County Health Department working with Santa Monica Baykeepers had discovered toxic carcinogenic chemicals leaking into the waters there from the historic Catalina Casino building. Until the precise source of these chemicals can be identified, the park has been closed to ensure the safety of the thousands of divers that use it yearly. It has been suggested that frequent divers there (such as myself) see their doctors and be tested for the presence of acetohydroxychloroquin in their blood.
Frankly I question the validity of these claims. I've dived there for decades and anyone who knows me realizes I'm in great health (well, physically at least). I think the real reason is due to the unusual schools of great white sharks that have been observed swimming the perimeter of the park. Several divers have turned up missing the past two weeks and it is believed they strayed beyond the buoy lines and were quickly snatched by the GW's. Apparently the resident sea lion population at the East End has declined so much in the past month that they no longer offer a reliable food source of these GW's, and they have turned to the more plentiful source of food at the Dive Park.
This second reason makes sense given the City of Avalon's long history of covering up the many great white and other shark attacks on divers in our waters. Can anyone say april fools?
Dr. Bill
