Once upon a time, there was a mystery platform...
A couple of divers mentioned that they had come across a submerged platform at Marineland. They had differing opinions about its location, so I began searching between the areas they each thought it might be.
I swam far offshore from the cove, making many attempts before finally coming across a tire in the sand. I scoured the area until I found a large, formerly floating dock, complete with a wooden deck. There was kelp growing on the deck and a huge halibut resting on it.
Over the next few weeks, I took other divers out there, attempting to lay cave line back to the beach so we could find it easily. That worked great until one day a diver with good intentions found a bunch of string someone left in the water and removed it. I had to lay the line once again.
Sometime later, a fishing boat snagged its net over the platform and dragged it eight hundred feet. It happened again later, moving it seventy-five feet. First Merry and I, and later Ocean Defenders Alliance cut nets off the platform. When Merry cut a section away, thousands of squid escaped, like smoke from a chimney.
After relocating it I began placing buoys on it so divers could find it. Three buoys were set over the years, and all three were removed. For now, it remains unmarked. To find it from shore, head 137° from the cove for fourteen hundred feet. I've done it many times, but without a buoy, it may be a bit difficult to locate it.
33°44.150N 118°23.438W
A couple of divers mentioned that they had come across a submerged platform at Marineland. They had differing opinions about its location, so I began searching between the areas they each thought it might be.
I swam far offshore from the cove, making many attempts before finally coming across a tire in the sand. I scoured the area until I found a large, formerly floating dock, complete with a wooden deck. There was kelp growing on the deck and a huge halibut resting on it.
Over the next few weeks, I took other divers out there, attempting to lay cave line back to the beach so we could find it easily. That worked great until one day a diver with good intentions found a bunch of string someone left in the water and removed it. I had to lay the line once again.
Sometime later, a fishing boat snagged its net over the platform and dragged it eight hundred feet. It happened again later, moving it seventy-five feet. First Merry and I, and later Ocean Defenders Alliance cut nets off the platform. When Merry cut a section away, thousands of squid escaped, like smoke from a chimney.
After relocating it I began placing buoys on it so divers could find it. Three buoys were set over the years, and all three were removed. For now, it remains unmarked. To find it from shore, head 137° from the cove for fourteen hundred feet. I've done it many times, but without a buoy, it may be a bit difficult to locate it.
33°44.150N 118°23.438W
