Six New Projects - California Ships to Reefs

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captainkevin

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Here is the text from a press release issued by California Ships to Reefs earlier this week. Please note that only the 2 Morro Bay projects are in work. The other 4 have been approved for review (resources to begin permitting, etc.).



CALIFORNIA SHIPS TO REEFS ANNOUNCES SIX REEFING PROJECTS

California Ships to Reefs, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit Public Benefit Corporation is proud to announce that its Board of Directors has approved for reef plan development, six new artificial reef projects. Work has already begun on cleaning operations for the first of these projects, a 58 ft. former salmon troller, the Restless C II. The steel hulled ship, with a displacement of 117 tons and height of 25 ft. from keel to the top of the superstructure, is currently slated to be the first ship to populate the Ed Biaginni III Memorial Dive Park in Estero Bay, San Luis Obispo County, approximately 1 mile N/W of Morro Rock. The Restless C II is currently owned by and located in the City of Morro Bay.

In addition to the Restless C II, work is also being coordinated on the Gotham City, a 45 ft. concrete hulled sailboat with a displacement of 30 - 40 tons. This ship is currently stored ashore by the Morro Bay Harbor District, and has been described as a bare hull ideal for reefing opportunities. California Ships to Reefs hopes to coordinate the reefing of the Gotham City along with the Restless C II in the Ed Biaginni III Memorial Dive Park, if logistics allow.

Two reef projects have also been identified for the Southern California region, the first of which is the Ocean Harvest, a 50 ft. steel hulled kelp cutter with a displacement of 53 tons. The Ocean Harvest is owned by the Wise family in Morro Bay, who are prepared to donate the ship for $1. Evaluations are underway to determine an appropriate location to reef the ship. The first option with very good potential is the Casino Point Dive Park in the city of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. Discussions have begun with local officials to determine the viability of reefing the Ocean Harvest in the dive park.

The second Southern California opportunity results from a set of pier pilings which will become available as a result of renovations to the Dana Point Harbor dock structure. There are approximately 1200 pilings which will be removed from the harbor dock as a part of renovations beginning in 2010. This renovation will continue through 2020, providing a potential consistent source of reefing materials which might be placed at a sink site near Dana Point Harbor that is currently in the process of being identified.

The final two projects approved by the California Ships to Reefs Board of Directors are vessels formerly used extensively in the Alaskan king crab fishing fleet, the F/V Akutan, a crab processor, and the F/V Capelin, a refrigerated cargo vessel. Both ships are 166 ft. long with the Capelin displacing 421 tons, and the Akutan 380 tons. Due to the larger size of these vessels, deeper water (90 120 ft) in areas less susceptible to storm currents and surge would be required for these reef projects. Both vessels are currently located in Seattle, WA. Multiple sites are currently under evaluation for these reefing projects.

For further information, contact Public Relations Committee Chair Kevin Sullivan at (805) 551-8940.
 
Good to see this posted here, Kevin. We are reviewing the Ocean Harvest as a possible addition to the Casino Point dive park's "wreck alley." I think it has potential to become not only an interesting physical feature, but an educational one as well with the addition of signage outlining the history of kelp harvesting in California and the many commercial uses for the sodium alginate extracted from the harvested kelp.
 
The Ocean Harvest is a fine vessel and I believe will make an excellent artificial reef. We have made an amazing amount of progress in preparing the Restless C II for its new life as a reef. Have yet to start on the Ocean Harvest but will be starting soon. There is still a great deal of work needed and we still need volunteers if anybody is willing to help.

Contact Sam Larkin at Sam.Larkin at ccs2r.org for information on work parties.

Jeremy
 
captainkevin,
we have highly detailed bathymetry data (~1ft resolution) of the whole Avalon UW Park Area ... and outside too .... from the Valiant to the Rocky reef way outside the park.

If you let us know the approximate location where you intend to sink the The Ocean Harvest, we could quickly create a virtual site so anyone can see the floor composition there.

Let me know if we could be of assistance.

Best Regards
 
Thank you so much for your offer! I can't tell you how much we appreciate the help of everyone around the dive community. I have forwarded the information off to the Ocean Harvest project leaders.
 
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