USCGC McCulloch (Point Conception, CA -- 300 fsw)

[Johnoly]

Congrats on the challenging dive. Lots of history there!

 

[Eric802]

Must be an amazing feeling, knowing that you were probably the first person to lay eyes on her since she went down.

 

[beldridg]

NOAA did visit the site, but it has been hiding in plain sight since the 1980s. The wreckage was imaged by sidescan sonar during the oil pipeline survey for the Point Arguello platforms and identified as the McCollough in the marine archaeology report submitted as part of the Environmental Impact Statement. While these reports are confidential, at least one of them was in the Santa Barbara County Planning Department library in the 1990s, since removed. The attached image is from that report. The wreck was not physically evaluated. Pipeline companies would have avoided the area entirely rather than done a costly site assessment

You have achieved an amazing feat. I wondered how long it would be before someone visited the site. If I am not mistaken, the site is now within the boundaries of the recently-established Chumash National Marine Sanctuary.

The ship played an important role in the maritime trade in Alaska for many years. Years ago I saw a few images of the vessel that had responded to the Novarupta volcano eruption of 1912 in a museum in Kodiak. I also saw a photo album in Seldovia that had images of the destroyers that went aground at Honda. Lots of connections between Caliornia and Alaska maritime trade in that era.

Wow, thanks for the detailed response and the sonar image. You can clearly see the "hitch" in the wreck site which I wasn't expecting when I was diving it and confused me for a second. I'm assuming the hull cracked when it sank bow first and hit the bottom.

It is within the Chumash NMS which I think it still not quite official yet (but I could be wrong). I think it is expected before the end of the calendar year.

There is an immense amount of ship(wreck) history in that area.

- brett

 

[beldridg]

Must be an amazing feeling, knowing that you were probably the first person to lay eyes on her since she went down.

Yes, for sure. It is part of the reason it has been at the top of my list for so long and why I didn't tell very many people that we were targeting it.

- brett

 

[covediver]

Discretion is best. I recall meeting people at a conference in San Diego a few years back who were locating sunken vessels, mostly fishing boats, off of Socal after research and sidescan surveys. It is a big ocean, small targets and most of the archival locations from wreck reports are too vague to be useful.
I know people vi
Were there any indication of hung up fishing nets on the vessel. Reports of fishing gear snags are a good start.

Have you heard of divers going to the Triple Crown an oil support vessel that sank between two platforms in the Channel around 1967 if I recall. A couple of marine tec students from SBCC did it in the early 1990s, I am not really plugged in much to diving in that area anymore.

 

[beldridg]

Discretion is best. I recall meeting people at a conference in San Diego a few years back who were locating sunken vessels, mostly fishing boats, off of Socal after research and sidescan surveys. It is a big ocean, small targets and most of the archival locations from wreck reports are too vague to be useful.
I know people vi
Were there any indication of hung up fishing nets on the vessel. Reports of fishing gear snags are a good start.

Have you heard of divers going to the Triple Crown an oil support vessel that sank between two platforms in the Channel around 1967 if I recall. A couple of marine tec students from SBCC did it in the early 1990s, I am not really plugged in much to diving in that area anymore.

Yes, there are definitely divers that go to the Triple Crown. It is on my "to-do" list. I should be able to dive it later this year if we get a window but likely next year.

The location is relatively well known. It is deep and in an area that can have heavy boat traffic but IMHO not as hard to get to and dive as the McCulloch.

- brett

 

[covediver]

I expect this will garner a lot of interest from the all different quarters.

 

[Kendall Raine]

Discretion is best. I recall meeting people at a conference in San Diego a few years back who were locating sunken vessels, mostly fishing boats, off of Socal after research and sidescan surveys. It is a big ocean, small targets and most of the archival locations from wreck reports are too vague to be useful.
I know people vi
Were there any indication of hung up fishing nets on the vessel. Reports of fishing gear snags are a good start.

Have you heard of divers going to the Triple Crown an oil support vessel that sank between two platforms in the Channel around 1967 if I recall. A couple of marine tec students from SBCC did it in the early 1990s, I am not really plugged in much to diving in that area anymore.

I dived it about half a dozen times in the mid-90's. Also did my TMX training dives on it.

 

[Jared0425]

Didn't the whole USS Monitor lawsuit basically resolved that sport divers have the right to dive these wrecks? So the location really shouldn't be secret.

It didn't really resolve anything. NOAA has a permit system that can be denied on any grounds for the Monitor. I think Gentile should have hit harder on the international waters argument.

On Monday I met James Delagado who ranted to me that all wrecks within 200 miles of the coast are owned and protected by our government. Let's see if that holds up in court.

 

[covediver]

It didn't really resolve anything. NOAA has a permit system that can be denied on any grounds for the Monitor. I think Gentile should have hit harder on the international waters argument.

On Monday I met James Delagado who ranted to me that all wrecks within 200 miles of the coast are owned and protected by our government. Let's see if that holds up in court.

I generally takes a preservationist point of view given my background but do not equate nonconsumptive diving with exploitation. Lots of folks outside of government seem to be looking. Technology has made it a lot easier but they seem to be spending a lot of their own money and time to look. That is a good thing, I think. It is not easy given the inaccuracies of wreck reports, newspaper accounts, after action reports. But all that is well in my past. California coastal waters are still hiding a lot of history as are the Great Lakes. Discovered that researching my great grandfather's life as a marine engineer on the Great Lakes years ago.