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Oil Rig Diving
Just off the coast of Southern California lies a unique habitat that is often overlooked, a remembrance of a once thriving industry strung along our co |
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Author |
: Mike Bartick |
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Date |
: November 02, 2009 |
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Just off the coast of Southern California lies a unique habitat that is often overlooked, a remembrance of a once thriving industry strung along our coastline. No, it's not shipwrecks or even kelp forests; I'm talking about our oilrig platforms.
The platforms themselves are perched high above the waterline for protection against California's rogue weather conditions. Supported by labyrinth of massive beams, pillars and pipe's, these are Herculean structures.
The pillars themselves jut up from the ocean floor, hundreds of feet below. Engineered to maximize on strength and stability, the pillars are interconnected by crossbeams in 45-foot increments.
The first rig on our stop today is "Eureka." The loud humming and hissing of the drill platform, the steel on steel banging and sea lion's barking make up the ambient sounds.
"This rig is constructed in over seven hundred feet of water," shouts our deckhand, we won't be throwing an anchor."
The entry is done from a boat with the engines at idle speed. We slowly approach the designated entry point as the last pieces of gear are donned. Timing is everything when your diving is exposed like this because conditions can change on a dime. The captain puts the stern into the perfect position and with military-like precision, we enter the water.
Cameras are handed down and after a few fin kicks I slip below the surface. The cobalt colored water embraces me like a cool blanket. WOW! The viz is unreal here today. I imagine flying through a submerged skyscraper but starting on the roof. Every pillar hosts communities of life, each crossbeam another floor. I can see the structure ahead, but I can't help to look straight down--the visceral light beams creating shadows below me and the feeling is incredible.
Kicking against a slight current and descending, I arrive at the first crossbeam, leveling off at about the 50-foot mark. Divers above and below, everyone sets off in different directions.
The structure below the surface is really something to behold. With a constant current blowing, however slight, pelagic larvae of all different types can find a home here. The shallower surgy spots are host to large mussels, giving way to corynactus anemones, bryozoans, brittle stars, sponges of endless variety, and much more.
I exhale and set off to explore the next floor. The first thermocline visually appears like a slight oil slick, a natural separation of the warmer water from the cooler water and as I pass through it, the temperature drops a good seven degrees. I am quickly reminded why I'm grateful for my drysuit. Below that first thermo-layer the water is notably cooler. The water has taken on a greenish haze and the penetrating light has dropped a bit. The green haze happens to be drifting food and plankton, a constant conveyor belt of passerby's. Some stick to the beams and grow, some are consumed, and others just keep cruising through on the current. Subsequently, the beams are loaded with life here, dinner plate sized scallops, various types of rockfish and cabezons.
My goal is to head on down to the second set of cross beams, somewhere around the 100-foot mark. Soon I begin to see the telltale signs of my depth, the milky white plume of the Metridium anemones. The beams down here are just loaded with life. Growth upon growth, nothing here is exposed. There are layers of sponge with scallops, brittle stars lacing through like stitching. Barnacles reaching out for food and quickly retracting, hydroids everywhere, big sea stars--and talk about nudibranchs! I have to resist the temptation of looking for nudibranchs as I am shooting wide-angle today. Note to self: repeat dive with macro lens.
Resting at the second set of beams near a corner, I'm looking out and around. This is a really cool opportunity to see the unexpected, perhaps sharks, Mola-Molas, jellies -- who knows, anything is possible.
From my position I can see the next crossbeam below me, and I can see the one above me, even through the haze of the thermocline. I have never been below the third set of crossbeams but the allure is always there.
Looking up I am stunned by the clouds of Blacksmith, countless in numbers swaying back and forth, silver and shiny then black and back again. A sea lion darts through the mass. My buddy is shooting video, cruising and catching the motion. Big sheephead are out here, too. Occasionally, you might even see some barracuda.
My bottom timer beeps away and lets me know that its time to start my ascent. Cruising through the tightly packed pillars, again I'm reminded of a skyscraper, cruising through the hallways. Back through the thermocline and into the blue, clean clear water. My body begins to warm up as the sunlight blasts through the surface. Here I can see divers on opposite sides of me at least 50 feet away on both sides. Visibility is 80-100 feet. With all of this light I decide to shoot ambient. I crank my D300 up to ISO 2000 and let the shutter fly.
As I approach the end of this dive I am reminded of this dive site's open ocean location. The surface is 20 feet above me and I'm already rockin' n' rollin'. I kick out and away from the structure to alleviate that problem, again staring down into the deep blue and behold a stingray 40 feet below. What a way to wrap it up! The boat backs it up and we clamber back on board. Incredible. Everyone is excited and chattering away, and this was just the first dive of the day.
Photo ops out here never stop, whether you're shooting wide or macro, video or still.
There is always a host of creatures that live within this massive vertical reef system. The wildcard here are the passerby's. Southern California is home to many oil platforms, starting from Santa Barbara down and into the Huntington Beach area. If you would like to take a run out to explore them for yourself, I recommend a local charter.
Remember safety first and have fun!
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