CaliforniaShips to Reefs, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit Public Benefit Corporationis proud to announce that its Board of Directors has approved for reefplan development, six new artificial reef projects. Work has alreadybegun on cleaning operations for the first of these projects, a 58 ft.former salmon troller, the Restless C II. The steel hulled ship, with adisplacement of 117 tons and height of 25 ft. from keel to the top ofthe superstructure, is currently slated to be the first ship topopulate the Ed Biaginni III Memorial Dive Park in Estero Bay, San LuisObispo County, approximately 1 mile N/W of Morro Rock. The Restless CII is currently owned by and located in the City of Morro Bay.
Inaddition to the Restless C II, work is also being coordinated on theGotham City, a 45 ft. concrete hulled sailboat with a displacement of30 – 40 tons. This ship is currently stored ashore by the Morro BayHarbor District, and has been described as a “bare hull”, ideal forreefing opportunities. California Ships to Reefs hopes to coordinatethe reefing of the Gotham City along with the Restless C II in the EdBiaginni III Memorial Dive Park, if logistics allow.
Two reefprojects have also been identified for the Southern California region,the first of which is the Ocean Harvest, a 50 ft. steel hulled kelpcutter with a displacement of 53 tons. The Ocean Harvest is owned bythe Wise family in Morro Bay, who are prepared to donate the ship for$1. Evaluations are underway to determine an appropriate location toreef the ship. The first option with very good potential is the CasinoPoint Dive Park in the city of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island.Discussions have begun with local officials to determine the viabilityof reefing the Ocean Harvest in the dive park.
The secondSouthern California opportunity results from a set of pier pilingswhich will become available as a result of renovations to the DanaPoint Harbor dock structure. There are approximately 1200 pilings whichwill be removed from the harbor dock as a part of renovations beginningin 2010. This renovation will continue through 2020, providing apotential consistent source of reefing materials which might be placedat a sink site near Dana Point Harbor that is currently in the processof being identified.
The final two projects approved by theCalifornia Ships to Reefs Board of Directors are vessels formerly usedextensively in the Alaskan king crab fishing fleet, the F/V Akutan, acrab processor, and the F/V Capelin, a refrigerated cargo vessel. Bothships are 166 ft. long with the Capelin displacing 421 tons, and theAkutan 380 tons. Due to the larger size of these vessels, deeper water(90 – 120 ft) in areas less susceptible to storm currents and surgewould be required for these reef projects. Both vessels are currentlylocated in Seattle, WA. Multiple sites are currently under evaluationfor these reefing projects.
For further information, contactPublic Relations Committee Chair Kevin Sullivan at (805) 551-8940, orvisit the organization’s website at www.californiashipstoreefs.org.
