Dale Sheckler

Hidden Treasure Right Offshore

Why do we do it? I’ll tell you why I do it—at least one of the main reasons. I get to see things and places few do. The Pacific Ocean laps at the feet of 15 million people in the Los Angeles area alone. Yet, only a minuscule amount of these people have ever seen what lies beneath. We divers are the privileged few.

I like taking friends and family down to the Redondo Pier for dining out. Inevitably, I will find myself at the pier’s apex telling them about the wonders that lie beneath the ocean’s shroud. They are fascinated and unaware of the underwater canyon just offshore or the wreck that lies perched on the edge of the canyon, the Palawan. To the south, I point out the area of the sunken pier and beyond that the magical underwater forests of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Another sunken pier, another sunken ship; they just don’t know the wonders right here. To the north, off Santa Monica, is another wreck, this one dating back to WWI, yet another sunken pier, and more kelp wonderlands. And this is just the Santa Monica Bay! They just don’t know.

If it is daytime and the air is clear, you can see to Catalina Island. While most locals are familiar with Catalina, I have seen many jaws drop when they are told there are EIGHT islands in all off the Southern California coast, five of which are part of a National Park—the closest to the Los Angeles metropolitan area, but most area residents do not even know it exists.

We are indeed privileged to know of and have explored even just a few of these wonders. What do we do with this knowledge? Share it. While we need not become evangelists for diving, people knowing about the underwater wilderness right at our feet will make more intelligent decisions with regards to their actions that would affect the local ocean—from street littering and pollution to wisdom in voting properly in areas that affect the ocean.

Share the story of the wonderful underwater wilderness that is so, so close at hand.

We'd like to hear from you! Email us at mail@saintbrendan.com, fax 310-792-2336 or write P.O. Box 11231, Torrance, CA 90510. Unfortunately, due to the high volume of letters received we cannot published all submitted. Please try to submit your letters in a timely matter. Deadline is the 5th of the month preceding the issue month. Please limit your letters to more than 200 words. Long letters are subject to editing.