San
Nicolas IslandSan Nicolas is one of the smallest of the eight Channel Islands, larger only than Santa Barbara and Anacapa Islands. Only eight miles long and about three and a half miles across at its widest point, it is the farthest from the mainland, more than 60 miles offshore. Via charter dive boat, it is reached only after a seven-to eight-hour ride.
I learned San Nic was the setting for an award-winning novel, The Island of the Blue Dolphins, only after I'd been diving there for a decade or so. In the book, Scott O'Dell tells the story of a young Indian woman who was somehow left on the island in 1835 when all the rest of the Nicoleno Indians are moved to the mainland. She lived there alone, with only wild dogs for company, for 18 years. She was finally rescued and brought to the City of Santa Barbara, but lived only a few weeks. She is buried on the grounds of the Santa Barbara Mission.
The novel is fascinating reading, not only because of Juana Maria but
for the history of the island and its Indian inhabitants. It had to
have been a difficult existence. San Nic gets only about eight inches
of rain a year and the northwest winds that whistle across it at
about 18 knots are rarely absent.
San Nic has been owned by the U.S. Government and under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Navy since 1933. It contains a large Navy base, which includes tennis courts, a racquet ball court, a movie theater, a bowling alley, a recreation center and a 10,000 foot runway. The island is off limits to civilians.
Until fur traders eliminated them in the late 1800s, sea otters were plentiful off San Nic. A highly controversial program transplanted 139 otters from Monterey on the island between 1987 and 1990. Only 16 remain. About half swam back to Monterey, some died, and many are unaccounted for. At the time of the transplant, divers and fishermen worried that the otters would ruin San Nic's abalone/lobster fishery; little did we know humans could decimate the abalone population all by themselves.
San Nic has always been one of the least dived Channel Islands because it is so far offshore. As a result, the island was legendary for the large red abalone and spiny lobsters it produced. Although it is illegal to take abs here now, San Nic is still most heavily dived during lobster season. And, since ocean flattening Santa Ana winds usually occur in October and November, lobster season is also the best time to visit Nic.
Most of the island is exposed to the elements; Dutch Harbor is the
only semi-protected anchorage. And, since it's a Pacific Missile
Range, anchoring is prohibited in many places. Thus, if the weather
isn't good, few charter boats will risk going there. Most of the
sites are unnamed. Boat captains simply choose spots that look good
on the depth sounder and drop anchor. Except when it's flat calm,
swells, surge and limited visibility are the rules, not the
exceptions.
The Boiler is the island's most famous dive site. Off San Nic's west side, The Boiler's rocks break the surface in only a moderate swell. Big bugs are consistently found here by those willing to brave the washing machine-like conditions.
One of my all-time favorite dive sites is eight miles northwest of San Nic's west end. Out in open ocean, Begg Rock was named for the schooner, John Begg, which ran into it in 1824. There is no wreck here, however, the Begg was patched and sailed back to the mainland. The area known as Begg Rock contains several pinnacles, only one of which rises above the surface. Another pinnacle, with a broad, flattened top, comes within 15 or 20 feet of the surface. Since it is covered with Metridium senile anemones, you'll know you're over it when the bottom glows white beneath you. Other areas of Begg are covered with green aggregating anemones, still others with Corynactis in many pastel hues.
Begg was first dived in 1965 and was once a giant scallop diver's heaven. Plate-sized rock scallops were so numerous divers could have a limit (10) in 10 minutes. Since it is estimated only one in four trips scheduled for Begg actually make it (the weather has to cooperate) the site still has scallops, but they are no longer as large or as numerous as in the past. A better reason for visiting Begg today is macro photography. Washed by nutrient rich currents, it is home to myriad colorful invertebrates and fish of all sizes.
Really good visibility at Begg is rare. Twenty feet is a good day.
Although Begg drops off to at least 240 feet, there is no need to go deep here; choose a depth and peruse it carefully - there's plenty to see. If it's flat calm, stay shallow and hope you get to make a second dive at this very special site. Who knows? It could be years before you get out here again.
If you've got a dive trip planned to San Nic or Begg, go with a boatload of good friends, a good book or both. Charter dive boats usually leave at 9:00 or 10:00 p.m. the night before in order to be there at 6:00 or 7:00 a.m. While you'll sleep most of the way there, it's a long trip back!
