Santa
Barbara IslandI had been diving around it for nearly 14 years when I made my first topside trip to Santa Barbara Island. The smallest of the eight Channel Islands (one square mile in area), it is one of the five included in the Channel Islands National Park and Marine Sanctuary.
My first topside visit was not encouraging. I came in the summer, aboard an Island Packers boat from Channel Islands Harbor in Ventura (Truth Aquatics now runs topside trips here, too). We were ferried to the island from the Jeffrey Arvid via a dinghy. First there was a climb up a metal rung ladder to the Landing Cove dock, then a one-quarter mile hike up a steep path to the top of the island. At that time a quonset hut functioned as both a visitor's center and the ranger's home; now a cement block building houses both. There is no water, no trash cans, no concession stand. You bring what you need with you and cart away any trash you create. There are chemical toilets and an area graded for camping near the building. Although anyone can tour the island at any time, if you want to camp you must get a permit (free) from Channel Islands National Park Headquarters. Santa Barbara offers five miles of hiking trails, which you can do on your own or with the ranger.
The
island was brown and dry. I was hot until I started hiking up Signal
Peak, from which I could see a couple of dive boats anchored near
Sutil Island, 635 feet below. I hiked as much of the island as I
could before it was time to leave. I departed feeling sorry for the
campers, hunkered down in their tents - a strong wind came over the
top of the island and whistled down upon them. I learned a lot on my
first visit, most especially that the prettiest time for topside
tours is April, after the winter rains, when the wild flowers, most
especially the giant coreopsis (sunflowers), bloom.
I returned twice more and finally, on my third visit, saw the island in its most glorious phase. Then it is alive with greenery and colorful flowers. While the island may not be particularly hospitable to humans, numerous seabirds, including brown pelicans and xantus murrelets, nest here and pinnipeds sleep, bask in the sun and breed at Elephant Seal Cove and the Sea Lion Rookery.
The pinnipeds are among the reasons Santa Barbara Island is a nature lover's paradise underwater. Until the 1980s, divers ignored the California sea lions that surrounded them when they entered the water at The Rookery, off the island's southeast side. We were game hunters, wary they might steal our catch. Now, however, divers delight in their antics. A few Octobers ago I watched in amusement as a free diving class conducted exercises just off the island. Watching eagerly - and participating - were at least a dozen sea lion pups. They, of course, were already far better than even the ablest human pupil! I have found snorkeling The Rookery much more productive photographically than diving it. When you're on the surface, the sleek, swift pinnipeds can only approach you from 180 degrees instead of 360. Typically, these are females and pups. They love to rush at you, turning away at the last possible instance and blowing bubbles. They also like to dive bomb human bubble blowers on the bottom. Have no fear; in 26 years of diving this spot I have never heard of anyone being bitten.
The Rookery is just one of many outstanding dive sites off Santa Barbara. Another is Arch Reef, which breaks the surface in a moderate swell. It is nearly three-quarters of a mile directly west of Webster Point. The sandy bottom under the Arch is 55 feet deep. The walls leading to it are home to purple hydrocoral, Corynactis anemones, lacy bryozoans, starfish, nudibranchs and various other colorful invertebrates. A crevice near the top of the arch is full of dozens of spiny lobster.
Sutil Island is not much more than a large rock, 300 feet high, off the southwest side of Santa Barbara. Diving usually takes place off its southeast and northeast sides in a thick kelp forest. Depths here are shallow, usually less than 50 feet. Marine life is prolific.
Elephant Seal Cove is between Webster (the island's westernmost area) and Arch Points (its northernmost area). Here, on a shallow, sandy bottom, seeing California sea lions is almost guaranteed. They turn somersaults around you as you descend, then lie on the sand and watch you with large, liquid eyes. Groups of three or more will often come by to check you out. Shag Rock, half as tall as Sutil Island and considerably smaller in area, is also surrounded by kelp. Depths are shallow, less than 60 feet.
Since Santa Barbara is part of the Channel Islands National Park and Marine Sanctuary, you may not take anything underwater that is not allowed by the California Fish and Game Laws (and, of course, you must abide by these rules if you take game). Also, no invertebrates may be taken in less than 20 feet of water off the eastern side of the island from Arch Point on the north to just beyond Cat Canyon on the south.
My favorite time to dive any of the Channel Islands is October. At Santa Barbara seal lion pups born in the summer are eager to check out human visitors. In the summer, however, garibaldi are defending egg-filled nests and, in the winter, lobster can be taken. And, all year-round the photographic possibilities are infinite.
