Posted by Jon on April 01, 2005 at 08:48:56:
In Reply to: Redondo would be perfect! posted by Jason on April 01, 2005 at 08:03:24:
Major wrecks aside, I've always thought Redondo would be a great site for an underwater park, along the lines of Edmonds Underwater Park in Washington state:
http://www.ci.edmonds.wa.us/Discovery_Programs%20Website/Underwater_Park.html
http://www.dtmag.com/dive-usa/EdmondsUnderwaterParkWA.html
If you've ever been to Edmonds, you know what a great dive it is. A local diver, Bruce Higgins, has spent the past 35 years building an extensive series of artificial reefs out of whatever he can get his hands on -- abandoned boats, sewer pipes, telephone poles, cinder blocks etc., etc. The site has been a marine sanctuary since it was created and it is filled with monster lingcod (5 feet +) and cabezon, as well as giant Pacific octopus, wolf eels and other local critters.
(The only downside to the site is that it's next to a ferry terminal and the noise and vibration when the ferry comes in is rather disconcerting even if you KNOW you're inside the boundaries of the park. But at least they don't have seal bombs ;-)
Redondo would be an excellent site for this kind of attraction with good parking, easy beach access and a variety of depths to suit all divers. With all the trash that collects in Redondo Canyon, we're already halfway there....
Check out the reviews for Edmonds:
http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/USA_West/Washington/Edmunds_Park/