Striking it rich

Garden of ellen: a diver swims past Corynactis anemones, schooling blacksmith fish and various invertebrates – hydroids, urchins, scallops and mussels – on the Ellen rig at 12m All photos by Scott Gietler Pinniped passers-by: Californian sea lions around the Eureka rig Sit and wait: a cabezon (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus) rests among brittlestars and anemones on a crossbeam on the Elly oil rig at 25m Above: the legs of the Eureka rig Below: a male sheephead drifts by an orange featherduster worm and Corynactis anemones on oil rig Elly Pacific sardines school around Eureka Map of San Pedro Bay

The metal structure of the oil rig towers above us as the boat pulls close. ‘One, two, three, go!’ yells the skipper. This is a live boat dive, with no anchoring, and we are slowly drifting towards the rigs. On the command, everyone must jump in within 30 seconds so that the boat can get clear of the structure before it collides with it. My buddy and I swim forward 10m at the surface until the structures are immediately overhead, then we descend. This is going to be special.

There are three diveable oil rigs off the coast of Orange County, California: the twin rigs of Elly and Ellen, which are connected by crossbeams at the surface and whose legs reach down 77m to the sea bed; and Eureka, where the maximum depth is 212m. All lie about 15 miles offshore. Constructed in 1984, they are active working rigs and currently pumping oil. Diving them is strictly by permission only, and leave is usually only given to commercial dive boats. Boats cannot anchor or tie onto the struts, and no anchoring is permitted, hence the ‘live’ entry is obligatory. Today, I am diving under Elly and Ellen.

As we descend through beautiful blue water to 15m, we expect to see the structure of the oil rigs around us. But instead, we can barely see anything. Thick walls of schooling fish surround us in every direction; we can scarcely see through it.

The underwater sections of each rig consist of several vertical columns extending down to the ocean floor, connected by a series of horizontal and diagonal beams at different depths. Every inch of the structure is covered with life. Anemones, scallops, worms, mussels and brittlestars all compete for space. Most of these invertebrates are brightly coloured, making stunning backdrops for photography. You could spend an entire dive just looking at one small spot… but there is so much else to see.

However, seeing much of anything is difficult when you have three large schools of polarised sardines and jack mackerel surrounding you. It is as if the rig, the sea and the fish are one giant, pulsing organism, so all I can do is dive in and see what happens. Suddenly, the sardines separate as four sea lions dart through the school, trying to pick out a straggler. Below me, a cormorant swims by, a small fish in its mouth. I’m actually surprised not to see more predators around the rigs, as the sheer biomass of food would be sufficient to feed an army of fish-eaters.

We dive deeper below the schools of fish, and I notice that the diagonal columns of the rigs are brilliantly covered in yellow, orange and red anemones. Large scorpionfish known as cabezons lie on these columns, guarding their eggs or scoping for potential mates. One of them has a large mass of eggs coloured in four different hues, the result of different females fertilising different sections of the egg mass. But just as the fish are infamous for their toxins, so the eggs are similarly protected from predators. No fish will eat cabezon eggs.

The deepest point of my dive is at 30m, where the marine life is even more unusual. I find a cluster of giant white metridium anemones, with large schools of rockfish surrounding them. Nudibranchs crawl over the brittlestars, feeding on a multitude of hydroid species. Blue lingcod, 1.5m long, swim off into the distance. This is the ‘inner space’ that so many divers speak of, a strange yet magnificent place completely alien to our normal lives. It is the dive of a lifetime, but I’m not finished yet.

For the next dive, we move to Eureka, whose legs descend 212m to the sea bed. Thanks to this deeper water, Eureka often has clearer visibility than the twin rigs, generally between 20m and 30m. The rig is structured differently, with fewer crossbeams but more vertical beams. This makes it the favourite choice for some wide-angle photographers, who deem the vertical beams to be more spectacular. Enormous schools of baitfish can appear under any of the rigs, but people seem to think they are more common under Eureka.

Different sections of the rigs harbour different life. One area under Eureka has multiple nests of garibaldi, the bright orange state fish of California. Under Eureka, I find 25 garibaldi together, the most I’ve ever seen in one place. To my left, a thick school of baby blacksmith emerges, their yellow tails glistening in the sun. Pelagics such as dolphin, mola mola, yellowtail and bonito can occasionally be seen as you pass by the rigs on the way back to the boat, and pulsating comb jellies and pelagic tunicates pass by at the whims of the currents.

In addition to panoramic views, the rig is home to dozens of nudibranch species, and spectacular invertebrates such as red and orange featherduster worms. Ferreting around in the structure, I find purple sabellid worms, orange colonial tunicates, and brittlestars of every hue. You could dive the same rig dozens of times and discover something different each time.

After exploring the deeper structure of the rigs, I usually like to rise up to 10m and swim with the schools of baitfish and sea lions along the edges of the structure. Sea lions swim by at lightning speed, sometimes coming close, but usually shyer than their siblings at the nearby Channel Islands. This is also a good place to keep an eye out for pelagics cruising by. It’s tempting to chase the fish into the open blue water away from the rigs, but their structure also offers a degree of safety for divers, as we benefit both from the visual points of reference and protection from ocean currents.

When my final rig dive comes to an end, my buddy and I surface inside the structure. The skipper motions for us to fin away from the rig so that we can get picked up without any danger of a collision. A couple of juvenile sea lions accompany us to the boat, perhaps hoping for a handout from the crew. Today the current is gentle, but sometimes it can be a tough swim. Back on the boat, the other divers are in high spirits, having experienced one of the eastern Pacific’s most unusual and most rewarding dives.


A home to hide in
Juvenile fish can be easy prey, so they like protection. Oil rigs offer the perfect refuge for a large number of rockfish, whose numbers in California have dropped substantially over the last few years. A dozen species of rockfish can easily be seen on the rigs during a dive, and large schools of juveniles tend to congregate around the 30m mark. With so many strictures protecting the oil rigs and limiting fishing activity around them, they have become de facto marine sanctuaries, providing a breeding ground and nursery for several species.



Need to know

When to visit
Diving is excellent all year round, with visibility ranging from 15m to 25m. There are occasional plankton blooms in May and June, reducing visibility to 10m. The largest bait balls are seen in the summer and autumn. The weather is usually sunny, with some occasional rain from January to late March. The rigs mentioned here are a 50-minute boat journey from both San Pedro and Long Beach, California.

Water temperature
Generally 10–16°C in the winter and spring; 14–19°C in the summer and autumn. Thermoclines occur at depths of between 15m and 25m. A 7mm wetsuit or drysuit is recommended.

Hazards
Strong currents are common at the surface, usually around the full moon. Divers are instructed to stay within the confines of the structure for protection. Good buoyancy skills are essential due to the ‘bottomless’ nature of the sites. Surges can sometimes make safety stops difficult. All divers are required to carry a safety sausage. If you must grab the structure, be careful not to place your fingers inside an open scallop.

Dive boats
Three dives are generally done in one day, with breakfast and lunch served on the boat. The third dive can also be done on a local wreck in the San Pedro Bay.

Sea Bass
Maximum 12 divers; nitrox available
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Web: www.diveseabass.com

Second Stage
Maximum six divers; nitrox available
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Web: www.secondstage.net

Sundiver
Maximum 24 divers
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Web: www.sundiver.net