| At the southern-most tip of the USA is beautiful | | | | go before it can compete with its older |
| San Diego, California -- my home town and a | | | | companions as a showpiece of densely populated |
| playground for every water sport from skiing, | | | | cover.The Ruby E, a 170-foot Coast Guard cutter |
| sailing and surfing to fishing, snorkeling and scuba | | | | resting in about 70 feet of water, was covered |
| diving.As a scuba diver you'll find an exciting | | | | bow to stern with brilliantly colored Corynactis |
| variety of marine life in Wreck Alley, in various | | | | Californica anemones only a few years ago. But |
| kelp forests and in La Jolla's massive underwater | | | | being one of the most beautiful sights for scuba |
| park.The park combines La Jolla Submarine | | | | divers' eyes brought so much scuba diving traffic |
| Canyon and Scripps Canyon, an underwater | | | | that some of the life has disappeared. Yet you |
| treasure of marine life including some of the more | | | | can still drift through the wheelhouse and be |
| bizarre creatures among us.The valley of this | | | | absolutely dazzled by thick growths in a stunning |
| huge canyon system is about 1600 feet down. Its | | | | array of colors. Be sure to bring a light.Then |
| steep walls rise into two branches just made for | | | | there's the kelp cutter Del Rey and several |
| convenient scuba diving access from the beach at | | | | smaller wrecks, all with much more growth than |
| either the La Jolla Cove or La Jolla Shores.At the | | | | the others because of lighter scuba diving |
| La Jolla Shores side you can start at the foot of | | | | traffic.Now if you want to feel like you're on an |
| Valicitos Street and swim to the buoys that mark | | | | underwater highway, be sure to visit the |
| the canyon's upper reaches. Better be pretty | | | | Ingraham Street Bridge at about 60 feet down. It |
| skilled at swimming in surf. Otherwise, take a | | | | was demolished and dumped here in the '50s or |
| scuba diving charter boat out of Mission Bay.By | | | | '60s to make way for a new bridge in Mission Bay |
| the time you've descended to about 30 feet you'll | | | | Aquatic Park. Now with some 50 years of cover |
| be at the Scripps Canyon rim and its precipitous, | | | | it has become more like a natural reef with |
| narrow walls that plunge ever deeper toward the | | | | abundant growths of kelp, fans and algae, great |
| abyss. Be very careful here because the dropoff | | | | colonies of filter feeders and all the marine life |
| is nearly vertical at some points, often involving | | | | that comes to nibble.Finally, there's NOSC Tower, |
| overhanging walls.Visibility is good but variable due | | | | thanks to a 20-foot wave that dealt a fatal blow |
| to upwellings and occasional strong currents. | | | | in the dark of one 1988 winter night. For three |
| Winter water temperature is in the 50s; summer | | | | decades the NOSC Tower had served as a |
| water gets up to the high 60s and sometimes | | | | research platform off Mission Beach for the Naval |
| low 70s.Scuba divers and scientists alike have | | | | Electronics Lab and the Naval Ocean Systems |
| made the La Jolla and Scripps Canyons one of the | | | | Center. Now it's a twisted mass of steel covered |
| most-studied undersea environments in the world. | | | | with anemones, mussels and star for fabulous |
| You can see the prestigious Scripps Institution of | | | | scuba diving in a world of stunning color. Bring a |
| Oceanography and pier from any point along the | | | | light for the show and a sharp knife for the fishing |
| La Jolla coastline. La Jolla Canyon's fan valley was | | | | line and rope that you're likely to find.Bring your |
| the site of the world's first deep oceanic drillings, | | | | camera too, of course, for a great photography |
| where core samples were retrieved from | | | | dive. Visibility averages 15-25 feet and by the |
| thousands of feet below the sea floor in 1961.15 | | | | way, hunting is not wanted here.You can reach |
| minutes south of La Jolla is Wreck Alley, about a | | | | this great scuba location on such Mission Bay |
| mile off Mission Beach. Here you can explore | | | | charter boats as Blue Escape (619-223-3483), |
| artificial reefs created by eight sunken ships and a | | | | Dive Connection (619-523-9282) and DiveQuest |
| couple of unlikely structures that got there by | | | | (800-303-3483).Copyright MBPCO 2006 and |
| both accident and intent.The latest addition is the | | | | Beyond. Elizabeth Miller is a professional freelance |
| 366-foot Canadian destroyer Yukon, which was | | | | copywriter for Miller Direct, and a general partner |
| intentionally sunk here in about 100 feet of water | | | | in Miller Bridges Partners. Here's where you'll see |
| during the year 2000. The Yukon still has years to | | | | more about scuba diving. |