Eureka Platform sits in around 500 feet of water which makes it an oasis in the ocean desert. After getting permission from the platform thanks to the help of Captain Mike (is it a rule that all Captains get renamed Mike?) of the supply vessel Isabel El, we staged two dives here and the general consensus was that it was well worth the skiff ride. There is a very definite vertical line as you descend where the mussels leave off and the anemones take over at about 30 feet. There is also a marked difference between the life on each of the legs which presumably is due to differing light conditions and water movement. Some legs were covered in strawberry anemones, others in the white metridium. In amongst the anemones were barnacles and small amounts of kelp, sponges and corals.
Read MoreAfter two dives on Farnsworth we went closer to the island and dove Indian Head Point where we had a balmy 59°F at the surface dropping to 56°F at 70 feet. The visibility was low, approximately 10 feet but there was so much to see that it was not a problem. Swimming through the trunks of kelp was like walking through a forest at twilight in the mist. The kelp “trees” would appear out of nowhere and there were sea fans of multiple colours all over. Probably the most exciting part of the dive was the sea hares. Large, black and everywhere.
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