Truemors
You've heard about shipwreck diving., but now it's becoming more mainstream. there are about a dozen large shipwrecks of the Palos Verde coast alone. Recently discovered was the USS Pawlan, at a depth of 140 feet. This can be a very dangerous journey. At such a depth it is easy for divers to get lost and the deeper you go the more quickly you loose your air.
Gini, 47, has a notebook filled with sonar charts, topographic maps and drawings he's sketched of the shipwrecks he regularly dives. He's been diving the Palawan for 20 years and still hasn't seen every room of the 441-foot ship built for service in World War II that lies off Redondo Beach.
The most popular South Bay wrecks are the Olympic and the Avalon, which are big and accessible and good spots to see lobsters, squid, octopus, crab, rock fish, horn sharks, star fish and anemones. The Avalon spent 31 years taking passengers from San Pedro to Catalina Island.
To Wilson, leaving these sunken treasures to decay in the harsh saltwater would be a crime to California's nautical history. And with strong Pacific currents and heavy wave action, stuff doesn't last as long here as it would in the Caribbean or the Great Lakes.
As prohibited by California law, divers are not allowed to tamper with shipwrecks. That is a job for archaeologists, and any wreck more than 50 years old belongs to the state and could therefor be confiscated by state authorities. Regardless of this law, there are those who believe that it's not "right" "natural" or "normal" to leave the shipwrecks to whither away at the bottom of the sea.
California Wreck Divers, which has about 200 members, is also working to increase the number of shipwrecks in local waters by supporting efforts to sink a retired Navy vessel.
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