Page 132 - California Diving and Surfing

ockfish are colorful, as are the anemones, of trips to the island year round, and camping
Rnudibranchs, and purple hydrocorals, amongst
many other lifeforms. Giant kelp grows around the
island, creating superb habitat. Commercial scallop, ers to Santa Rosa Island. In 1980, Santa Rosa
urchin, and abalone harvesting has long been part
of island history.
S anta Rosa Island is the second largest of
the Channel Islands of California at 53,195
acres (215.27 km² or 83.118 sq mi). It is part
of Channel Islands National Park.Highest
peak is Vail Peak, at 1,589 feet (484 m). Santa
Rosa is located about 26 miles (42 km) off the
coast of Santa Barbara, California in Santa
Barbara County. It is occupied by rolling hills,
deep canyons, a coastal lagoon and beaches
adorned with sand dunes and driftwood. The
Chumash, a Native American people who lived
in the Channel Islands at the time of European
contact, called the driftwood wima because
channel currents brought ashore logs from
which they built tomols (plank canoes).
T here are a variety of recreational activi-
ties to take part in on Santa Rosa Island,
including kayaking, camping and hiking. A
private boat charter company offers a number
reservations can be made through Channel
Islands National Park offices in Ventura, CA. A
year round charter flight service is available
from Camarillo Airport for hikers and camp-
Island was included within Channel Islands
National Park over the objections of Vail &
Vickers, which then successfully lobbied to
have the legislation stipulate that purchase of
their land would be the highest priority of the
Channel Islands National Park. Vail & Vickers
sold the island in 1986 for the appraised value
of nearly $30 million, which worked out to
around $550 per acre.
S anta Rosa Island, better known for lobster
hunting, is usually not an underwater
photography destination, due to better sites
at Santa Cruz or San Miguel, surge and lower
visibility. The marine life here is similar to San Point and more. The Island is also where the
Miguel. To the east lies nearby Santa Rosa
Island, another fine area to explore. Talcott
Shoals is a productive area for bugs and spear
fishing. Another favorite site is Bee Rock, a re-
mote pinnacle which is excellent for photog-
raphy and home to giant rock scallops.
he entire island is surrounded by ex-
T panses of kelp beds. Consequently, its
surrounding waters serve as an invaluable
nursery for the sea life that feeds larger ma-
rine mammals and the sea birds that breed
along the coastal shores and offshore rocks of
all the Channel Islands. Santa Rosa Island can
be quite interesting and fun where the marine
life is more like San Miguel Island. There are
much of the same things you would normally
see at San Miguel Islands such as large schools
of rockfish, huge sunflower stars, a colorful ar-
ray of anemones, scallops, and an abundance
of invertebrates, wolf eels, large lobsters and
lingcod.
O ther great dive sites are Bee Rock, East
End Pinnacles, Ford Point, Carrington
SS Chickasaw, a former WW II auxiliary trans-
port ship ran aground in 1962 at Cluster Point.
Then there is the Johnson Lee anchorage used
by charter boats out on multi-day trips.