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Baby senoritas hover in the kelp.
Ship Rock is considered on the best dives on Catalina island. Located a couple miles offshore of Isthmus harbor and the town of two harbors, its a popular destination of dive boats when the conditions are right. A large rock covered with bird droppings signifies the dive site.
Large kelp forests surround the rock, in depths of 20-50ft. Large schools of senoritas and blacksmith live here, along with kelpfish, baitballs, yellowtail and barracuda in the summer months. The remains of a small wreck are scattered about the shallow parts of the dive site.
Going deeper, rocky structure brings you down from 50-100ft. Lingcod, cabezon, blue-banded gobies, lobsters and horn sharks are common here.
Search the kelp fronds at 60-100ft for nudibranchs during the spring. Yellow zooanthid anemones, found at 70-90ft depths, also make great photo subjects. Angel sharks and bat rays are often found in the sand at 100ft depth, or deeper.
Strong winds will make it difficult for boats to anchor here, and if don't see kelp at the surface, that can indicate strong currents below. watch you depth, as the bottom drops from 150ft and deeper. Thermoclines can bring cold water deeper even when the shallows are warm. During calm conditions, early in the morining, ship rock is guaranteed to please all divers.
Diving Level: Intermediate
Marine Life: good at all depths
Photography: Great for macro (below 50ft), and wide angle (kelp, schooling fish, angel & horn sharks)
Depths: 20ft - 135ft
A baitball of mackeral swim by under the sun.
Zooanthid anemones, found at deeper depths at Ship Rock.
