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