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Eureka - Oil Rig
 Long Beach, CA
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Max Depth: Over 150ft/46m
Average Viz: 51-60ft/16-18m
Entry Type: Boat
Bottom Composition: No Bottom
Aquatic Life: Plenty To See
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Summer: 61-65°F/16-18°C
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The Oil Rigs off of Long Beach are the closest you can find to tropical diving in California. Since the bottom is 650 ft. deep, there is no sand to get stirred up. Access is only by boat, and it is a live drop, making it difficult in rough or windy conditions. Diving the oil rigs are considered an "advanced" dive because there is not bottom, requiring good control of buoyancy, and because a current can easily take you out to sea if you are not careful. Eureka is the furtheset Rig from the Long Beach shore and generally has the best visability of them all. There are many sea lions living on the rigs who will join divers to play. Schools of various fish are common as well. Lucky divers may also see large jelly fish and Mola Mola’s. The beams are covered in strawberry anemone, barnacles, and white plum anemone, various nudibranch, as well as scallops. The scallops are harvested by the oil rig crew, so many dive boats will tell divers to not take any game.
Story on ScubaDiving.com
