Advice for diving Cortez Bank in United States

My friends Lyle and Doug talked me into going to Cortez Bank. They called and said the swell was below 3 feet and no wind. This is the time to dive Cortez. A long overnight run in my 34'diesel trawler, the 100-mile run got us there at sunrise. There was a buoy on the highest spot and with a little sounding we soon were anchored up swell to the shipwreck.

It is a concrete ship, so the holes and edges have rebar sticking out all over. There is some surge, and the rebar can get you. It is easier to get into the engine room, however, we were given instructions on how to enter the bow. There was a 30" hole at the sandy bottom. The rebar was an issue so we pushed our game bags ahead of us. Inside of the bow it was pitch black. The ship was built like a pile of boxes about 3 feet square. Every box was lined up shoulder to shoulder with 2-lb lobsters! You didn't need a gauge for these. You just said, "I'll have that one and picked it up". Getting out the hole with the heavy bag I managed to puncture a bladder in my BC. I put air into my BC to head up but couldn't get off the bottom? Only in 30 feet I kicked my way up and found my friends already aboard. We put 21 lobsters in a cooler on deck with a water hose running into it.

A long trip home found us stopping near San Clemente Island for a few hours. The Marines chased us off after a while and we finished the ride home. This had become a 24-hour run. It also became one of the greatest dive trips of my life in one day.

If you want to go. First it is 100 miles offshore and 50 miles from any land. The waves can be 60 feet with a swell. The wind can blow the sea state into an ugly mess. Start by watching the NOAA Bouy reports, long range weather and the San Diego multi day fishing reports. (They go there for Tuna) Don't go there unless your boat is equipped with everything, and it all works, including dive injury first aid. You are on your own out there, however, there won't be a crowd..

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