Dive Site - Historic Anchor
Welcome to Crystal Cove! There are a couple of interesting points here. Parking is located best across the street. You'll be able to walk a trail to get to the beach, but going by boat is always the best. For this dive site, though, you won't need a boat.
Sitting in about 18' of water is the first of three historic anchors. This anchor is from an 1850's schooner that weighs about 2000lbs!
If you want to find all of the anchors, you'll find the first west of the muddy creek area and the other one on the west end of rocky bight (by the cottages). These are both considered the "Admiralty style" of anchors representative of California maritime history. They were designed in approximately 1841.
Both of these anchors sit in their respective areas underwater. The muddy creek anchor was actually taken from San Fran harbor and transferred down in 2003 for another viewing area in the cove.
There is a third anchor known as a kedge anchor, but it is located near cottage #00 out of the water.
Use caution when entering and exiting the water. Waves can make this a tricky shore dive. There is a life guard stand at this location, so make sure you ask the lifeguard about the water conditions before you enter the water (if they are present). They are there for your safety and well being while conducting in-water activities! For added safety, make sure you have a Surface Marker Buoy (SMB), a knife and an underwater light to check out the little critters hiding among the reef!
This location is not in the Marine Protected Area, but most folks respect this area for fishing.
At this location, you will find Sheephead, Garibaldi, Senoritas, Bat Rays, Sand Bass, Sculpin and much, much more!