A 75-foot diving vessel named the Conception caught fire Monday while anchored off Santa Cruz Island, prompting a multi-agency effort to find and rescue 33 missing people believed to have been on board, authorities said.
An unknown number of people are believed to be dead, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
At the time of the fire, the boat was scheduled to be on a Labor Day trip that started at the Santa Barbara Harbor on Friday night, then was expected to head to San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, Anacapa and the Santa Barbara islands before returning to the harbor at about 5 p.m. Monday, according to vacation planning website, Worldwide Diving Adventures.
The boat, which is based in Santa Barbara Harbor, can carry up to 46 people and has a large upper deck area, a built-in barbecue grill, bunkbeds, bathrooms and showers, according to its’ specifications page on the website of Truth Aquatics, a Santa Barbara scuba diving operation.
The Conception is equipped with a fixed CO2 engine room fire suppression system and an emergency radio beacon. There are also rafts and jackets for 110 passengers, according to the website.
The Los Angeles/ Long Beach Coast Guard station overheard the “gargled” mayday at about 3:15 a.m. Monday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
My life is slowly starting to come back to normal; I looked at the swell maps this morning and it was all dark blue around Palos Verdes.
There was no way I could talk my way out of a dive, so I arrived promptly at 8:00 AM at Terranea Resort.
A bunch of other divers were gearing up and said that the conditions looked spectacular.
I’m still trying to get used to my order of operation with my new car and the fact that I can’t get my key wet.
I need to take all my diving gear out, and then lock my car before putting my keys into a waterproof case and then into my pocket.
I forgot my mask, so I had to un-wetsuit (that is a word, right?) and fetch my mask from the car.
Well, when I realized I left my hood in the car, I said, “Fuck it, I’m macho and going anyway.”
Chipper, Nice Bob and Joe R. were in attendance, along with about two dozen other divers from various clubs and groups.
I forgot how pleasant the walk to the beach is from the parking lot.
It was low tide, so I decided to go off the Cove; the water was as flat as a lake.
After tripping on some rocks and making the most ungraceful entrance into the water ever, I dawned my fins and headed towards the finger outside of Pigeon Shit Cave.
Fuck! My camera housing started to fog over – my underwater pictures were doomed.
Logged SCUBA Dive #510
Solo Diving
Terranea Resort, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
In With: 3000 psi Out With: 1500 psi Max depth: 40 feet Waves: Flat as a lake, pretty much Visibility: 15-20 feet depending on where you were. Water Temperature: 61 degrees at depth Air Temperature: 74 degrees Total Bottom Time: 36 minutes
I submerged and headed towards 120 reef.
My camera lens fogged over with condensation – I should have put a “do not eat” in it; My pictures were fucked.
Why does condensation accumulate around the lens, and not the other parts of the waterproof casing?
I reached 120 reef; vis was 15 to 20 feet, but a bit silty.
I looked up, and out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw another diver.
It was a great white shark!
Well, I think.
It was probably three or four feet in length and looked just like Jaws, except for an incredibly big, disproportional back fin.
I honestly, don’t know what else it could be, but what a shitty time for my camera to be screwed up.
Yeah, this is how my shark picture turned out – just like my UFOs and Big Foot pictures.
I made an easy, slow tour around 120 reef.
I saw a lot of small fish and the Sheephead are definitely coming back.
I have extreme guilt for shooting all the sheephead that I did back when I started to hunt.
Yeah, their meat is really good, but there is no sport in the hunt – shooting a Sheephead is like shooting your own dog.
After a little over a half an hour, I headed back in to a sort of macho exit.
The debriefing begins.
The extremely distinguished Chipper and Nice Bob.
Joe R. brags about the fame he will receive when this picture is posted on my blog – one of the top 700 Southern California SCUBA Diving Blogs!
That’s me on the right – a little fatter and a little older, but I’m back!
Chipper pointed out that President Trump must have bought Terranea Resort, as their swamp is most certainly drained.
Debriefing consisted of Budweiser – the King of beers, some Russian beer, someone’s homemade ginger ale and some chips and dip.
There was a bottle of Russian “non-alcoholic beer” that was given to me.
I politely declined, but was later told, “It’s Russian beer, of course it has alcohol in it, it’s just made for non-alcoholics.”
