San Diego city officials have revealed plans to add another ship to ‘Wreck Alley’, the nickname given to an underwater recreation area off the California coast.
The city intends to sink a Canadian destroyer, the HMCS Annapolis, in the popular dive area some time next spring. The Annapolis would join the HMCS Yukon, another Canadian ship sunk there in 2000. Wreck Alley comprises about 450 acres, and draws divers from every part of the globe.
The practice of deliberately sinking ships to create artificial reefs is common throughout the world, because reefs bring fish and unusual creatures to parts of the sea they would never otherwise visit. Bill Powers, who is president of the Power Scuba diving club, said he thought sinking the Annapolis would do great things for tourism, noting that many people already come to San Diego to dive on the Yukon. The Annapolis is similar to the Yukon in size and shape – she is 366 feet long, built in 1963, the decommissioned in 1996.
Wreck Alley comprises about 450 acres, and stretches from Pacific Beach to the Mission Beach Channel. The water there is between 85 and 120 feet deep, and it is expected that the Annapolis will be sunk to a depth of 115 feet.
San Diego officials could work with brochure printers to create a mailer announcing the sinking and the formation of the new reef.
