Ghost Diving USA takes care of Tuna Clipper

Location: Santa Catalina Island
Wreck: The San Vito aka the “Tuna Clipper ”

Ghost Diving USA continues their pursuit of ghost nets on the Tuna Clipper. On February 13, divers set out aboard the Giant Stride to collect more net for the Beam Center playground project. Conditions were less than generous to the team. The surface conditions were very rough, making the crossing to and from the dive site less than ideal. However, the team focused on the positives. They took a moment to celebrate Valentine’s Day with an early morning chocolate and got to work. The team deployed 4 lift bags creating a curtain of net. As the net handling team (Jim and Karim) was cutting through the net, it started to rise. Unfortunately, the lift bags ripped free of the net causing the net to fall back down. The teams persisted and were able to get one lift bag to the surface with net. The team ran out of bottom time and could not raise the final lift bag. They completed their decompression along the slope of Catalina Island and enjoyed a little time on their scooters. When they got back to the boat Captain Jim and Emma had collected the lift bags and net. Not every mission can go according to plan and conditions will not always be ideal. Team Ghost Diving USA is up for the challenge and looks forward to their next visit to the Tuna Clipper.

Net Handling Team: Jim Babor and Karim Hamza
Documentation Team: Symeon Delikaris Manias and Curtis Wolfslau
Support Team: Mark Self