Fort Ross - Sonoma Coast is a salt water dive site, located at 19005 Coast Highway One, Jenner, CA 95450. This dive site has an average rating of 4.00 out of 5 from 1 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 31-35ft/9-11m. The average visibility is 11-15ft/3-5m.
Beautiful cove to dive in, lots to see :)
3 Attractions here: Great dive cove, a wreck dive of the SS Pomona debris field, and the Fort is open for walking tours.Fort Ross: The settlement of Ross, the name derived from the word for Russia (Rossiia) was established by the Russian - American Company, a commercial hunting and trading company chartered by the tsarist government, with shares held by the members of the Tsar’s family, court nobility and high officials. Trade was vital to Russian outposts in Alaska, where long winters exhausted supplies and the settlements could not grow enough food to support themselves. Baranov directed his chief deputy, Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov, to establish a colony in California as a food source for Alaska and to hunt profitable sea otters. After several reconnaissance missions, Kuskov arrived at Ross in March of 1812 with a party of 25 Russians, many of them craftsmen, and 80 native Alaskans from Kodiak and the Aleutian Islands. After negotiating with the Kashaya Pomo people who inhabited the area, Kuskov began construction of the fort. The carpenters who accompanied Kuskov to Settlement Ross, along with their native Alaskan helpers, had worked on forts in Alaska, and the construction here followed models of the traditional stockade, blockhouses and log buildings found in Siberia and Alaska.
Wreck Dive: Debris field of USS Pomona located. Out of cove and into cove to the north. 3/4 way across, large submerged rock will be to the left of the debris field (Ship his this rock). Long kick-out (20 min)
A Preliminary Underwater Survey of Ft. Ross Cove, California
Setting and Maritime History
A review of the Maritime Museum files in San Francisco and State Library records in Sacramento indicated that up to 8 vessels had sunk in the vicinity of Ft. Ross Cove. The largest and most spectacular was the Pomona. She was a steel-hulled passenger steamer, called the "Pride of the Coaster Fleet", 225 ft long with a beam of 33 1/2 ft and a displacement of 1,264 tons. On March 17, 1908, with a load of freight and 88 passengers, she was heading north from San Francisco. There was a brisk wind and choppy sea so the captain was hugging the shore in an effort to minimize passenger discomfort. He got too close. About 6:00 p.m. the ship struck a rock a few miles south of Ft. Ross Reef. Water poured in through a gaping hole in her hull so Capt. Swansen attempted to beach her in the Cove. As she approached, however, she struck the wash rock and foundered. She remained on the rock for the 6 months and, after several unsuccessful salvage attempts, slipped off into the Cove.
Survey Results
...the hulk of the steel-hulled Pomona lay in 40 - 60 ft of water and was oriented NE-SW just inside the wash rock. The wreckage consisted of a large jumble of I-beams and superstructure on a rock substrate. Her bow lies 25 ft inside the wash rock that claimed her in 1908. The wreck was twice dynamited as a navigational hazard so her hull plating is blown away, but the vessel’s configuration is clearly visible.
The Pomona’s most striking archaeological feature is her drive train. The boiler room is intact, her engine was salvaged, but the large ring gear, drive shaft and bearings are in place. The drive shaft measures 12 in. in diameter, solid bronze, and extends almost 60 ft from the boiler aft to where the srew was blown away for salvage. Two pieces of unmarked white ironstone were the only personal artifacts seen; low visibility and heavy surge prevented a through and systematic search.
The wreckage extends 700 ft along the bottom. It has been colonized by marine organisms, especially bull kelp (Nereocystis leutkeana), which favors the wreckage to the extent that its floating heads mark the wreck’s location during the calmer summer and fall months.
The swim-search resulted in the discovery of a large anchor that was once part of the 19th century mooring system for timber chute loading. The anchor has a length of 6 ft and measures 4 ft between its spade-shaped flukes. It was wedged between 2 large boulders, so it appears to be intentionally set as a mooring anchor. A 10-ft length of 2-in chain was found adjacent.
The swim-search also located numerous metal fragments of unrecognizable function in the mooring area. This may be scattered debris from the exploding Pomona or it may possibly be the widely scattered wreckage of an earlier vessel such as the J. Eppinger. A major source of metallic debris may also be cargo
External Link regarding this wreck:
indiana.edu/~e472/pomona/pomona.html——
Obtained from California State Parks, Ranger Niles Szwed:
DIVING THE POMONA FAQ
Courtesy of Niles Szwed
HOW DO YOU SPOT THE BUOY FROM SHORE?
Go up on top of the bluffs between the two coves and stand right on top of the middle cliff. If it’s low
tide, you will see the sharp little wash that the Pomona struck. If it’s high tide and you don’t see the rock, it’s still pretty easy to find the buoy with a compass. Take a 210 heading, and that will aim you straight towards the wash rock. About 50 to 60 feet in front of that is the buoy. Of course it may not always be exactly in that spot, as it will shift around depending on the swell and currents, but somewhere right in that area you should see it.
WHAT ARE SOME GOOD WAYS TO GET THERE FROM FORT ROSS?
We put in at Sandy Cove and swim or kayak, depending on one’s resources, stamina, and inclination. Free diving from a kayak is fairly simple, but doesn’t give you much bottom time to explore the wreck.
We do get many free divers, but almost entirely for spear fishing. Scuba is ideal, but scuba diving from a kayak is a special skill, particularly the part where you have to get your tank and gear back on the boat. Swimming is the most arduous, since it’s approximately a 400 yard kick from the beach.
WHAT IS A GOOD WAY TO SWIM TO THE WRECK?
Though it’s a long swim, it’s not 400 yards straight out to sea. You swim straight out of Sandy Cove on a right, parallel to the reef until you can get past the surge zone near the rocks. Then you cut across at 240, aiming a little to the left of the Rocky point on the West side of the cove. Even if there’s a bit of a swell, you should see the summer buoy easily while you’re swimming. When you get out there, especially at first, it feels pretty exposed. But you are over the reef, and only about 150 to 200 yards from land, where the reef meets the cliff. The wreck is spread over the reef between 20 to 40 feet deep, most of it on the shallower side.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST SAFETY CONCERNS?
The main thing to watch out for is the surge, especially at low tide. Although Fort Ross Cove is the largest sheltered diving area along the North coast, the fact that you are on top of the reef instead of in the deep means that any surge in the water will be somewhat amplified. So it’s a good idea to be aware that you might be tossed about a little from time to time. Hang on to ship parts for stability, rather than getting snagged on them while flying through the water. Usually it’s not that bad. Reasonably experienced North coast divers can expect to dive there safely. Newcomers to California diving should definitely go with someone more experienced with local conditions first. Or practice in dive sites closer to shore before attempting diving after such a long swim. The other big consideration is getting back.
OK, WHAT’S A GOOD WAY TO SWIM BACK?
It would, of course, be possible to spend all your time and air exploring the shipwreck, then kicking back on the surface. However, this is the least desirable option if you can avoid it. Better to leave at least 1000 to 1500 psi in your tank and attempt the following... You start by following the drive-shaft of the ship. We moored the buoy right next to the drive-shaft. The shaft mostly lies on the a 240/60 axis. In theory, you could follow the 60 line straight back into Sandy Cove. However, the shallow rocks and the surge around them at the foot of the cliffs would prevent you from passing that easily/safely/comfortably. So here’s what you do... Start off following the drive-shaft. At the end of the shaft, go another 50 to 60 feet at a 60 heading. By then, the water will be getting a bit shallow and surgey, maybe only 15 or 20 feet deep. At that point, turn onto a 90 heading. This will keep you going parallel to the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. It’s a long haul, maybe 150 to 200 yards gliding along over the reef on that 90 heading. At times, especially if you’re not used to it, it can feel a bit like a test of faith, especially if the visibility is bad, which it often is as you get closer to shore/the cove. Eventually though, you will come out on the sandy bottom of the main Cove. Once you hit clear sand, go an extra 30 or 40 feet, to make sure you are clear of the rocks. Then follow 10 heading all the way back to shore. Works like a charm. If you get mixed up on the way back, there’s nothing wrong with surfacing and getting your bearings again.
WHAT ABOUT KELP AND OTHER SEA LIFE?
In a normal year, kelp is an issue. For much of the year, there is a thick kelp forest over most of the reef. This means that on the way out, you either swim around the kelp forest, or you swim through it. The easiest way to swim through kelp forest is snorkeling face down in the water, which allows you to pick your way through between the thicker clusters of seaweed. And on the way back, yes you are swimming through kelp forest.So you do have to be pretty comfortable with that, and willing to work with your fellow divers in case you or one of them gets snagged in the kelp. This is easy enough as long as nobody starts freaking out and thrashing. You simply unhook yourself and keep swimming.
However, this year (2015) our kelp forest is in serious trouble. The bull kelp seems to hardly be growing back at all. And the palm kelp, which usually covers all the rocks in a pygmy forest about 3 to 4 feet high, are almost all dead, their mostly leafless stems covered in a thick layer of barnacles. This is creating serious havoc for the abalone, starfish and urchins, which are trying desperately to take advantage of any last morsels of palm kelp that they can salvage. Bad news for them. However, it does make for incredibly easier underwater navigation for anyone who might want to go out there are this time. By the way, in spite of the decimation of the kelp forest on the reef, there still seems to be a healthy fish population, so I’m sure people will be interested in seeing the various species that inhabit the reef.
HOW HELPFUL IS THE MAP?
The map of the wreckage is somewhat useful. Sometimes it even makes sense compared to what we see down there! We keep finding parts of the wreckage that we have never seen before, spread far and wide. Keep in mind that the ship was blown up with dynamite after it was salvaged, so you’re not going to find everything in one place.