Divers Down

DIVERS DOWN: For the first time in at least 20 years, Santa
Barbara Harbor officials orchestrated an ocean floor cleanup in the
murky waters below Marina 3 last weekend. An extensive team of
volunteers – including dozens of scuba divers and support
boaters – took part in Operation Clean Sweep, hauling up 4,012
pounds of muck-covered garbage. By midmorning on Saturday, a large
dumpster in the parking lot was overflowing with old anchors,
busted steering wheels, rusted-out gas tanks, bicycles, booze
bottles, various metal rods, nets, and a cheese grater. Event
organizers – including the Surfrider Foundation, Channelkeepers,
and the California Professional Divers Association – declared the
cleanup a success. Based on the large amount of nonnative flotsam
and jetsam recovered, plans are already underway for similar
cleanups in other areas of the harbor. Harbor officials predict
that an annual cleaning for the next seven to 10 years should
render the harbor floor spick-and-span.