2024 Top 10 Dives & Projects

Intro

This will be my fifth “Top 10 Dive & Project” list since I started the tradition in 2020.

I don’t think I will ever top 2023 which included diving in some of the most remote places on the planet (Antartica and Bikini Atoll) and also the pinnacle of wreck diving, the HMHS Britannic.

However, 2024 came pretty close and I finally achieved my 3+ year goal of diving the USCGC McCulloch here in Southern California. I had epic trips to “Iron Bottom Sound” in the Solomon Islands, returned to Kea to dive and document the Ju52, and a great adventure in Gulen, Norway. We didn’t find quite as many new wrecks as we have in past years but we definitely made progress and we spent time up in Oxnard where we successfully located three new wrecks and identified two of them. Tyler & I also received the prestigious USS Constitution Copper Award from the Naval History and Heritage Command. Definitely a great year.

Just a quick side note: not a single word of this post (or any other post on this blog) was written with AI. Any mistakes are mine and mine alone and I’m okay with that. 🙂

Previous Years

For those interested, below are links to the Top 10 from previous years. I can honestly say that most divers would be happy to achieve half of the dives in these years in an entire lifetime. I have been very fortunate to be able to follow my passion.

I ended 2023 with trips planned to Solomon Islands, Greece, and Norway in 2024.

Runner Ups

As with the past few years, I have the challenging (but fortunate) task of deciding what NOT to include in the Top 10. A few of the great dives and projects that did not make the list are below.

One of my guidelines for making these tough decisions is: is the dive or project really unique and/or groundbreaking? For example, the Oldenburg in Norway is an epic wreck and it really epitomized how much of an adventure Norway is. However, it has been dived and documented in the past so it didn’t make the Top 10 (two other wrecks in Norway did).

With that criteria, below are some cool dives & projects from 2024 that didn’t quite make the Top 10 but were amazing experiences:

• DS Oldenburg – I did two dives on the wreck during my trip to Gulen. The Oldenberg was the most successful raider ship in history. If you haven’t read the post about the adventure involved in getting to, finding, and diving the wreck, it is a fun tale that really epitomizes my trip to Norway.
• I-1 Submarine – This wreck in Iron Bottom Sound (Solomon Islands) doesn’t look or seem like much but it played a pivotal role in the assassination of Admiral Yamamoto and it is a cool Japanese submarine that is within recreational depth limits.
• Squeezer Dredge – Another new wreck that we found and Tyler was able to identify. The identification was done through location and some of the key features. It is pretty deep but we do plan to go back and do some more documentation on it.
• Unknown Hellcat Drone – This was the first new wreck we found diving on the D/V Triton with Danny Graham. We went back for a second dive to see if we could identify it and I built a model. We think we know where the tail section is and hope to go back to find it and maybe a bureau number.
• New Saturnia Photogrammetry Model – This was on my “to-do” list for 2024 and it got done! I actually just recently did another dive on the wreck and filled in a few more holes. It isn’t perfect, but it is a tough wreck to build a photogrammetry model. I’m satisfied with the progress and will call this project “done.” It is a cool Southern California shipwreck.

Stats

As with previous years, a look at some overall stats for this year are below.

It was a fantastic year, but I actually only dove about half as many days and as much time as I did in 2022 and about the same amount as in 2023. The dives were more “extreme” but fewer. I equate this mainly to the poor dive conditions here locally in Southern California. It was a pretty dismal dive year locally.

• Total Dives = 61 (this was about the same as 2023 (68) but still only half of 2022 @ 134 dives)
  • Rebreather Dives = 61 (no OC dives in 2024)
• Deepest Dive = 284 feet (Target @ Catalina — nothing but sand!)
• Ave Max Depth = 153 feet
• Longest Dive = 3 hours, 3 minutes (USS Kanawha in Solomon Islands)
• Total Dive Time = 3 days, 6 hours (2023 was 3 days, 18 hours and 2022 was 6 days, 7 hours)
  • I’m guessing more than half of that time was decompression

Top 10 of 2024

I’m pretty sure every diver would love to have this many great experiences in any period of time — much less all in a single year. It was hard to get down to only 10, but here they are in reverse order.

The “USS Constitution Copper” Award

It wasn’t really a “project” or a single dive, but it is definitely worth a mention as it is a huge highlight for both Tyler and me. In October, we were notified by our primary contact at the Underwater Archaeology Branch of the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHCC) that we had been awarded the prestigious “USS Constitution Copper” Award. It was completely unexpected. The citation notes:

Mounted copper from the U.S. frigate Constitution is presented to you in honor of your tremendous work and successful efforts to research, locate, identify, and document U.S. Navy sunken military craft, in particular dozens of aircraft wrecks off the coast of California. Your respectful approach to document these sites and your extensive coordination with the Underwater Archaeology Branch contributes directly to the mission of the Naval History and Heritage Command to preserve and protect the Navy’s submerged cultural resources

We both received a citation and pieces of copper from the USS Constitution which is the oldest commissioned vessel afloat and was launched in 1797. Below are some pictures of the citations and the copper.

Up Next in 2025

I have quite a few interesting trips and projects lined up; however, there are actually a few things that are still up in the air which is unusual for me given that 2025 is right around the corner. I usually have a dive calendar planned out 12-18 months in advance.

Right now, I have trips planned to Budapest to dive the caves & mine and a trip to Malin Head which I’m really looking forward to. Malin Head has been on my list of locations for quite some time. Some of the other potential international trips include:

• Going back to Greece to work on a few new things that I’ll keep under wraps for now.
• The SS President Coolidge luxury liner in Vanuatu
• Tyler and I have been talking about diving the USS Emmons in Okinawa. I’d really like to build a photogrammetry model of the entire wreck which would take probably 4-5 dives.

In terms of local SoCal dive projects, I have a number of them to work on:

• San Clemente Island – There are at least 3-4 more wrecks that I want to dive there. They have all been lingering on my to-do list for a while and they are all relatively deep. There is also the potential of diving the Polaris Missile tower which requires special permission similar to the USS Moray. I requested permission in 2024 and it was denied so I will try again in 2025.
• USS Moody – This was also a carryover from 2023 and 2024. I want to make a photogrammetry model of both halves of this wreck. I did most of one section in late 2022 and will hopefully finish in 2025.
• Mexico – Tyler has a few wrecks and targets that are down by the Coronado Islands that could be our next frontier in finding and documenting new wrecks. We didn’t get there in 2024 but hopefully 2025.
• Triple Crown – The Triple Crown is north of Oxnard up near Santa Barbara and is a pretty deep wreck (260-ish fsw to the sand). It has been dived in the past and fairly well documented but I’d like to do a full project on it. The visibility can be poor so it is unlikely to be able to build a photogrammetry model of the wreck but Danny wants me to. 🙂

In 2023, I wrote “In addition, Tyler and I have a “Blue Sky” project that I have been thinking about that we will keep under wraps for now. I’m not even sure if it is possible; however, if it comes to fruition, it would be stunning. ” This one is still very much a “pipe dream” and the current political situation won’t help, but I’m not giving up hope.

Cover Shot Out-takes / Fun Times With Friends

I often struggle with what photo to use for the “cover shot” for the blog post. For the annual Top 10 post, I try to use a photo of me taken somewhere during a trip. I thought it would be fun to include some of the photos that I thought about using but decided not to. Many of these photos are taken with friends and remind me of the good times this past year.

I decided to use the “selfie” shot of me right after finding & diving the DS Oldenburg in Norway. The whole trip to Norway was a fun adventure and this dive in particular was very much the epitome of that adventurous sprit.

Thanks To…

First and foremost, a huge amount of gratitude and thanks to my wife. It takes a lot of patience and understanding given my schedule, travel, and incessant talk about wreck diving. She supports me in all my projects and trips.

I’d also like to thank Tyler Stalter for being a good friend, a dive and research partner, and for always coming up with new targets to try and sites to visit. We make a great team and complement each other’s skill sets.

I’ve had the pleasure to dive with numerous amazing divers this year (sorry, I’m sure I forgot a few): Tyler Stalter, Lauren Martin, Ben Lair, Drew Wilson, Mike Wynd, Danny Graham, DJ Mansfield, Steve Millington, Oleg Baranovsky, Kian Farin, Francesco Cameli, Keith Howington, Cody Cordero, and Kevin Rodriquez.

Thanks to Steve Lawson and Chris Gilmartin for taking me out on their boat on a few diving adventures this past year. Hopefully we’ll get more in 2025 and work on the Moody model (and maybe find a few new wrecks)!

Thanks to Lora, Chris, Rod, Captain & Scout at Marissa Charters for all the dives we had together in San Diego. It is always fun & laughs while diving with them. 

Thanks to Danny Graham at Triton Diving Charters. We found some new wrecks and have plenty more to do in 2025!

Thanks to Ray and Kyaa at Sundiver. We didn’t have as many dives this year as I would like, but that is all on me and my schedule. Hopefully I’ll get to see them more next year. 🙂

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HAVE A GREAT 2025!