Farallon Islands
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The Farallon Islands are perched at the very edge of the continental shelf about 28 miles off the coast of San Francisco. To the West of the islands is the open ocean and water thousands of feet deep. To the east looking towards San Francisco is a shallow(ish) continental sea bed that mammoths roamed just 12,000 years ago. The steep slopes where shallow waters give way to deep attract a dizzying array of life from sardines to whales and today the islands are visited by thousands of tourists who brave the long, bouncy and nauseating boat ride through rough water to see it all.
Ron Elliot is an urchin diver and something of a local legend who has been collecting urchin roe here for the sushi market for decades and there's a lovely short documentary where he discusses his livelihood in the waters around the Farllons and its close proximity to some of the famous residents: Great White Sharks. Another fantastic local natural history about the islands is the best-selling "The Devil's Teeth" written by Susan Casey who points out that the islands actually got their fearsome nickname not from sharks but from the jagged rocky hazards to shipping and navigation. Despite some well deserve image rehabilitation (the sharks have little or no interest in humans) the fearsome reputation of the islands and their cartilaginous visitors persists. Which perhaps is all the better. You'll have the place to yourself.
Read more about diving from Bruce Watkins here.
| Coordinates | 37.698583, -123.003162 |
| Depth | 20+ feet |
| Difficulty | Advanced |
| Access Method | boat |
| Protection Status | Fishing is not permitted |
Contents
Amenities
None. None whatsoever.
Attractions & Wildlife
The islands themselves are lonely crags with no permanent residents- the biologists and the seabirds that they study are both seasonal. There are no beaches and coming ashore is strictly forbidden by law if not topography. There are Northern Elephant Seals, California and Stellar's Sea Lions, Harbor Seals and Northern Fur Seals. There are puffins and shearwaters and guillemots and murres and phalleropes. There are Blue, Grey, Humpback and Fin whales. And then there are Great White Sharks. A lot of them, as it happens. These lonely rocks aggregate more Great Whites than any other region in the Northern Hemisphere mostly in late summer and fall. There are several tour operators that will support cage diving here but the visibility tends to be low and chumming is illegal in marine sanctuaries meaning that the patrons of those services typically only ever see a shark every other expedition that visits the islands.
Alan's High Spot
Noonday Rock
Sami's Wall
Check out what species others have found at the Farallon Islands via iNaturalist.
Entry & Access
There are several shark diving tours- one leaves from Emeryville and the other from SF. Neither require that one be a certified diver though you will be contained in a cage the whole time. For divers interested in longer leashes, hire a boat with an experienced pilot. The journey is long and takes a couple of hours. Depending on the weather, they could be very long hours given the notorious swells and currents that will rock the boat in a nauseating fashion. Bring your motion-sickness remedy of choice as well as sunscreen, warm layers and lots of water and snacks. And your binoculars, of course.
Skill Level & Hazards
Shark attacks are very, very seldom. Then again, so too are visitors brave enough to get in the water. With regard to sharks- diving with a buddy during the day in good light, keeping one's heart rate low (as one should while diving anyway) and not diving with sea lions is good protective practice as is diving off season.
The conditions are probably more dangerous than the overblown threat of shark attack. Low visibility, deep and cold water and strong currents make this strictly a dive for the advanced and well practiced. Bring a signal marker buoy to make sure your boat pilot can fish you out and remember to have a first aid kit- it'll be a few hours before you'll be able to get professional medical attention way out there.
Nearest Emergency Medical Facilities
EMS activation by boat: Notify Coast Guard boat crew on channel 16 or call 911. Patient transfer at Fuel Dock or at sea.
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