Rum runners and torpedo bombers at Channel Islands National Park

On 12/11/2009
In Festivals, Conferences, Lectures
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Off Anacapa Island

By Kurt Repanshek - National Parks Traveler

Who would have figured that Channel Islands National Park has ties to rum runners ? Or that a World War II torpedo bomber lies beneath the waves at the park that is set off the California coast ?

In December if you're in the vicinity of Santa Barbara, California, you'll be able to learn more about these and other historic shipwrecks and submerged aircraft that rest on the seabed around the Channel Islands during a lecture series titled "From Shore to Sea."

The presentation, set for December 8 and December 9, will be delivered by Channel Islands' sanctuary and park cultural resource experts Robert Schwemmer and Kelly Minas.

They will discuss two recently explored wrecks off Anacapa Island—a mysterious shipwreck of a possible prohibition era rum runner and a sunken World War II era torpedo bomber.

These are among over two dozen wrecks studied around the Channel Islands that document over 150 years of evolving maritime enterprises.

There are an estimated 150 or more shipwrecks thought to exist around the islands as well as submerged prehistoric sites dating back more than 10,000 years, according to park researchers.