Why burials at sea off San Diego take place at least three nautical miles from land, what the federal and California rules say, and how the position is recorded.
Every burial at sea off San Diego has one fixed requirement. The vessel must be at least three nautical miles from land before cremated remains go into the water. Families often hear the phrase in their first conversations about a ceremony and see it again in the paperwork. This guide explains where the line comes from, why it sets the distance rather than the state rule, and how it shapes the length of the day aboard.
The distance comes from federal law. Under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a general permit for burial at sea. It is found at 40 CFR 229.1. For cremated remains, the rule allows them to be placed in the ocean at any depth, provided the site is at least three nautical miles from land.
The same general permit covers flowers and wreaths. They are allowed only if they are made of materials that readily decompose in the marine environment, and plastic is not permitted. The EPA explains the permit in plain terms on its burial at sea page. Federal rules can be revised, so that page is the place to confirm the current wording.
California has its own rule for scattering at sea. Health and Safety Code section 7117 allows cremated remains to be scattered at sea, including inland navigable waters, at least 500 yards from shore. The person scattering must have the county's Permit for Disposition of Human Remains and must file it with the county afterwards. Scattering from a bridge or a pier is not permitted.
Five hundred yards is much closer to shore than three nautical miles. A ceremony in the ocean has to meet the federal rule as well as the state one, so the federal three-nautical-mile line is the distance that governs a sea ceremony. The state rule still matters for the paperwork. The permit for disposition is a county requirement, and the federal rule does not replace it. For why a ceremony must take place in the ocean rather than inside the bay, see San Diego Bay vs. Open Ocean.
A nautical mile is 1,852 meters, about 1.15 statute miles, the kind of mile a car's odometer counts. Three nautical miles is therefore roughly 3.45 statute miles, or a little over 5.5 kilometers. Distances at sea, including this one, are given in nautical miles. For a sense of what the water looks like once the boat is past the line, see What "Beyond the Three-Mile Limit" Actually Looks Like.
Families sometimes ask whether the water needs to be deep. For cremated remains it does not. The EPA rule allows them to be placed at any depth, as long as the site is three nautical miles or more from land.
Depth requirements apply to full-body burial. Non-cremated remains require at least three nautical miles from land and water at least 600 feet deep, or 1,800 feet in certain listed areas off Florida and the Gulf, and the body must be prepared to sink rapidly and permanently. The two are compared in Ash Scattering vs. Full-Body Burial at Sea.
Burials at Sea San Diego departs from the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina at 1380 Harbor Island Drive. From the marina, JADA, a 65-foot classic wooden yawl launched in 1938, motors out past Point Loma to open water beyond the line. That run takes a while each way under power, and it is the main reason a memorial charter is 2.5 hours or longer. The time covers three parts:
Sea conditions also shape the day. Mornings are usually calmest, and the afternoon northwest wind builds through spring and summer. More on this is in San Diego Wind and Sea Conditions by Season.
Once the vessel is beyond the line, the crew fixes the position by GPS. Those coordinates become the lasting record of where the remains were placed, and they are written down in two places:
Because the position is recorded exactly, a family can return to the same water later. Some do this on an anniversary, as described in Returning to the Sea.
Rules like these can change. Before the ceremony, please check the current requirements on the EPA burial at sea page, in California Health and Safety Code section 7117 and with the San Diego County Vital Records office. We are glad to walk you through each step, and you can reserve a date here when you are ready.