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What's so special about diving in Washington state?


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Posted by Merry on February 22, 2022 at 18:56:19:

In January, Phil and I made the long trek to the Seattle area on a quest for the mighty tiny Pacific spiny lumpsucker in Puget Sound. It's a different type of diving up there - dive time is based on currents or tides, which are a trade-off for Zen-type shore entries. What, no timing sets or hustling through the surf zone?!

What a beautiful state - magnificent trees, gracious and friendly people! The dive shops are loaded with coldwater gear and give great fills. In a word, we loved it and hope to make it back there soon.

The hospitality and enthusiasm of local divers made the trip fun and memorable. An indispensable guide to that area is pnwdiving.com, run by Eric Askilsrud. Eric updates the latest reported visibility at 23 dive sites, as well as providing dive planning tables for current and tides, plus more.

We dove three sites - Redondo Beach, Three Tree Point, and Keystone Jetty on Whidbey Island. Eric Askilsrud and Dave Hicks advised us safe times to dive and what conditions were typical. I won't lie, visibility was pretty low due to runoff from all the rain we brought with us.


REDONDO BEACH, DES MOINES, WASHINGTON




Juvenile Aleutian moonsnail, Cryptonatica aleutica
ID thanks to Jeff Goddard


Juvenile blackeyed hermit crab, Pagurus armatus


Graceful rock crab, Metacarcinus gracilis, formerly Cancer gracilis


Striped sunstar, Solaster stimsoni


THREE TREE POINT, BURIEN, WASHINGTON

We met up again with Scuba Jess, Eric Askilsrud and Bill Horist


Phil at Three Tree
Phil at Three Tree


Three Tree entry - yes it's that easy.
Scuba Jess was wonderfully helpful to us on this trip (note the lumpie t-shirt).


Grunt sculpin, Rhamphocottus richardsonii


Bay pipefish, Syngnathus leptorhynchus


Pacific Spiny lumpsucker, Eumicrotremus orbis, landed on Phil's stage for a brief moment







Saddleback gunnel, Pholis ornata


KEYSTONE JETTY, WHIDBEY ISLAND, WASHINGTON

One of the most unique parts of the trip was our ferry ride from Mukilteo to Clinton, Washington, on Whidbey Island


Keystone Jetty


Due to ferry traffic, diving is limited to the left side of the jetty and strong current prohibits one from swimming past the end of the breakwall.


Stephanie Collins-Russel, Jessica Alexanderson, Rebecca Black - avid Pacific Northwest divers!


Acanthodoris nanaimoensis


Dendronotus albus


Dirona albolineata


Triopha modesta - very similar to the next nudibranch


Triopha catalinae


A new-to-us nudibranch, Onchidoris evincta


Male scalyhead sculpin, Artedius harringtoni


King of the Hill, male scaly head sculpin


Bering hermit crabs, Pagurus beringanus


Sharpnose crabs, Scyra acutifrons


Painted anemone, Urticina crassicornis




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