A couple in on Ruston Way...

Began the day with a splash on Lobster Shop Wall with Steve B., his first introduction to a wall dive in the Sound, and then finished it off with a meander down the way to Les Davis where we met up with Chip W. and Sonia B. for a nice long stroll around the park.

Good stuff! Thanks guys... and gals alike... ;)

Dive Buddy (Dive 1): Steve B.
(131fsw for 54mins)

Dive Buddy (Dive 2): Steve B.
Dive Buddy Group: Chip W. & Sonia B.
(70fsw for 53mins)

Back to LD with Big Chip and Tom...

Big Chip hadn't seen the seas for a spell and so it was with pleasure that I attended his re-introduction tonight at Les Davis. Our good buddy Tom Carlson also joined in to make three for this splash. We followed around a couple red octo's early on, and then explored the bridge decking for the last leg of our dive. It was a good night for marine life - a nice variety of nudibranchs meandering about, opalescent squid showing up in ones and twos mid-water, a large decorated warbonnet playing hide and seek inside a metal pipe, and to my surprise a new find. On the way out I spotted in my peripheral view a color that just seemed out of place for our waters. I turned towards it to find that it was in fact a fish sporting a bright pink color with what appeared to be a golden orange nimbus about it. It was very cool, but it wasn't going to stand still for a good picture... so of all the attempted shots of it this was the best of the bunch.



Once I got home I just had to ID it, and through a bit of web-surfing finally found what I believe it to be... a Red Brotula. See... we do have some good color to our fish here.

Dive Buddy Group: Chip Townsend & Tom Carlson
(78fsw for 42mins)

Another Tuesday... Another Sunken Barge...

What's diving on the Dock Street Barge like...? Well... it's mucky. And if you haven't been muck diving in the Puget Sound then you've not been properly introduced. I, for one, am not going to be that guy to deprive my newest diving buddies of this rite of passage - so it's straight to the muck we go!

I hope that Steven enjoyed this one as much as I did. We toured up, down and around the barge and came face to face with a few of the largest ling cod Commencement Bay has to offer. Ginormous I tell ya, with a bit of a glow. Hmmmm...

Besides the lings there was the typical over-abundance of shrimp and prawns lining the silty deck of the barge, and just as many of the mud dwelling goby's, ronquil's, sculpin, and the like. Although Steve and I began our dive with Nick, we seemed to have lost him to a bouyant ascent as we reached the shallow end of the barge on our way back up its bow. Turns out he was just fine but had a bit of a challenge presented to him by his new drysuit. We've all had those days... :)

Dive Buddy: Steven Brack
Dive Buddy Group: Amy R., Karyn L. & Nick R.
(72fsw for 35mins)

Back to Back Nights on the Lobster Shop Wall...

This time it was with the boys... Dan E. and Chip W. We planned a little deeper splash than the night prior and decided to hit the wall a little further down, with our approach taking us to the top of the wall just to the west side of its namesake restaurant. Chip was packing a high blend of EAN so he planned to watch our bubbles from above and meet up with us during our ascent. Dan and I explored the lower section of the wall and caught only a couple notable sightings of red octos along the way. A good splash nonetheless...

Dive Buddy Group: Dan Estrada & Chip Waskiewicz
(130-ish fsw for 52mins)

Lobster Shop Wall...

This evening's splash brought us to a favorite local wall dive destination located just off Ruston Way, in Tacoma, known as The Lobster Shop Wall. My dive buddy and I hadn't hit the water together for some time so it was good to finally get a chance to hook up and drop in. There were two others in the group to start the dive as Amy Rhodes from A2Z Scuba was taking her AOW student (Tim Horn) for his Deep Adventure Dive.

During the dive briefing Julie and I commited to sticking with Amy and Tim until he had completed his deep skills, and then we would venture off on our own tour along the West end of the wall. When we reached the top of the wall we all exchanged computer readings and played a bit with slates and numbers and then, as planned, we parted ways. There was little else to do but enjoy the scale of the wall and its own bio-diversity. Took a few stills of a single stubby squid along the way... :)

Dive Buddy: Julie Englehart
Dive Buddy Group: Amy Rhodes & Tim Horn
(114fsw for 37mins)

Back to Day Island for a New Look...

Amy Rhodes and I planned on exploring the South Wall at Day Island today but we ended up splashing a bit late to beat the exchange. Not to be dissuaded we decided we'd give it the old college try anyway and we could not have been happier with the result.

It started a little sketchy as we crawled our way out to the wall, but once we reached it the fun began. Almost immediately Amy spotted the head of a Wolf Eel protruding from the top few feet of the wall and signaled me over to it. I turned on my camera and took a few still shots before it decided to vacate the den it was in and start on a journey to the North. I'd yet to capture any footage of a Wolf Eel on the move so I flipped the lever to video mode and gave chase, leaving Amy behind for the moment. After a brief few moments I realized that I had covered a bit of ground and thought it best to halt my drift and try to reengage with my buddy. It was good to see when I turned around that Amy was on my heels as fighting the current back to her was going to be work. We agreed that continuing on our heading to the North was best and steered ourselves along that route.

Up til this point I'd not checked out the North end of this site so everything that I was seeing along the way was new - and exciting. Small sections of "walls" (comparable to that found at Fox Islands West Wall dive site - for those in the know) appeared out of everywhere and the dens that riddled them played host to a slew of critters that became our entertainment for the day. It would have been enough just to do fly-by's on these structures alone, and with most that's just what we did, but Amy had her radar on today - if there was something to be found along the way... she found it! :)

We crossed paths with a good sized red octo at first and it's colorful displays were just a little too enticing to forgo with the camera. Check out the photos...

... and then it continued. Time and again Amy's flashlight would shake in the direction of a her latest find. Check out the short video clip to see a bit of the fun...



Thanks for the dive, Amy!

Dive Buddy: Amy Rhodes (76fsw for 47mins)

Duty Calls... The DM Saga... plus One!

Assisted with A2Z's Open Water Class (Dives 1 and 2) at Les Davis Marine Park, and then took a dip with Tami Stein to finish off a full day of diving.

For Dive 1 I was slated to hop in with OWSI Karyn LaBonte and follow her group of three on tour before switching gears on Dive 2 and teaming up with the other OWSI on duty today, Tom Carlson, and working with his motley crew. ;)

Fun dives the both, but I was especially pleased that I had the chance to work with my better half, Nicole, as she powered through her first weekend of Open Water class. It was a proud day... congrats to everyone on their accomplishments and we'll see you all next weekend!

Dive Instructor (Dive 1): Karyn LaBonte
OW Divers: Lana, Eric & Meredith

Dive Instructor (Dive 2): Tom Carlson
OW Divers: Nicole :) , Renee & Josh

Fun Dive Buddy (Dive 3): Tami Stein
(70fsw for 38mins)

Water's a bit Brackish today...

Oh... that's clever! ;)~

So, my good buddy Steve Brack and I hit the LDMP today for a couple tours. The first was (as always) targeting a GPO sighting... the second was to show him the tire piles on the far east boundary. Success on both counts. Always fun diving with the rook... :)

Dive Buddy: Steve B. (Dive 1: 68fsw for 43mins; Dive 2: 59fsw for 47mins)

To be, or not to be... DRY!

Splashing here in the Great Pacific Northwest... it's not much of a question. Admittedly, it does take some of us a little longer than others to acknowledge the benefits but in the end we have to be honest with ourselves - it's really nice to be dry. Take it from me... I spent my first 100 dives wrapped up in neoprene and I know what wet feels like. Don't get me wrong, I didn't take on the Dry Suit Specialty course today just to run home and toss out my wetsuits (primarily because they do wondrous things to accentuate my manish physique), but they will now be the bulkiest additions to my "save a dive" kit. Never leave home without them... ;)

To sum it up = stay dry if you can folks.

Instructor: Dan Estrada

Other Students: Steve B., and Tim (Dive 1: 31fsw for 30mins; Dive 2: 79fsw for 41mins)

Wrapping up September...

Tons of diving to catch up on... beginning with...

September.14.2008

'Twas a busy day on the boardwalk... not only did the bikers, boarders, rollers, joggers, gawkers, anglers, and ankle-biters show up in force today, but we also had a handful of dive shops dropping students in the waters around Les Davis, at least two diving vendors peddling their wares, and last but certainly not least - a small group of locals wrapping up their PADI instructor examinations...

... Congratulations to Tom Carlson, Karyn LaBonte, Tootie Winter and John Buchofner for their successful completion of the IE and for becoming our newest PADI Open Water Scuba Instructors!! Nicely done!

Once we finished passing on our congrats to this group, Mike, Julie and I decided to take advantage of some White's Drysuit Demo's, at least one of us a Dive Rite BC/Harness system, and then took a quick dip... heading out to see the resident GPO at depth. The drysuit I happily placed back on the hanger when our dive was complete, the BC was nearly torn from my hands. Dive Rite, here I come!

Dive Buddy Group: Mike D. & Julie E.
(70fsw for 36mins)

September.16.2008

Broeker returned home from Cali and met me down at LD for a splash... we had one stop in mind and spent nearly the entire dive there. Check out the clip...



Dive Buddy: Mike Broeker
(81fsw for 45mins)

September.17.2008

Got in a couple dives today at as many sites. Began the afternoon meeting Mike B. and Lori C. out on Day Island with plans to explore the wall on a mild exchange. We toured the length of the wall as we typically would and then came up to some interesting surface activity. We'd hardly had our faces out of the water before the sound of a nearby boat engine grabbed our attention. As we tore off our hoods and looked toward the oncoming Coast Guard inflatable tender a second sound began to distinguish itself from the roar of the boat engine and drew our attention towards the skies. The Coast Guard and a couple local news choppers had taken up hover positions in the air space directly above us. We waved...

... and then we turned our attention to the inflatable once more, waiting for the captain to close the distance. Throttling back the approach, just within some 50' or so from us, the captain asked if we were the owners of a small dinghy that he pointed out nearby. The dinghy was not but a couple hundred feet from us and was clearly abandoned. "Nope... not ours." He nodded the nod that said he knew that would be our answer and followed up that question with the obvious next... "Did you guys see anyone else down there?"

"Fortunately... no."

Unfortunately, we didn't see much of anything on this tour. Once we started the short climb up the gravel trail to our cars we began to talk a bit about the dive - as is the custom. Rarely is there little to mention regarding the marine life here, but I had been stumped. Lori on the other hand claimed to have had a wolf-eel sighting and to have hung out with it for a short bit. Upon hearing this I wondered where the heck I might have been while this was going on... and more so to the point, why wasn't I alerted of its presence? I see how I rate! ;)

Great dive nonetheless... it's Day Island Wall for Pete's sake!!

Dive Buddy Group: Mike B. & Lori C.
(86fsw for 32mins)

The second splash was later in the evening with my buddy Tom Carlson. He and I took a casual tour of Les Davis with highlights on the resident GPO (tucked neatly away in his bridge decking hole), and the largest decorated war-bonnet I have ever seen. No camera to snap photos, or shoot vid tonight... take my word for it - it was eerie big!

Thanks for the splash, Tom!

Dive Buddy: Tom C.
(76fsw for 48mins)

September.23.2008

On the bill this eve - Titlow Beach. A fantastic dive site once the day settles into night and for the marine life observers it rarely disappoints. There were just over one half-dozen of us taking on the splash and I think we'd all agree that we got our fill of red octopus and sailfin sculpin sightings. A lot of group play and herding octo practice... fun stuff.

Dive Buddy Group: Nick R., Chip W., Sonya B., Tim, Steve and Amy R.
(58fsw for 50mins)

September.24.2008

Back-to-back night dives out at Titlow Beach. This time we decided we'd head southbound towards the shelves and see what there was to see. It was awesome... got in a new GPO sighting and placed a short clip of it here...



Dive Buddy Group: Tom C. and Chip W.
(38fsw for 54mins)

September.25.2008

Back to old faithful for a couple splashes - one as an assistant to Dan E. on a makeup Open Water dive with his students Lori and Steve (Steve was a drysuit orientation diver at this point)... and a second with a handful of friends from Fort Lewis scuba.

Here are a few photos taken during the first dive @ Les Davis Marine Park...

Dive Buddy Group: Dan E., Steve B., and Lori
(31fsw for 52mins)

The evening dive was fantastic. We headed down to the GPO den but ended up finding him just shy of where we would usually. He was up a bit shallower amongst the fish sculpture debris. Once we all had our chance to peek in on that dude we made off on an exploration. I had a small group follow me out to depth where the "desert" lay. As usual there was nothing to be found out here but a couple of bottles and scattered sightings of large sea stars. There was little sense in hanging out here so I made the turn and broke out the compass... not because I needed to find a new direction, but I knew I would need it to guide myself through what would be hundreds of feet of silt kicked up by my companions tonight. ;)~

I'm not going to say it was intentional, but when I finally found my way out of the cloud... I was alone. Hmmmm... if we had to vote. Me ditching them... or, them ditching me...?

So, I waited... and then I waited no more. I was finishing this one solo and found it to be one the best night diving adventures I'd been on at this site. Tons of eye catchers out tonight...

Here's a little glimpse at some of my playful aquatic friends...



Dive Buddy Group: Chip W., Sonya B., Lori C., Jimmy and Jeff
(89fsw for 65mins)

September.29.2008

Les Davis Pipeline!

Mike B. and Lori C. buddied up with me for a deep dive out to the pipeline. After discussing the dive plan in the parking lot, we suited up and took the long surface swim out to the marker buoy. Gathering around for a bit there and catching our breath we then rode the descent line down to the pad at depth before heading over to the pipeline proper. Once we came up to the pipeline Mike decided to head further down to check out the end, whereas Lori and I headed up. If you've not seen the pipeline before, just imagine what a mother lode of plumose anemones might look like in a straight line... and there you have it. It's a very cool look - they're everywhere!!

We made it nearly up to the bulkhead before Mike rejoined us. We sat around the 50' mark for a bit while Mike performed mastery demonstrations of mask removal skills, and a variety of other aquatic acts. Once we had our fill it was time to move on again. Before long I noticed that neither Mike, nor Lori were in tow and so I finished off this dive too... solo. Starting to catch the theme with this lot...? Came up to find that they had both already made it to the cars and were out of their gear ready to hit the streets. I'd hear from one of them later in the day about that decision...

Dive Buddy Group: Mike B. and Lori C.
(130fsw for 51mins)

September.30.2008

And finally... wrapping up September with a DM duty splash. Took a fresh-out of open water class diver on a tour of Les Davis this evening. We stuck to the shallows and followed around a dozen or so ratfish while tuning in some buoyancy and trim.

Very nice work, Mike! Hope to see you splashing again in the near... be safe buddy!

Dive Buddy Group: Amy R., Steve B. and Mike
(34fsw for 30mins)

Duty Calls... The DM Saga...

Assisted with A2Z's Open Water Class (Dives 1 and 2) at Les Davis Marine Park.

This class is off to a great start! Definitely some divers in the bunch. Hope you enjoyed your first tours of the Sound, and keep up the good work! :)

Dive Instructor: Mike DeAngelo
OW Divers: Ty, Tenessa, Colt, Steve and CJ

Duty Calls... The DM Saga...

Assisted with A2Z's Advanced Open Water Class (Dive 5) at the Lobster Shop shallows.

The dive: Underwater Navigation - Adventure Dive

Congratulations, Joe Ryan, for successfully completing the last of your AOW dives today!! We began with some compass work on land, and then took to the seas for a bit of underwater navigation. Joe followed the line (100' of submerged line) down and back, counting both kick cycles and arm spans. Once he dialed in on his numbers, we ventured away from the line for three sides of "the square", before meeting back up with it on the home stretch. A little natural navigation back to the beach wrapped up our stay here at the Lobster Shop shallows.

Nice work Joe!! You're leading our next dive... ;)


Dive Instructor: Dan Estrada
AOW Diver: Joe Ryan

Looky there! No, here!

September.10.2008

Got in another dive with Guillaume tonight, this time it was my turn to travel - up north to the Alki (Seacrest) Cove 2 site. "G" pulled out the divesite map just as soon as I arrived and detailed the plan for this evenings splash. We agreed to the following: Make a b-line for the I-Beams (for a beat); take a turn to the NW, passing over the small boat on our way to the log pile; then make the turn, following the ropes on the usual tour to the Honey Bear tug, where we would meet our macro friends and off-gas in the shallows. Simple enough...

We geared up in the parking lot and finished off with a quick buddy check before taking the stroll to the beach. Mindful of conservative MOD's (Maximum Operating Depth), with both our cylinders each filled with off-blends of EANx, we ventured out on our first leg of the tour - the I-Beams.

The visibility was pretty poor early on, but cleared up nicely as we approached depth. The "desert" (between 60-90fsw) soon gave way to row upon row of Plumose Anemone lining the I-Beams. We kicked alongside one of these large beams to its end and took a quick glance around to see if there was anything of interest that might lengthen our stay here... not tonight. After only a couple of minutes of exploration we signaled to each other that we were ready to head off for the second leg - the log pile.

We could see the log pile from end-to-end as we approached. Having only been out to this set once before I did a couple slow runs around it before checking in on the SPG and noting that I was at my turning pressure. I threw some light G's direction and called him over. Using the typical night diving protocol, I used my C8 to light up my free hand and began to signal my pressure reading. I was just above 1500psi... so naturally I began with the first digit... the 1 (one).

For the record... G and I had buddied up a few times within the last month or so, and in doing so it was reasonable to assume that he and I had communicated our hand signal preferences on at least one of those prior occassions. What became overtly obvious as I began the first of my signals is... one should never assume.

My first signal (the extended index finger of my left hand) came out... and then the comedy began. G, without hesitation, turned in the direction I had pointed that finger and took off. I watched him for a moment, chuckled a bit, and then decided I'd try again, flashing my light over the top of him so as to draw his attention. It worked. He turned to me and came kicking... arriving with a quizzical look. Shining my light on that same hand, I gave him a signal to hold. And, he held.

Attempt number two... the same result. Just as soon as that finger reached full extension his head had turned and he was off. I couldn't help but to let out a pretty good roar this time. I sat there for a moment just to see where he would go based on his assumption, and found out that it was just back to the logpile... which was somewhat close... I guess. I decided to make one last attempt at indicating a turn, but by this time G was some 25-30' away. Instead of confusing the matter any more I chose a different approach, this time grabbing his attention with my light and with it drawing a clear line with it's beam in the direction I intended to travel. Once I was fairly sure I had made my point I took my turn at turning away from my buddy and slowly kicking off. ;) I could see his light coming up from behind me as I made way to the Honey Bear... Success!

It wasn't long before we had again found ourselves within a good buddy distance from one another, and the explorations were back on. En route to the Honey Bear (HB) we came across a small red octo and decided we'd hang out with it for a bit before heading on. This little guy proved to be the only critter worthy of our extra attention tonight. The waters surrounding the HB were turbid and made exploration an exercise in futility. Nothing to see there... though not for lack of trying. We suspended our stay there and made way to our safety stop depth, followed soon after by our exit.

The debrief at our vehicles was pretty telling... not only did I learn that the confusion in the hand signals was due to G's use of the "fives" pressure readings, but when I mentioned that the HB seemed to be pretty lifeless this evening, he swore that we didn't reach the HB. With the hand signals we came to a consensus... with the HB sighting, we just had to agree to disagree. :)~

Dive Buddy: Guillaume S.
(102fsw for 41mins)

Catching up... week two...

September.3.2008

Before leaving the docks from the last Bandito trip, Guillaume and I exchanged numbers with some future diving in mind. He called to see if I would be interested in getting a couple dives in today, and was down for traveling south for a tour of Les Davis.

I had the new GPO sighting still fresh in mind, so the plan was to check it out... see if he was still home. Sure enough, found him just where I had seen him last time - tucked away nice and snug.



We quickly realized that this view was the best we were going to get, so we cut our stay short and made a bearing to the east. The usual suspects were out and about providing us a fair share of marine entertainment... that was, until we rose up a touch in the water column. Once we hit 40-45fsw we began to feel the predicted flood current for the day, it was quite manageable, but I deferred to "G". He showed me a thumb... and that's all I needed. We safely ascended a good span east of our exit (the stairs), and began our surface interval with a nice surface swim.

For our second dive we planned to drop down again to see if the GPO was taking visitors, but once we got out that way we found that he had gone out for a bite. So we high-tailed it to some other nearby attractions that we had missed our first go-round. Namely, the fish sculpture and surrounding bridge decking. No current this time around and tons to see.

Dive Buddy: Guillaume S.
(Dive 1: 84fsw for 34mins; Dive 2: 68fsw for 28mins)


September.7.2008

I'd checked out the predictions for Day Island Wall earlier in the week, and just had to get this on the board for today. From the looks of it, upon our arrival, I wasn't the only one thinking this today. There were more divers here than I had ever seen at this site. We're in the crowd, and ready for some fun.

After getting roused a bit by the crew for being the last to get ready, we made our way for the first of two splashes. As it turned out, the first dive was a trial run. We kicked across a mild ebb current on the way to the wall, and once we arrived atop it I had everyone kneel down for a check on air before making a descent. It wasn't until I reached the last diver in our 5-party group that I found the need to turn the dive. With his SPG's needle already comfortably in the red the decision was an easy one... we're headed to shore. I let the rest of our party know that I was taking a turn and with signals indicated to those with sufficient air that the Wall was theirs to explore. I bid them adieu with a so-long salute and then positioned myself alongside my new buddy for the trip in.

Not wanting to make a direct ascent from nearly 60fsw, knowing that the top-current would take us out away from the shoreline, and probably somewhere under the Narrows bridge, I decided on an underwater kick to shore. I indicated to my buddy that I wanted him on my right side, nearest my octo, and then had him place his left had on my right forearm. Holding that position we set off towards the east. A minute later the swimming halted... I felt two quick squeezes on my forearm, and then nothing at all. I turned to my right to see my buddy demonstrating his mastery of the "out-of-air" signal. Without hesitation, my yellow Aeris A1 octo was out of it's elastic keeper and offered... and in the same manner it was accepted. I assumed closer contact, grabbing on to the right shoulder strap of my buddies BCD and signaling him to relax. I showed him my SPG to let him know that we had plenty of air, and then indicated that we were going to just sit there for a moment. Once the breathing normalized I asked if he was okay to ascend. He nodded and gave the appropriate signs in return. We slowly made our way to the surface from what was now about 30fsw, where upon reaching the surface I had one of the other divers, who I didn't know until that time had followed us during this stretch, come over and assist with an oral inflation of his BCD. She was on it and had him floating on his back in no time. Good teamwork!! :)~

We got ourselves back to shore and did a little debrieing on the earlier events there. I pointed out some of my observations during the dive, and highlighted a few things that might have been done differently (relaxing, frequency of SPG checks, etc...) ... as well as those done beautifully (signals, maintaining contact on ascent, etc...). I'd be remiss if I didn't take that opportunity to provide at least a couple pointers...

In the end, this is expressly why we train for these contingencies in our scuba courses. We wouldn't train for them if they didn't happen. To say more is to overstate the obvious.

The second dive proved a bit more fruitful. We waited out a good two and one half hour surface interval before making a run for another wall dive. We lost a few divers during the SI to home chores, or some such... but there were still four of us poised for a fun-filled second attempt.

We dropped into the same area as we had the first splash, this time not feeling the slightest bit of current. At the top of the wall I again checked in with everyone to find SPG's reading "plenty" all around, which meant we were in for a gander. Over the edge we went. The vis turned out to be in our favor, looking left to right along the wall we could see some 20' in each direction. We ventured south and checked all the usual holes for Wolf Eel, but didn't come up with a find. I think Joe L. came up with the only cephalopod find of the day as well... a large red octo in a shallow crevice on the wall.

Although I'm partial to sightings of the larger marine life here... GPO's and Wolf Eel... the Wall itself, on a good vis day like today, is pretty amazing to behold. Good enough for me!!

Dive Buddy Group: Tami S., Julie E., Joe L. and Joe R. (Jeff L. and Jeremy P.) (Dive 1); Tami S., Julie E. and Joe L. (Dive 2)
(Dive 1: 57fsw for 20mins; Dive 2: 89fsw for 38mins)

September.9.2008

Happy Birth Anniversary, Kelly Rockwood!!

I didn't think we'd get Kelly in the water today, talking earlier she had kinda shrugged at the idea, but somehow the bug bit her and she made it out for a splash. I'd already been in the water for my own dive by the time she, Mike D., Dan E. and Amy R. made it out for their own here at Titlow Beach. We had a couple new divers amongst the group and so Jeremy P. and I split them up between the two of us and made for the pilings. My buddy had a little trouble staying down early on, but eventually found his way down the water column and along-side another group of divers who had made the social dive. He ended up finishing his dive with that lot, looking over the pilings, and I decided to tour with Jeremy and his buddy to the south end, taking in all the site had to offer us tonight. The sailfins took the prize tonight... they were everywhere.

Dive Buddy: Jeremy P.
Dive Buddy Group: Dan and Cameron
(30fsw for 60mins)

Catching up... week one...

I've been getting the blues from some of the blog followers lately for not keeping up with this here blog... and rightly so. It would be easy to excuse this with a "well, I just haven't been splashing lately" statement, but that would be a slight deception on my part. To the contrary, I've been diving so much lately that to blog them all in succession would be a laborious task. One that I just couldn't keep up with without cheating a little bit. So, to cheat it is... my new strategy - a little blog/log lumping. We'll try one week chunks for now and see if we can't get back on track. Wish me luck!!

August.27.2008

PADI Course Director, Kelly Rockwood, was in town for the first of A2Z SCUBA's PADI IDC programs. A phenomenal teacher, and just a blast to have in class...

I had the ultimate honor of playing tour-guide for Kelly, and reintroducing her to the Sound. She needed a couple choices for open water skill development and checkout dives, so Amy suggested two sites. The first being old faithful, Les Davis' Marine Park... and the second just down the road at Owen Beach.

While at Les Davis Marine Park we spotted a GPO at around 70fsw, on the north side of the site. This was my second sighting this week of GPO at Les Davis, and to have this one show up with Kelly at my side, well that was just icing. Great dive... great fun! ;)

The Owen Beach site didn't offer too much to recount... save for a few crab enjoying the remains of a dog-fish, and a short stay with a playful crescent gunnel. That was, until Kelly started messing with it. I seemed to have had the gunnel in a trance-like state, where it just couldn't get enough of the petting. I would slowly move my hand away and it would simply follow it. Then I offered my new pet to Kelly as I took up the camera for a few quick shots. This didn't go so well. Kelly suggested it might have been the bright blue dry gloves she was wearing... I'm of the opinion that it just didn't like her. I know... but it's just the feeling I got! ;)

Anyway... there is little doubt that I will come across Kelly again here in the near, so stay tuned for more of our diving experiences in future splashwatch blogs. To learn more about Kelly, check out her website at www.kellyrockwood.com. While you're there, make sure to check out her photo galleries... they might just please the eyes.

Dive Buddy: Kelly Rockwood - PADI Course Director
(Dive 1: 81fsw for 47mins; Dive 2: 71fsw for 41mins)


September.1.2008

Caught a ride with Bandito Charters for a two-tank boat dive this morning. The first of the two sites was KVI Tower, a site I'd yet to see up til this point. Due to unfortunate circumstances, I wouldn't be able to catch much of it on this first attempt either. My whole attention kept solely on my buddy throughout the entirety of the dive. Equipment troubles, bad choices... I was in for a doozy. I think I saw a lingcod. ;)

With my first buddy deciding to sit out the second dive, I became a third wheel in the Guillaume/Chris buddy team. The 43' Sampan (which thankfully is only a sampan in name) eased up into a slot between two dolphins out at the Maury Island Barges site. Another site I'd yet to splash... sweet! This time the diving turned out more favorable. Right off I was quite impressed by the number of spotted ratfish here, and had to get a short clip of these guys - I'm a big fan of the chimaera.



From there it was on to the barges, along the way watching Chris nearly settle down right on top of a pretty good sized red octo, despite the brilliant light show it displayed in protest of his intrusion. I pointed this out to Chris and he was able to catch the back end of the show as he beat a slow retreat.

The next cephalopod encounter was just up the way, and was of the GPO persuasion. A little more girth to this guy, and a lot more fun. It was my first encounter to ever include the reach out of the den and wrap ME up move. Okay, so it wasn't all of me... but it did get a couple good wraps around my left arm before it began it's slow, gentle tug towards the den opening. I let it continue for a little bit before I decided I'd let him know that I wasn't giving my arm as an offering to him. I began the unwrapping and he quickly finished the job and pulled back fully into his confines. I hung out with him for a few moments more before hooking back up with the team. As we'd planned prior to the splash, Guillaume and I took Chris to a nearby dolphin and saw him off to the surface at the point where his air reached the agreed psi. We then finished our dive at the barges - which were pretty wicked cool looking if I may say. Really enjoyed this dive... a nice reprieve.

Dive Buddy Group: Unnamed (Dive 1), Guillaume S. and Chris (Dive 2)
(Dive 1: 88fsw for 23mins; Dive 2: 67fsw for 49mins)


September.2.2008

Not sure why we tooled around Dickman Mill tonight, but we did. There was a pretty good showing for the social dive tonight, but the vis was bad, and all I got out of it was a Lewis Moon Snail shell with a little red octo in it. Of course I let the little guy go in the shallows and watched it thrust off towards the pilings through the ink it left in its wake.

Dive Buddy: Jeremy
Dive Group: Chip W., The Jeff's, Julie E., Chuck, and one other...
(51fsw for 46mins)

150 and counting...

It seems like only yesterday that I first shoehorned my 5'10" 230lb portly self into a wish-i-wasn't-gonna-get-wetsuit - tossed on some webbed feet, sea goggles, a rib-crusher, that big aluminum can of smog, and sunk into the Sound for Open Water Dive 1.

Well, my friends, it wasn't yesterday... nosiree. To catch a glimpse of my snorkel breaking the surface back then you'd have to set the warp-dial on your time-machine way back... to the days when gasoline was only $4.35 a gallon (regular), and millions of Muggles were rushing the local theatres to catch Harry Potter busting blocks, with the wave of his wand, in only the 5th release of the hit movie series. Getting a sense of how long ago that was...?

For those of you who are recollection challenged, it was the late 2007's. And if it weren't for those pesky surface intervals, and the fact that I own only two tanks, I'd have many hundreds, maybe even thousands of logged dives by now (the very definition of a pipe-dream). Instead, I celebrated today a mere and modest 150th splash.

It was my first splash ever at Point Defiance's Owen Beach, and in that I wasn't alone. I celebrated this benchmark touring around with some folks fresh-off-the-boat. Just back from Belize, David and his two sons, Dan and Billy, were in for their first cold water adventure. They had just spent some ten days in the warmer waters getting their open water certifications (referrals), and a bit of fun diving in. Tonight was their welcome back splash, and I think it's safe to say - they had a blast. Although we didn't sidle up to any sixgills :( ...we did get in our fair share of marine life sightings. Our cold-water critters captivating a new audience, and hopefully leaving a lasting impression. If the post-dive gabbing from the fellas is any evidence... I'm sure they did.

We'll see you guys around the Sound! Be safe, and thanks for celebrating 150 with me!!

Dive Buddy Group: David, Dan, Billy, Amy and others. (55fsw for 31mins)

Brother's and Sister's...

I guess the brother and sister team of Justin and Marissa didn't feel as if they got in enough mask-time with me during their Open Water and Advanced Open Water courses, so they came in to the shop today to make amends. Of course I gratefully accepted the invitation to join them at the familiar Les Davis site, and after a short time of gear gathering and weight calculations we made our way to the scene.

I gave them a general idea as to where I thought we should explore, but gave them the reins once underway. We cruised around the fish sculpture, rubbed the nose of the frog, then dropped down to see what we could see under the plethora of bridge decking in our immediate vicinity. As is the norm, there was plenty of marine life to see during our tour of the Marine Park. I added a little navigation to the mix as well and put Justin on the hook for getting us home. Like a good advanced diver would, he took on the challenge and brought us in. Rockstar's in the making... the both of them. Nicely done!

Congrats again to both of you for successfully completing your AOW training, and a big "thank you" for allowing me to hang with you on yet another splash in the Sound. Looking forward to our next one - don't be strangers!

Dive Buddy Group: Justin and Marissa (65fsw for 36mins)

Con-Ed diving at Titlow...

PADI Underwater Naturalist Specialty

A handful of us out at Titlow Beach this afternoon for both of our mandatory dives in this specialty. Tuning in to the peculiar marine environment, and dispelling a bit of the mystery around marine relationships in the Sound. Identifying species of flora and fauna alike; placing each in their eventual resting place... on the food-chain... as predator to prey - or - prey to predator.

It was good fun... naturally. A chance to step out of the DM role for a bit and take on a learning experience for myself.

Dive Buddy Group: Savannah, Bill H., John and Ellyn C., Chip W., Ralph, Mark R. and Amy R. (Dive 1: 28fsw for 43mins; Dive 2: 40fsw for 38mins)

Role play, and "not today"...

Helped out with an Assistant Instructor check-out dive today, playing the role of a student hellbent on challenging authority. My AI would tell me exactly what to do during a series of underwater/surface skills, and I would defy explicit direction time and again. From casually lifting my head during the snorkel to regulator exchange, to not blowing a stream of tiny bubbles (you know the rule!) during my regulator recovery skill... our testing AI candidate, Michelle Fessler, caught it all. She quickly identified each of her "students" errors and with the tact expected of no less than an OWSI, she helped each of us to remember ::finger tapping temple:: the proper steps to mastery of the skill. She did a fantastic job and I was happy to have had a chance to play a part in her check-out. Her candidacy is over....

Congratulations, Michelle, on becoming a new PADI Assistant Instructor!

Once we finished up with the check-out, it was on to a bit of fun. We're splashing!

Mike D. and I buddy'd up for this kick around the Les Davis Marine Park. I was hoping that we might drop in on the GPO that Jeremy and I had spotted just a few days back, but before we got to that I decided to lead the tour to the far east. Or as most of you might better know it... the tire piles. For those that don't know, these are the underwater landmarks used to caution divers from further east passage lest they end up enticing a pier dweller into jerking his arms up high above his head and gleefully yelling out... "FISH ON!!"

We explored the tires for a bit and then made a turn towards home. Shortly after the turn I noticed that the diving pair that followed us out, Amy and Nick, were no longer in tow. No matter, I hadn't lost my buddy... we'll catch up with them on shore. I knew exactly where it was that the GPO was, and we were slowly working our way to him. Too slowly as it turns out. Once in the general area, the fresh silt plumes turned visibility from what was 15-20 feet - to zip. We rose above the cloud to see if there was any relief nearby, but it stretched out far enough to dispel any hope of finding the den tonight.

The customary debrief in the parking lot confirmed our suspicion - Amy and Nick had found him first. Their maneuvering to find just the right vantage point did eventually allow them a glimpse of the big guy, tucked away in the far reaches of his den, but had thwarted our chance for the same. It was good to hear that he was still around though, and we'll make sure to swing by on our next LD splash and check up on him.

Dive Buddy: Mike D.
Dive Buddy Group: Amy R. and Nick R.
(70fsw for 53mins.)

Mi amigo Dan y yo en la ensenada dos... aka Alki...

Dan E. and I decided to head north today and make a late afternoon dive out at Alki - Cove 2. Although he and I frequently enter the water as part of a larger group of divers, we haven't buddied up as a pair since early February of this year. So when he suggested we make a splash today, I took him up on the offer and we set a course to West Seattle.

We arrived to a fairly empty lot at the ole Fish and Chips, so parking was a cinch. I backed in, tossed open the trunk, and we got to the routine of prepping our gear. It wasn't long before we were signaling to each other that we were ready to descend and off we went, slowly making our way to depth.

Our pre-dive plan of reaching the I-Beams was tossed out pretty early on. We were off the beaten path a bit, and found ourselves east of our target by quite a distance. Instead of making an effort to get to them and burn up our bottom time, we choose to continue on to the east and explore this new territory. I'm always down for further exploration of a familiar site, and much like me Dan is always happy just to be underwater, so it worked out well. Now that I've had the opportunity to check this area out I can't say that I'd put it on my list of "to do agains", but you have to know - to know.

The desert that we were in soon gave way to familiar landmarks as we made our way to the south. We were looking under everything we could to see if anyone was home, but the dive site felt like Seahawk stadium at halftime, with the home team down 55-0. Empty! Oh well, can't win them all. Right, hawk fans...? ;)~

Hasta luego!!

Dive Buddy: Dan Estrada (92fsw for 48mins.)

Finally... a GPO sighting at Les Davis...

I can't tell you how many times I've been out to Les Davis Marine Park and have yet to spot a GPO, or for that matter even a small red octo. Well, today was my day! Jeremy and I hooked up for a one-tank splash at the park tonight and planned a simple tour that of course included a large section of the west side bridge decking.

The Vis wasn't the best, but we've dove long hours in worse and without hesitation made our way out to depth. After tooling around the deeper west-end section of the site for a bit we made our turn towards home. When we reached the 40-45fsw mark, Jeremy stopped to look under a long piece of decking that sported a very distinct and shapely trench surrounded by a littering of crab shells. Now I've seen plenty of these midden piles out here before, but every single time I've explored the suspected den I've come up empty. This time, however, Jeremy looked back at me and gave me the universal sign for "GPO" and shined his light at the entrance. I couldn't believe it... I kicked down to the spot that Jeremy had just vacated and took a look for myself. Sure enough, WAY back in the back, I'm guessing some 20' or more, I spotted the sight that I'd been hoping to find each time out here - a writhing mass of arms and mantle.

I was immediately struck by the size of the suction cups on this guys. Looking like dinner plates from the distance I was from him meant it had to be a big dude. Bigger than I'd seen to date, that was for sure. It wasn't too long before we were spotted and the agitated giant began to siphon up the silt around him, which created great eddying plumes that restricted our view. I pulled back from that spot to see if there were a better angle. Seeing none immediately nearby, I swam down over the decking to just about the spot where I believed I was right over the top of him. Looking to the west side of the concrete structure I saw what appeared to be a second entrance to what had to have been the same den. I quickly positioned myself here and peeked my head into the entrance. Instantly I pushed myself back away from the new entrance. I had found the right spot alright, he was inches from my face and was not happy to see me there. His agitation expressed with rapid, eerily fluid movement of his arms wrapping around himself. Envision Elvis with 8 arms (and hands of course), combing his hair back with each in succession - on crack! Okay, maybe a bad analogy... but you get my point.

I took one last look and waved goodbye to the big dude. We'll come back when you're not busy primping. I hooked back up with Jeremy and exchanged a "that was awesome" sign, and we made our way to the exit. Passing by the fish statue and zipping through the tractor tire on the way out.

Finally!! A GPO sighting at Les Davis. Good stuff!

Dive Buddy: Jeremy (82fsw for 50mins.)

NY'er invades Fox Island...

My new buddy Mike M., from NY, contacted me earlier in the week to let me know he'd be in town and wanted to get a dive or two in while here. I'd splashed with Mike in early June of this year for the first time, and was glad to hear he'd be returning for another tour of the South Sound. Although Mike was here under unfortunate circumstances, the serenity of diving was just what the doctor ordered.

The first order of business was to determine where to splash. Our dives in June were both at Les Davis Marine Park, so I definitely wanted to steer clear of that site this time around. I thought it would be good to get in a couple of new sites that weren't so far from each other as to be a logistics mess. So, I decided on two of the Fox Island sites.

The tide predictions were lookong to be in our favor for a Fox Island bridge dive, and then a short trip to the West Wall on Fox Island. Mike had yet to be introduced to current, and although the prediction showed that we would not face current under the bridge today, the "predictions" were a bit off - we felt a pretty good ebb flow. We entered on the boat launch side and surface swam out towards the bridge, along the rock bulkhead. Just before we came to the relief under the bridge, we started to feel a little pull towards the east. Our plan was to explore the bridge supports, but as we made our way closer to the first set of bridge supports we quickly realized that this was not going to happen. This was going to be a drift dive!

I positioned myself along the closest bridge support, with the current to my back, and told Mike to do the same at a nearby support. I let him know of the change in plans, and asked if he was good with that. He agreed to the drift option and we descended our respective supports. Once at the bottom, I made sure he was ready to push away and follow the current east. With a big OK sign from Mike, we pushed off and began our drift. It wasn't an extreme current by any means, around 2 knots or so, but it was enough to move us along at a good clip and introduce Mike to a new sensation underwater. Although it was a short ride, it was good fun. Mike was a little on the light side for this dive, and so the shallow cove on the east side posed a small problem of his staying down. We put in a good surface swim to our exit and then crossed the road to our vehicles. We started a little later than we hoped, so Mike checked in with family to see if a second dive was in order. Once confirmed, we headed off to the second of our splash sites for today.

The West Wall at Fox Island has always been a fav of mine if not for a single reason - GPO's. I have always come across at least one GPO here - typically more. I was excited about an opportunity to give Mike his first introduction to one today. Unfortunately, it didn't happen that way. We toured the wall from one end to the next, and then back again... there was no GPO to be found. Plenty of marine life to make the dive interesting, but apparently no longer home to the GPO's. Instead we found a large number of crab taking up residence in what used to be GPO dens on the wall. A telltale sign if ever there were one. Nonetheless, another good dive and a new site for Mike to log here in Washington state.

Thanks again for looking me up, Mike, and do so again next time you're in town. It's always fun! And best of luck to you in your continued scuba studies, and experiences. Stick with it and come back to see us soon!

Buddy: Mike M. (Dive 1: 28fsw for 27mins; Dive 2: 65fsw for 37mins)

So long (Aloha!), and THANKS for all the fish...

As it turns out this was to be my last dive with one of my good friends, and longest standing dive buddies before his long hiatus from the mainland. Mr. Dane Carson's moving on to bluer oceans. Hawaii bound on a quest for scholastic achievement (UofH), and maybe a tan. Poseidon knows he could use one!

Dane, Dan, and I decided tonight would be a good night for a deep dive on Lobster Shop Wall. We'd planned this out earlier in the day and all agreed to a dive profile giving us plenty of time to inspect a good portion of the wall. And that we did! Along the way encountering the lone stubby squid, a playful red octo that couldn't get enough of my camera, and a handful of spotted ratfish. Our stay in the shallows provided Dane with the opportune moment to turn the camera on himself and catch a narcissist's snapshot, or two - of himself... which I always find amusing. We'll get Dane in an U/W Photography course soon! ;)

Here's to you, Dane! I wish you the very best in all things to come. We'll miss you here on the mainland, but expect to hear great things in the years to come. As always, you're a knock away from a place to stay.

Aloha, good buddy!

Dive Buddy Group: Dane Carson & Dan Estrada (Deep, for a long time!) ;)~

Beyond Redondodome...

So we're lounging around the shop today, tossing a few back, and in comes this gent claiming to have thrown together a new structure out at Redondo. Curiosity piqued, we reluctantly set aside our frothy Big K sodas and tuned in to the details. Seems he and a few friends took on the respectable challenge of building a PVC Geodesic Dome out 210˚ from the bug. After showing us the plans and describing the whereabouts to us we decided that this has gotta be something to see, and coincidentally enough we'd planned to dive there tonight anyway. Our typical one dive evening was voted two, so we packed in an extra tank and headed out.

The first of our tours was scheduled for the "deep end". We dropped down behind the pilings, holding up HCC's marine science lab, and rode the rope west towards the signature boats and statues along that line. Once I'd hit the end of the line I realized that we were missing a diver from our group and circled back to see if we could pick him up somewhere. Turned out that our DMC Nick had a diver down flag in tow and this was preventing him from descending any further than 60' - it was spooled out. I pointed to a nearby tire and we quickly threw a wrap around it to anchor the float.



The tire also provided us a view of our first Red Octo of the evening. Surprisingly, these little guys appeared to us everywhere throughout the first dive. As we meandered around the south end of the site I counted 8 Red Octo's, which is more than you'll usually see during a handful of dives anywhere. We spent a bit of time playing around with each of them before ending our dive and taking on our surface interval.

An hour and nine minutes later we were geared up and descending on our second dive of the evening. Tom and Joe had departed us, but the five of us that remained made the same descent we had earlier, with the Redondodome our goal for this dive. I was fully expecting to see a good number of Red's on this trip too, but instead it seemed they all had morphed into their Cephalopod cousins - the Stubby Squid!! I failed to find a single Red on our trip out to the dome, but came across no less than five good sized Stubby Squid this time around, which I'd not seen one of on our previous dive. Always an interesting place this Redondo is.



We slowly worked our way out to the dome and once we came across it we were surprised to see just how large this structure really was. With 10' poles making up each of the segments, it was no problem at all to swim through - and for that matter, to find all of us comfortably swimming inside the structure at one time. Which we did for a few minutes before heading back to shore. Can't wait to see some life calling this home in the near future. I'll definitely make this a stop on my next tour at Redondo. Good stuff... and thanks to those who put in the effort to make this truly unique structure for both the marine life here and the divers alike!!

For those that have yet to see it, check out the short clip showing our first visit to the newly built Redondodome!!



Dive Buddy Group: The Nick's, Aubrea, & James (with Tom C. & Joe L. joining in on the first dive) (Dive 1: 77fsw for 43mins; Dive 2: 64fsw for 35mins)

Duty Calls... The DM Saga...

Assisted with A2Z's Advanced Open Water Class (Dives 4 and 5) aboard the "Sampan" - Bandito Charters.

The dives: Drift (Dive 1), Boat (Dive 2)

What a gorgeous day for a boat dive, or two!

The first of our dive destinations took us under the Narrows bridge(s) for a taste of drift diving in the Sound. The predictions were set at a 1.1 knot ebb, and the Vis was good enough to give us a wide berth while still maintaining eye contact as we floated through streamers of bull kelp and around the large rock structures that make up the substrate here. The marine life was plentiful and kept our eyes occupied when we weren't otherwise checking in on each other. An amazing dive site!

The second of our dives brought us along the North Wall at Pt. Defiance. The clay wall here provided the class with a totally new and contrasting look, which I think they all quite enjoyed. Not nearly as rich with marine life as had been seen the previous dive, there were still glimpses of some pretty cool stuff here. There was at least one grunt sculpin, a stubby squid, and tons of Piddock clams lining the wall. No wolfies or GPO's out and about, but a sweet dive nonetheless.

Congratulations for a job well done guys and gals! I hope you enjoyed the time as much as I enjoyed tagging along. We'll be seeing you soon!!

Dive Instructor: Dane Carson
AOW Divers: The Jeff's, Carlita, Marissa & Justin (Tim D. joined in on the tours as well)

Duty Calls... The DM Saga...

Assisted with A2Z's Advanced Open Water Class (Dives 2 and 3) at Lobster Shop.

The dives: Deep (Dive 1), Underwater Navigation (Dive 2)

What can I say about this group? They rocked it again!

As we usually do, we all had a good laugh at the results of the Deep skills - which always seem to prove their point. And surprisingly, the Underwater Navigation skills proved to be better than the land navigation rehearsed prior to the dive. ;)

All in all, very nice work put in by everyone and hopefully a lot was gained today. Tomorrow it's "all aboard" Bandito Charters for our final two dives of AOW. Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Dive Instructor: Dane Carson
Assistant Instructor: Tom Carlson
AOW Divers: The Jeff's, Carlita, Marissa and Justin

Safe and Sound...

We're back at CI Shenanigans Dry Docks, and our goal for this dive is simple: to locate and lift the safe that we had found on a previous dive here. Dane and I had worked an AOW PPB class earlier in the evening and hung out around Les Davis for the arrival of the crew that would make up our "midnight" dive team. Although a midnight splash was the plan, a couple arrival delays put us back an hour or so. After getting our bearings, and agreeing on the entrance, based on our recollection of where the safe was located last time out, we were in.

We dropped in off the western-most dock and descended right on top of the safe. As we all gathered 'round, it became evident that someone had found the safe since our last visit here, and even more clear - they REALLY wanted in the thing. It no longer had the pristine look of being freshly dumped, but rather now looked like a victim of the "jaws of life". No matter, it was difficult to tell if it was successfully plundered from the silt now surrounding the safe so we decided to raise it anyway.

I took out my 75lb lift bag and the polypropylene rope we'd brought down for the occasion and went to work on the logistics of lifting this thing. The cleat shaped handle on the safe made securing the rope all too easy, and in short order we had the bag attached and ready for air. I commenced the filling and with a little persuasion the safe was upward bound. Instead of calling the dive at this point to lift it completely out of the Sound, we tied the bag off at the dock and made a dive of it.

We had some newbies to the night diving scene, so we toured them around the shallow dry docks and checked out the scene for a short while. The marine life highlights of course being the masses of Plumose Anemones that engulf the docks, and a single long-nosed skate, which is rarely seen around here.

Alyssa and I teamed up on the back end of the dive and so it was on us to find a way out. Instead of taking her out the familiar rock wall climb, which can be precarious at best, I decided to exit via the dock itself. Now that's a little work, but it turned out to be the exit of choice for the entire group. With our gear scattered all about the dock now, we went to collecting the safe. Chris and I managed to muscle the thing out of the water and we all checked out what we had in front of us. Whatever might have been in it was clearly gone by now. So in the end it's a successful search and recover mission, if nothing else. Dumping the empty safe back in the Sound was just not an option, so we packed it to Chris' truck for its journey to A2Z. By this point it was nearly 3am, and a long day called for a long nap. We were homeward bound.

Dive Buddy Group: Dane, Chris, Steve, and Alyssa (43fsw for 27min.)

Duty Calls... The DM Saga...

Assisted with A2Z's Advanced Open Water Class (Dive 1) at Les Davis Marine Park.

The dive: Peak Performance Buoyancy (PPB).

The objective: to buoy all divers to peak performance... or something like that (?).

After laboring through the bookwork earlier in the day, it was good to get out and put the first in the series of AOW dives behind us. Looking forward to the Deep and U/W Navigation dives slated for tomorrow. Nice work guys... and gal. :)

See you mañana!

Dive Instructor: Dane Carson
AOW Divers: The Jeff's, and Carlita

A Titlow Stroll...

It's Tuesday night - and everyone knows what that means, yeah?

"A2Z social dive!"

Yes kids, it's that time again. Time to close your eyes and spin the globe and where it stops.... that's probably close enough. There were a bunch of us looking to splash, the tides were right, and Titlow seemed to be as good a place as any. Extremely calm conditions made it mighty crowded out there today.

By virtue of parking nearest me (and honestly because our "planned" dive buddies decided to take their time swimming out to us and therefore we decided to just pair them up instead), Karen LaBonte became my dive buddy. Last we had dove together our mission was to make sure all the hard-boiled eggs were out of the Sound. Yep, it was the Underwater Easter Egg Hunt out at the Les Davis Marine Park earlier in the year.

It was good to team up with her again. Our plan was simple... "the pilings". Just a leisurely stroll around the old ferry dock pilings, taking in the sights before the face-lift. What face-lift you ask? A staple here at the Titlow dive site, the Plumose Anemone covered pilings are scheduled for extraction in the coming months. I'm not sure when exactly, but rumor has it soon enough. The creosote saturated pilings have stirred up controversy for some time, and an Eco-friendlier solution, by way of concrete artificial reef structures, will soon be the new draw here. I'm all for the change, but I quite enjoy the pilings and all of the life they've drawn and supported here since I've been diving the site. So, as homage to them... we dive today.

We kicked around for nearly an hour before calling it a dive. Got some cool video and pics of everyone zipping by on their own tours... but my favorite shot of the day was the tiny Opalescent Nudibranch we perched on Karen's gloved finger. These are one of my favs.

Dive Buddy: Karen L.
Dive Buddy Group: Dane C., Dan E., the Jeff's, Alison, Heath, (31fsw for 51mins)

Duty Calls... The DM Saga...

Assisted with A2Z's Open Water Class (Dives 1 and 2) at Les Davis Marine Park.

The water temp a warm 49˚F, with our tour Vis somewhere around 10' (mask-to-mask Vis in the "drop zone"). No matter... everyone nailed their skills (as good divers should), and had a blast on their first underwater tour of the Sound.

Congrats to everyone for making it through weekend number one of OW class, and rocking the skills for us. There's a little work to do yet, but believe me... the fun's just begun. You're a weekend away from certification... Yay! After which I expect to hear stories of you all diving the globe. Or at least somewhere near me. ;)

AND... another quick acknowledgment...

Welcome back to PADI Instructing Mike DeAngelo! Mike is taking on his first instruction role since successfully testing through his IE and regaining his MSDT (Master Scuba Diver Trainer) status, after quite a hiatus from the sport. Although you can't really tell it's been nearly a decade away when you see him donned and diving. Like riding a bike for Mike. Welcome back, buddy!

If you have children that "swim like a fish" and might be interested in taking that next step into the diving world, get in touch with Mike DeAngelo at A2Z SCUBA and ask him about both the SEAL Team, and Junior programs. Mike will be starting both these exciting programs in September (I believe) and is looking for a few good kids! It's an experience your child will never forget, and one they won't be able to thank you enough for. Give'em a chance to anyway... ;)

Diving Day Island Wall...

If you like diving deep vertical sandstone faces and find frequent encounters with large adult Wolf-Eel, and the mighty GPO, exhilarating - then this is the site for you. There are few dive sites around that offer as many opportunities to see and to engage with these bad-boys of temperate waters as you might find here at Day Island. The wall's close proximity to the Narrows Passage cause it to be exceptionally sensitive to tidal exchanges and currents, making it a dive to plan very carefully. Especially when your entry and exit points are from the Day Island shore. Which was our dive plan today. From shore, at slack, on a weak exchange. One of the best days of the year to dive this site.

Perfect conditions call for one thing, and that's ... Murphy. Someone has to invite that creep every time, and he can't ever just sit on his hands and keep out of trouble. Nope, being the little klepto that Murphy tends to be something's going to come up missing. This time around it was Chip W. who was pinched. We intended to splash the wall a trio... Mike H. ("Holy Diver"), Chip W., and myself... but, when we found out that Chip's dry gloves had been made off with (a.k.a. "left at home")- the math made it two.

Being that Mike has a coming role to play in a desert theatre, and oasis diving sucks, it was good to get in a favorite Sound dive before the call of duty. It'd been early February since we'd last buddy'd up anyway, so we were due a dive.

We made our way down the steep grade to the shoreline and bumped into a group of four who had just finished their dive. They were all still rapping about their time with the wolf-eels and at least one of them figured we'd be heading that way ourselves soon enough so she offered up her remaining supply of herring. A favorite meal of the wolf-eel, we took her up on the offer and kicked out on a surface swim with a handful apiece. The hotdogs we'd already tucked away in our pockets were now to be the second-course.

After agreeing to the descent, we took a West heading to the top of the wall and then finished our descent down to the bottom shelf, at nearly 90'. From there we took a South heading and made a point to check out every nook and cranny along the way. Of which the swift currents here have carved out plenty over time. We methodically searched all of those in our path until we came across our target. A large adult Wolf-Eel - who appeared to be hungry.

The goal here is not just to feed, but to entice these guys out of their dens with the promise of food. In some cases you can't tempt them enough... food, or no. Luckily, today was not one of those days. The big guy we came across was more than willing to lunge himself out of his den and chomp after the tasty treats we offered up. Mike was first on the bait, while I stayed nearby to capture the encounter on camera. He spent a few minutes in the "lure and pet, lure and pet" mode, before I took up a position where I could do the same. I spent a few minutes feeding the big guy before repositioning with the camera above the action. I was there only a short time before I felt a nudge come from something behind me. I turned to find that it was this guys little lady paying us a visit. She didn't seem to be interested in joining the feast and fun but rather strolled into a den on the shelf above. I flashed her presence to Mike as she made her way up the wall, and then let him know that I was nearing a point where our dive should turn. We spent a few more minutes there with the male before making our way up the wall and aiming for shore. Great stuff!!

Check out the short clip of Mike's feeding, playing, and petting of the Wolf-Eel.





Dive Buddy Group: Mike Heilig, and almost Chip... but no Chip. (89fsw for 40mins)

Draining the tanks at the Dry Dock...

You ever have one of those days where you just need to get wet, but can't decide on where to splash...? If you're diving with any regularity at all I'm sure you've faced this dilemma a time or two. Well, today was one of those days. All the usual suspects were thrown out there, but today we were looking for something a little different.

Dane suggested we drive by the water front and just hop in somewhere that looked interesting. Tempting, but after I thought on it for a minute it came to me. "You dove the dry dock out by C.I. Shenanigans yet...?"

Although I'd dove the site once before there was still plenty I'd yet to see out there. Dane hadn't dove it, so... that was that... we agreed to the dry dock. Needing a little air, I made my way to A2Z and threw my tank on the compressor. I met up with Dane there and, as is obligatory when spotting a diver meandering aimlessly about a dive shop, in full view, you accost him (Mike D. in this case) and twist the heck out of his arm until he joins you. He was tough to persuade, I'll admit. We had to wait out nearly a full second before he was grabbing his tank for a fill too. Alright, maybe a slight exaggeration. ;)

Parking was pretty slim, but we managed to settle in and then gathered near shore for a dive brief. The Vis wasn't looking so hot at the surface, but we decided to take the not-so-giant stride off the dock anyway.

The sight of Plumose Anemones in row after row indicated we were on target. Seeing them from 10-15' away was a nice surprise... the Vis wasn't so bad after all. From the onset I lost sight of Mike, but soon had bubbles coming up at me from below indicating to me that he was taking in the view from there. I snapped a few photos from the topside and then Dane and I made our way down to join Mike at the end of the dock. We spent a short time there before working our way to depth on a NNE heading, and then making a turn to the ESE for the greater portion of our dive.

Along the way we crossed paths with: two abandoned crab pots; a playful sailfin sculpin who'd taken up residence on another small catch pot of some sort; a dungeness or two; bottles bottles bottles; timber of varying size and states of decomposition; and what appeared to be a freshly dumped safe, or secured file cabinet, wrapped in a unmistakeably new (and blue) moving blanket.

Now this "safe" was an interesting find. I passed over it with a very curious eye, but I was a bit more cautious than it turned out my dive buddies were. I was out front of the group and had gotten a bit beyond that point when I realized that I could no longer see the periodic flash of dive lights coming from behind me... which meant only one thing... they had stopped at that blanket. Sure enough, both Dane and Mike were on their knees unwrapping the blanket. I took up a position above and watched the unraveling. This was clearly a fresh dumping, not a lick of rust on the metallic exterior and the blanket looked like it was brand new. Unfortunately, a quick check of my SPG told me that I was down to 450psi and that I wouldn't have much time to hang out. Dane attempted to roll the object over which kicked up a cloud of silt that was going to make the job of trying to get in the thing that much more difficult... so I flagged him down and indicated I was heading to our exit point. I know... what kind of treasure hunter am I...? We could have been RICH...!!

And then there's the exit. Somehow, in all the pre-dive excitement (which didn't really exist), I forgot to mention the plan for exiting at this site. I did laugh a little about this underwater as I made my way to the unannounced exit point, but the joke was on me. After filling them in, both Mike and Dane were up the rock bulkhead and on the sidewalk before I was even out of my fins, so I figure there wasn't much harm done in omitting that little bit.




Dive Buddy Group: Dane C., and Mike D. (70fsw for 1hr03min.)

Redondo - with Vis!!

As is the case nearly every Tuesday night, I hooked up with a few of the A2Z social diving crew for a typical dive at a familiar haunt - tonight it's Redondo. Clear skies, and calm waters. After getting a zip up from a total stranger... being that my dive buddy deserted me (you know who you are... Dane! ;-), I made my way to the recently reopened staircase, leading down to our entry point, and donned the rest of my gear. A cursory glance under the waters indicated we were looking at some promising Vis. I didn't bother to look again until we had finished our short surface swim just beyond Salty's restaurant and came to our standard descent line. The shallows are one thing, but when you can clearly see the bottom here, and some distance deeper down the line, then you know you're in for a good day.

Some spittle in the mask and we make our descent. We met up briefly with another group of divers we knew (Mike H., Chip W., and another of their diving buddies) at depth, some 80-90fsw, and hung their for a short time before slowly ascending the slope towards the "bug". All the way enjoying clear waters and the assortment of artificial reef structures playing host to the typical assortment of marine life. The VW Bug was in a greater state of decay than the last I'd seen it some months ago, but at least I could see all of it from one vantage point. I've logged numerous dives here and can't recall having this pleasure before today.

From there we found ourselves testing out PPB skills through the PVC triangles, setup for this purpose. Had a pretty good laugh at Mike's expense on his attempt to float through the obstacle. It was going well until his feet started to catch some air and float on him about 3/4 of the way through. He then turned up, facing the surface, while his tank (unbeknownst to him) found itself against the seafloor as he worked to get the fins through. As you might have guessed, this wasn't much of a success. "A little help, please!"

With Vis like this, the inevitable moment was upon us... Air Rings!! Dane made the turn and tossed up a steady stream, all of which disbanded within a few feet from him. After a couple attempts he was finally able to put up a keeper - and for our pleasure, he captured it on camera. A thing of beauty, but it just lacked the will to break the surface. Looked good on film though.

Check out the video.





Dive Buddy Group: Dane C., Mike D., and Joe L. (87fsw for 59mins)

July 4th Drift Dive - Fox Island Bridge

Began this 4th of July with early AM drift dives under the Fox Island bridge. This weeks exchanges are the steepest, and quickest of the year... which made for excellent conditions under the bridge this morning. 12' ebb at just about 3 knots in this channel. Predicted 4.8 knot ebb at the Narrows Passage.

Mike DeAngelo, with A2Z Scuba, planned the dive and passed out the invites. Of course I couldn't resist and had to jump on this one. Buddied up with my good friend Chip W. for two exciting rides. We averaged 30 minute dives, and didn't break 33 fsw during either trip. Will definitely come back to dive this site on a good exchange in the near future. Lots of marine life and flora to please the eyes throughout the dive.

We began our dives within the cove on the West-side of the bridge, where the boat launch is located, and drifted through the channel on our way to the East-side cove. Hopped out on that side... crossed the road... and jumped back in for the second run. Tons of fun!!

Check out the video clip of a portion of our second dive... you can hear the excitement.





Dive Buddy Group: Chip Waskiewicz, Mike DeAngelo, Alison Uuereb, Amy and Tom Rhodes

The Florida Keys

Although only a couple months had past since our good friends (and scuba instructors) Joe Bass, and Dave Meinert, had packed their bags and made the long trip to their new home in Key Largo - from the Great Pacific NW, we just couldn't wait to drop in on'em and make sure they hadn't already succumbed to the 'Keys Disease'.

It took nothing at all to persuade the crew here to hop a flight down to South Florida for a bit of R&R. Nikoal and I met up with Joe and Dave in Miami, and only after putting in the Key's compilation CD, featuring Michael McCloud's hit "Key West Florida's My Home", could we actually drive into the Key's. Joe wouldn't have it any other way... the mood was set. Ahhhhh... the Keys Baby!!

Wayne and Craig showed up later the next day, but this didn't stop us from getting in some No Name Reef dives, and a few 'Bugs' in the cooler before they showed up. We gave Nikoal's OW certification a shot too, but after a bumby ride out to the reef and a bit of nerves setting in on her, we had to postpone this for a later date.

Once the boys made it in to town the real diving began. We donned the 3mm suits in 78˚F water and descended on the USCGC Duane, and the LDS-32 Spiegel Grove. Numerous reef dives on both French and Molasses reefs introduced us to surge, and to vibrant colors underwater, which we don't see so much of here in the PNW. We touched the hand of Christ... of the Abyss... and watched as Wayne leapt from the waters into Cpt. Scotty's vessel at the first sight of reef shark. (HeeHee)

We took to hours of Spiny Lobstering, including a one hour and a half stint using the "hooka"... snuba style. Can't tell you how much fun that was hunting them down in and amongst some of the most beautiful reef the States have to offer. Great tasting 'Lil' Bugs' too. We feasted!!

All in all... not a bad trip.

Okay... so I understate it. Honestly, it was more fun than we could have ever imagined having going into this trip. We knew it would be a good time, but this was beyond.

A special thanks to our hosts for taking us into their home and allowing us to be part of the family for a week or so. Joe, Lisa, Dave, Meghan, Ricky... thanks for everything.

I can't forget the shout out to Wayne and Craig as well, without whom we all would have gotten much more sleep, and probably would have laughed a whole lot less. Thanks guys... see you in the Sound.

Pictures taken by: Brandon Hall, Wayne Parr, Joe Bass & Craig Miller