Northwest Dive Club

And finding new species of fish to add to your life list can get addicting...uhh, I mean...can add a strong focus and motivation to future dives.

There may be merit in framing sinking ships and other similar structures not as "artificial reefs", which does imply a "marine life enhancement" conservation benefit, but rather as an underwater attraction for promoting ecotourism. This focuses the question more on the economics ...

I'm so bummed. I dive Sund Rock all the time, but will be in Spokane that weekend. Ain't that the way life goes some times...

Thank you! I will be going out again this weekend. Hope to encounter it (or kin) again, and will try to get better shots. These are pretty poor.

It is always fun to find a "head-scratcher"

The write-up in Lamb 2nd edition does not show the hairy sides for the gray starsnout but looking at that section, there are several of the smaller poachers that have not been on my radar screen. Seems like i need to not assume all those tiny poachers I am seeing are pygmy poachers...

These came from dives that went off from the middle or north wall, most of these observations were below 90'.

Splash time was usually later in the afternoons, 3-4 pm

I saw this guy and then did a double take. i have not seen (or at least not noticed) pygmy poachers with as many side cirri as this one has. His side almost looks hairy. I assume it is a pygmy (single cirrus on at corner of mouth).

Sorry the picture is not crisper...

Over the past few weeks I have come across a few fun species at Sund Rock--fun in that they are species I rarely encounter--or rarely see there. Bay Gobies--several seen on a couple of different dives--first time in well over a year I have encountered one--and never have seen more than 1 at a time. ...

I picked up this little guy at about 90' down at Sund Rock on Sunday. Went through the books, but did not see anything that felt like this guy. The closest I came was to the unknown sculpin on page 225 of Andy Lamb's 2nd edition of Coastal Fishes. Notice the long growth on his/her nose... sculpin un...

I got about 300+ dives out of my USIA suit.

I finally retired it and dive a fusion bullet. Great suit.

Fun discussion. At one level it is nice to know "we" don't know everything yet-- always opportunities to learn more. Mysteries of the deep!

One basic rule of camping is: if your feet are cold, put on a hat.

Make sure your hood is tight and you don't have a lot of water exchange in your hood during a dive.

I wear a tropical beanie hood under my main hood to reduce water exchange. It made a big difference for my fingers and toes.

What a great mix of species. You have a great eye for spotting critters and talent for getting their picture.

I would get a luxfer given the choice, the tail up attitude is an asset if you have to give it or take it from someone. This is the point someone made in the class last week, but I had too many other things swirling around to remember which brand did this--I could just remember there was a buoyancy...

It looks like Luxfer and Catalina are the two main tank manufactors for the aluminum 40. Dive Gear Express lists some of their specs http://www.divegearexpress.com/gas/aluminum.shtml Do folks have strong feelings on which tank is a better choice for Puget Sound diving? The Luxfer seems to be very bu...

Last weekend I took and survived Advanced Nitrox and Decompression procedures with Don Kinney / ETTS-ETDS, out of Hoodsport n Dive. :taco: A lot of learning but my form sure improved a lot by the last dive. Dive masters were great. Mike (DM) brought his video camera so we could dissect our performan...

Thank you for posting your write-up. It answered a lot of my questions. The Xen looks like a very handy addition to have.

my thought was Pacific Cod also, with that long barbel.

Sorry to resurrect a quiet post, but I notice no one mentioned HOG regs. They seem to be getting a lot of positive press and seem to be very affordable....

I was just down in Pensacola visiting the inlaws and checked on diving the Oriskany (sp) myself. May be going back in the spring. Spoke to a couple of dive shops about charter options. One mentioned the vis was best in the fall and winter (like here).

Just wanted to say THANK YOU ALL for your helpful input. I can see having additional lift makes a lot of sense as more equipment gets attached to the BC--lights, bottles, camera, etc...

Excellent photos!

Excellent. Thank you. Most helpful.

I dive a DSS now, and have enjoyed it for 300+ dives.

I will be looking at other brands before I make my final decision on the new setup.

I am slowly moving into the tech realm. I have got a couple of steel 100s I am doubling up. I will be getting a new BP/W setup but I am not sure what sized wing to get (lbs of lift).

Is there an easy rule of thumb? Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.