What is your fav dive loc in pnw??

[dieseldude]

Neah bay... There is no other..

neah Bay is very cool Chris but most of us have a long haul to get there & no money for a boat ride when we do. You got all the "connections". Whats it like to be a dive mafia boss?

[Acquatic]

I sm already making a list of dive locations where will I dive as a newbie.

So far it's
Edmonds water park
Titlow

Any other newbie sites?

[Archer]

Favorite sites fit in two or tree catagories. Places you can go in less than a day. Places that are all day trips.
NEAR CAMDIDATES, Edmonds UWP. So many years of work here not current sensitive. The other UWparks are catching up.
FAR CANDIDATES The exposed sides of the San Juans (Lime Kilm) Sekiu and Neah bay

[Nwbrewer]

Favorite sites fit in two or tree catagories. Places you can go in less than a day. Places that are all day trips.
NEAR CAMDIDATES, Edmonds UWP. So many years of work here not current sensitive. The other UWparks are catching up.
FAR CANDIDATES The exposed sides of the San Juans (Lime Kilm) Sekiu and Neah bay

I have to disagree, EUP is a current sensitive site. Plenty of new divers (me included) have had their butt's handed to them not checking the tides before splashing there. Every once in a while somebody gets too close to the ferry because they didn't pay attention to the current predictions, and that's not a spot you want to be in.

Jake

[LCF]

And Titlow is current sensitive, too! The site is very benign, if you time it right.

I'd add the Alki Pipeline to the list. A little current-sensitive, but very shallow and a great place to see small stuff.

The ultimate beginner dive site is Cove 2 -- You can stay shallow over a "hard" (silty) bottom. No current to speak of. And LOTS and LOTS of critters! Redondo is similar, although Redondo has the "Redondo river", which is a weird current that can sweep out of nowhere and make your life miserable. (Says Lynne, who ended up exiting on the other side of the fishing pier one day, with violent current and less than 10 feet of viz.)

[H20doctor]

Neah bay... There is no other..

neah Bay is very cool Chris but most of us have a long haul to get there & no money for a boat ride when we do. You got all the "connections". Whats it like to be a dive mafia boss?

Well its good being mafia.. But guido is not happy with your post.. And your protection has run out..

[Acquatic]

From all the discussion above looks like I will need some good diving buddies who are willing to do a newbie dive hehe

[Grateful Diver]

Let me know when you want to dive Redondo ... I enjoy showing new divers around ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[Acquatic]

Thank you bob but first I have to do good number of dives on rental gear before I buy my own .. It's too expensive :(

[dwashbur]

I sm already making a list of dive locations where will I dive as a newbie.

So far it's
Edmonds water park
Titlow

Any other newbie sites?

Definitely Redondo and Cove 2. Redondo can sometimes have that strange current, especially on high tidal exchange days, but I've only hit it twice. The biggest drawback to Cove 2 is the river-rock beach that can wrench an ankle if you lose your footing a bit. Three Tree is another fantastic one and usually doesn't have much current; the down side there is the hill down to the water. It's pretty steep and can be exhausting, but the dive is worth it every time. And don't forget Les Davis. The walk from the parking lot to the steps is long, but again it's worth it.

The nice thing about all the sites around here is, no matter how easy or advance they are, there are tons of critters to see and learn about. With both Edmonds and Titlow, always check the current tables, Titlow even more so than EUP.

[derek b]

I have yet to travel up to the PNW greats ( san juans & neah bay). So with my limited experiences here in Wa. I would say my favorite place is the Edmonds underwater park. The bulk of my underwater experiences have been in hawaii. Where most of the artificial reefs have been sunk in the 100 foot rang and are fairly far apart. Something like the underwater park in edmonds where nothing is deeper then 40', tons of stuff to explore and is HUGE, is a very special privilege.

I was watching some reef diving videos on u-tube and was wondering do we have any good reefs with good visibility here in pnw? I am sure it would not be that great like the tropics but still.

Like I mentioned above. Most of my diving has been in Hawaii. The clean blue water is definitely great. But The reefs pale in comparison to a kelp forest. In hawaii reefs life is only on the reef. With a kelp forest you have life in the canopy all the way down to the rock bottom. I wrote a blog about my first cold water dive.

[pensacoladiver]

Chris,

I am glad you made the vote for Neah Bay as it is my favorite too. Of course, deciding which site there is the best is a bit harder.

My top 3 places are the fingers, Tatoosh island and 3rd beach reef.

I have been giving a lot of thought to flying out next summer and spending a week at Neah Bay. Is it too early to start the logistical planning for this?

[whatevah]

I think Boundary Buoy should be high on everyone's list.

[LCF]

Where is Boundary Buoy? I haven't heard of that site.

[Norris]

Chris,

I am glad you made the vote for Neah Bay as it is my favorite too. Of course, deciding which site there is the best is a bit harder.

My top 3 places are the fingers, Tatoosh island and 3rd beach reef.

I have been giving a lot of thought to flying out next summer and spending a week at Neah Bay. Is it too early to start the logistical planning for this?

I double dog dare you!!

[pensacoladiver]

Chris,

I am glad you made the vote for Neah Bay as it is my favorite too. Of course, deciding which site there is the best is a bit harder.

My top 3 places are the fingers, Tatoosh island and 3rd beach reef.

I have been giving a lot of thought to flying out next summer and spending a week at Neah Bay. Is it too early to start the logistical planning for this?

I double dog dare you!!

Sucker, I would have done it for a hell of a lot less.

[Norris]

Chris,

I am glad you made the vote for Neah Bay as it is my favorite too. Of course, deciding which site there is the best is a bit harder.

My top 3 places are the fingers, Tatoosh island and 3rd beach reef.

I have been giving a lot of thought to flying out next summer and spending a week at Neah Bay. Is it too early to start the logistical planning for this?

I double dog dare you!!

Sucker, I would have done it for a hell of a lot less.

Which is why I save my triple dog dares for only the most serious occasions.

[whatevah]

Where is Boundary Buoy? I haven't heard of that site.

Here is a link - hope it works.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=48.766931 ... 08804&z=12

If you follow the international border line northeast from Turn Point, there is a dog-leg turn to the North. There's a navigational marker there, anchored on (roughly) the top of a reef which is surrounded by much deeper water. If you get the right dive conditions there you will see truly beautiful scenes and also gain a privileged insight into the continuously active geological history of our area. If you look at the eastern extents of Patos and Sucia you can see the scars left by glacial action and erosion long ago - it's a story you can see repeated underwater also. When you descend from Boundary Buoy to the top of the reef you can see a very long chunk of seemingly monolithic rock running approximately north-south. Perfectly parallel lines run along the reef - some 6' deep and 6' wide, and some as much as 20' deep and 20' wide - they're cut square as though they were engineered to be so. In the bottom of these channels you will see sand and gravel mix - very clean - almost as white as the immense fields of plumose anemone coating the rock. In some places you'll find perfectly round holes in the rock - when you look into them you'll see that they're perhaps 5' or 6' deep - in the bottom there's a rounded rock - through the ages the tidal movements have caused it to grind a perfect cylinder into the surrounding material. It feels like an alien landscape - quite humbling. It's a difficult site to hit just right - my best experience there came while spending a week of diving based out of a camp site on Sucia. Ron Akerson from Adventures Down Under in Bellingham runs a charter out there from time to time but like most San Juans area dives you take your chances on conditions. I think you are a boater? You should plan ahead for a week or two at Sucia and Stuart Islands sometime if you can get time away. Stuart is by far my favorite island to camp on - spending some time there is an experience in and of itself. If you ever get a good look at the formations at Boundary Buoy I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on them - I've got my own theory but I am far from sure.

[LCF]

Interesting spot -- I can see why you would need fairly perfect conditions to dive there; it's very exposed.

We really need to get the boat out more. I just need to figure out a way to get over my "won't dive off an unattended boat" problem

[kcamfield]

Where do you dive in PT?
I grew up there and get back every year in the summer. Have always wanted to dive there.

Port Townsend! Of course no one here is aware of that.
Reason, More critters than anywhere else I dive.