Whidbey Island Critters

[Tom Nic]

That will teach that mean ol' Star to mess with Nudis!

[LCF]

Fascinating! You have to figure that anything that brightly colored and slow-moving has to have some kind of effective defense.

[Jan K]

Clown nudibranch look seems to be the fashion trend among Whidbey crabs

[Jan K]

From the Keystone waters - not much new ...

[LCF]

Oh, fabulous photo of the female kelp greenling! They are so incredibly skittish -- I normally consider myself lucky when I notice one soon enough to get to watch her swimming out of the reach of my light . . .

[Jan K]

Thank you Lynne, having Keystone Underwater Park where the fish are bored with all the divers frequenting its waters,
even the Kelp Greenlings are less bothered by pesky photographers like me. I still have to get a good picture of
them at Possession Point. There they flee the moment I wake the camera out of its "sleep".
It is getting harder and harder to add new fish onto my list, but I did manage the other night at Langley Tire Reef.
At first I didn't realize it was a new Poacher, for I can't see that well anymore underwater - here is new addition
to my Whidbey Critter list - Northern Spearnose Poacher...

[LCF]

Wow, what a wonderful rogue's gallery of poachers!

I feel your pain with the eyesight, Jan. Even with my bifocal mask, there are a lot of small fish nowadays that I have to take pictures of and look at on the computer, before I'm sure what they were . . .

[Jan K]

Having fun with Starry flounders :

[Joshua Smith]

Jan, you are the fish whisperer. I'm continuously amazed at your prolific skills. I'm pretty sure I could ask you for a picture of a GPO ramming a ling cod into the eye socket of a sixgill shark, and you would have multiple images to choose from.

[LCF]

Did you mark that poor flounder for assassination?

I remember diving a wall in the San Juans with Melody Music (yes, that's her name) and finding a beautiful female kelp greenling, a big one. I was admiring her when a big, dark shadow flew past my right shoulder and CHOMP! End of kelp greenling. I felt terribly guilty, as though I had worked the spotting scope for a sniper . . .

[Zen Diver]

One of the things I love about my iPad, Jan, is how great your images look on it Simply stunning, you are SO talented.

Valerie

[Jan K]

Thank you all for kind words, the reason I didn't post last week, I visited Canada
Friend of mine decided to try some fishing on the west coast of Vancouver Island, we hooked up his
16' boat behind my Jeep and off we went. Destination Tahsis on Nootka Sound. Not a dedicated
dive trip, but I was able to take along two cylinders and my dive gear. More talented writers already
described diving AT NOOTKA SOUND. Reading the reports by John, Bob, Curt, Tom and others, I sure
didn't need any encouragement to peek under the waters of Nootka. I did not descend to the depths
where the gorgeous gorgonians are, for being alone on aluminum 80 didn't seem like the smartest
thing to do so I limited my forays to shallower depths. And I enjoyed them tremendously. Lat time I saw
crinoids was in tropical waters. On my first dive close to Mozino Point - I found thousands !!
Instead of struggling with written report, I will share some of the sights I enjoyed there ...

[Jan K]

[Tom Nic]

Gorgeous photos... Glad you got to experience one of my favorite places on the planet - above and below the water!

[Jan K]

And this concludes the first day of diving near the Mozino Point light.
The current was too strong to dive at the light since we arrived when the tidal exchanges
were high, right after the full moon. Also Scott Schooner from the Tahtsa Dive Charter
was out of town on this weekend. Fortunately his wife Jude was VERY helpful in sharing
information about the dive sites. I choose the 60' Pinnacles as my alternative and I was
not disappointed. Plenty of new critters and some familiar ones in new setting.








Although it was Canadian long weekend holiday, I was the only diver in town. In spite of
this and very hot weather, Jude stayed open and filled my two cylinders so I can enjoy
some more of the underwater scenery the following day. What a service !

[Tom Nic]

Please tell them hello for me. I heard rumor that Jude was recently elected Mayor as well.

[Jan K]

The rumor is true, Jude is the mayor of Tahsis
The second day we head out 20 nautical miles to the open waters of the Pacific
where the locals go to catch fish. The seas were so calm that I could not resist to
see what I can find underwater. Unfortunately, the water was not as clear as I
was hoping for, nor was the topography and marine life. The highlight of this
dive were numerous Northern abalone which are lately so hard to find. The sun was
bearing down on us, the open skiff did not provide any protection on hottest day of
the year.

[Jan K]

The trip was great in spite that I did not see the gorgonians for which Tahsis is justly
famous for. Also I would like to have another diver along, so I could include person in the pictures
to better show the size of some of the underwater features. Well, maybe next time

[LCF]

Jan, give me some warning that you are going up there, and I'll arrange the time off. I mean it!

What a fabulous set of pages -- clearly a new environment inspired you. We should all chip in for funds for Jan's travel, so we can enjoy these fantastic new art and educational efforts!

[Tom Nic]

Yes, Salmon is definitely King in Tahsis, though in my opinion it should not be. If not for the remoteness of this place divers would be beating a path from all over... but then maybe that is what keeps it so beautiful. I sure hope some folks see your pics and get up there and dive with Scott & Jude and their Tahtsa dive charters. Lodging in the Winter (after September) is downright cheap as it is a buyer's market. And people trailer their boats there all the time to fish, why not to dive?! There isn't a whole lot of navigating to do, and the diving within 15-30 minutes of the dock is simply stupendous.

Thanks for sharing Jan!

[oldsalt]

Jan: Another destination to add to places I need to see. I suspect that any of the sounds on the west side of the island seem like the edge of civilization. A book you might like is "Beyond the Outer Coast" by Eric Enno Tamm. Tamm is a Canadian First Nations writer who tells about Ed Ricketts work on the Vancouver Island coast. I would be glad to loan you my copy if you want to read it.
-Curt

[John Rawlings]

Ahhh....Mozino Point....one of my favorite locations on the PLANET! I'm glad that you were able to make it up there, Jan, and I hope that a lot of NWDC'ers will follow your lead and visit Tahsis. Scott at Tahtsa Dive Charters can drop you right at the sweet spots!

I've dived out of Tahsis for years and have not heard of a site called the "60 foot pinnacles". Where are they located in relation to Mozino Point or Tahsis itself?

[Jan K]

Jan: Another destination to add to places I need to see. I suspect that any of the sounds on the west side of the island seem like the edge of civilization. A book you might like is "Beyond the Outer Coast" by Eric Enno Tamm. Tamm is a Canadian First Nations writer who tells about Ed Ricketts work on the Vancouver Island coast. I would be glad to loan you my copy if you want to read it.
-Curt

Yes, Nootka Sound is definitely great destination. And thanks for the tip on the book. Winter time reading for the time being.

I've dived out of Tahsis for years and have not heard of a site called the "60 foot pinnacles". Where are they located in relation to Mozino Point or Tahsis itself?

John, Mozino Point is the spot! The 60' Pinnacles are right close to the light, around the corner from it, into the narrows. I copied the name from a hand drawn chart Jude shared with me. And I named the Tunicate wall because I had no idea what the name for that chunk of narrows is. I looked at the near wall, looked at the depth sounder and decided to jump in and check it out. Found lots of Sea Peach tunicates, so I named it. The next diver might find something else more appropriate and name it differently. Until there is an "official" dive map available, it may remain confusing. I wouldn't be surprised if you actually dived the Pinnacles

[renoun]

A book you might like is "Beyond the Outer Coast" by Eric Enno Tamm. Tamm is a Canadian First Nations writer who tells about Ed Ricketts work on the Vancouver Island coast.
-Curt

I've been fascinated by the West Coast of Vancouver Is. and Northern BC. Unfortunately I have only been able to make brief forays into this country. I have a few favorite publications too.

The Curve of Time by The Curve of Time by M. Wylie Blanchet. Three's a Crew, Hidden Harbor, Bright with Silver, and Second Meeting by Kathrene Sutherland Gedney Pinkerton which unfortunately out of print and have to be found on the used market. Both authors write about being of very modest means and cruising North from Seattle before WWII. They actually write about meeting eachother.

I have greatly enjoyed the various essays collected in the Raincoast Chronicles series which contain various first person accounts of life in BC by homesteaders, mariners, fishermen, loggers, etc. So far twenty one volumes have been published and I've been fortunate that most reside in the Seattle Public Library's collection.

[Jan K]

And back to local diving. Another nice day at the Pass ...
Friendly divers, lots of Buffalo sculpins and broken plate. Plenty of sunshine above.