Browning Pass - a trip of absolute beauty & total disaster?

[John Rawlings]

I just dropped off Curt Bowen at SeaTac for his flight to Florida via Washington, DC, after a week of diving out of the Browning Pass Hideaway with our friend, John deBoeck. NWDC members Larry and Kathy Collison (Octoloco), Kriss Bradley (Blaiz), Curt McNamee, Bric Martin (Blackwater), Scott Boyd (Boydski), and George Whiteside (Gillenvy) joined Curt and I for some absolutely WONDERFUL diving! The group did Browning Pass wall several times, along with 7-Tree Island Wall, the wreck of the Themis on Croaker Rock, Snowflake, Rainbow Reef, Hussar Point and the famous Nakwakto Rapids! Vis varied depending on the site between 30 and 80 feet, and everyone, except me, was able to get some fine photos.....

"Except me"????? What does that mean, you might ask? Well.....on dive # 1 on Tuesday morning I FLOODED MY FRICKIN' CAMERA!!!!!! It was insured, so I'm sure that a replacement is on the horizon....but I was totally unable to take any photos after that and it darned near broke my heart! It was my own damn fault and I felt like screaming several times after it happened....

AFTER (of course!) I flooded my camera we saw Steller Sea Lions, breaching Humpback Whales, and a pod of Orcas, including two big males along with a mom with a "teenager" and what looked like a yearling in tow. on the way back to the Hideaway from watching the Orcas we had a brief view of a group of Pacific White-sided Dolphins chasing some fish near the surface.....sigh.

Despite my camera woes, (AND an incredibly painful hip!), it was a gorgeously beautifully wonderful trip with some great folks, and I'm hoping that the other NWDC members that went along will post some of their pics here. Warbonnets, Puget Sound King Crabs, Giant Pacific Octopuses, Wolf-eels, soft corals....all there in glorious abundance....sigh.

BTW, Lynne....Did I mention that we dived Nakwakto????

- John

[Jan K]

Flooding the camera on the first dive must be every photographers worse nightmare.
Believe me, I feel your pain
I am looking forward to see pics from others, I wish I could be there with you guys.
Browning Pass area is such a great place ....

[Joshua Smith]

Duuuude. So sorry to hear about the camera!

[Blaiz]

im working on a writeup as we speak

[boydski]

John,

Thank you for putting together such an awesome trip! The diving was spectacular, the divers were a riot and the Hideaway was fun (aka Rustic). I had a blast!

I'm really bummed about your camera and hope you get a nice new housing and camera soon so you can get back in the water for those stunning pictures you alwasy take.

Browning Wall is an amazing place to dive. The soft corals reminded me of diving in the Tropics!


Bric Martin (Blackwater) on Browning Wall

I think we dove Browning Wall at least once per day. The cheerfull groans on the boat of, "Oh No, Browning Wall again...", became a running joke. I could dive that wall every day for weeks and not get bored!


Mother and calf Orca in the Queen Charolette Straits.

The Pod of Orcas and Humpback whales that we saw on the way back from Nawakto rapids made for a perfect day of diving.


Kelp Greenling on Browning Wall

The Kelp Greenlings were mating, which made for some very humorous behavior.



Nakwakto Gooseneck Barnacles on Tremble Island.

[spatman]

john - so sorry to hear about the camera! sounds like you still managed to have a great time, though.

scott - nice pics! will we get to see more?

kriss, bric, etc - looking forward to seeing your photos and reading trip reports.

glad to hear you all had an awesome time! (minus the camera tragedy, of course.)

[Bric Martin]

Browning Pass is truly one of the most beautiful places in the world, both above and below the water. This is my third time to Browning Pass, my second with John Rawlings and Curt Bowen. The group was great, and a lot of fun to be with. Curt kept us laughing with his usual sense of humor.

As for the diving, we had great visibility. I dove around 80 feet on most of the dives and could always see the surface. We dove all the staple Browning Pass dives, but the highlight was Nakwakto Rapids. John Deboeck gave us a great dive brief and the dive was all it was built up to be and more, spectacular color everywhere!

Scott, thanks for being a great dive buddy this week. John, thanks for another great trip. I really can't wait to go back!

[boydski]

scott - nice pics! will we get to see more?

I'm hoping we'll see more of the other photographer's really spectacular photos. Some of the previews I saw at the Hideaway and on the Ferry last night were stunning!

John DeBoeck would get me laughing every morning when I'd ask him if we were diving a wall or a something shallow so I'd know wether to shoot wide-angle or macro. Every time I would ask the question, I would get the same answer, "Go Wide, or Go Home!"



Doesn't that just remind you of cruising along a reef in Cozumel? Stunning colorful corals and sponges.



More Kelp Greenling Photos. They were everywhere, like rockfish.




The Puget Sound King Crabs were HUGE and were up in the shallows to molt (20' deep).

[Dusty2]

Nice stuff so far guys, Brick, That 5th shot is awesome!

[Joshua Smith]

Wonderful shots, all of you! Thanks for posting them here. A note to those of you reading this who have not been there: it really, truly, DOES look just like these pictures up there. It will blow your mind. Put this place on your bucket list.

[Jan K]

john - so sorry to hear about the camera! sounds like you still managed to have a great time, though.

scott - nice pics! will we get to see more?

kriss, bric, etc - looking forward to seeing your photos and reading trip reports.

glad to hear you all had an awesome time! (minus the camera tragedy, of course.)

+1

The pictures so far are superb - all of them

[Dusty2]

Damn John, I can't think of a worse fate than that! travel all that way to an awesome site like that and then have to dive a whole week without a camera? I think I would died of depression.
I have been through that awe Sh!@#$# moment more than once but never in a situation like that. Glad you didn't spot any mermaids or or giant squid this trip.

[Scubak]

I'm sorry about your camera...bummer!!!
Thanks to the others that were there for some great pics. Looks like a great time. If you go back soon, let me know as I would love to go...
Did I say Beautiful pics??? I am so jealous....
Kirsten

[Tom Nic]

I am so sorry about your camera John.... Ugh.

Fabulous pictures and looking foward to more.

[Octoloco]

Just got back a couple of hours ago. Spent the night in Campbell Ribver and meandered our way back and forth across much of Vancouver Island getting back, even spotted a black bear and at another place found fresh bear poop! A couple of deer but no elk.

It was a wonderful trip, great people, food, and diving!! Thanks to everyone who participated, and a special thanks to John Rawlings for putting the trip together! This was our second trip to the Hideaway and we'll be back for more!

Here's a couple of favorite shots Larry and I took

[Dusty2]

That snail shot is cool! I've never seen one like that.

[Gdog]

Oh wow. simply stunning. I just put Browning Pass on my bucket list.

[LCF]

Gorgeous photos, definitely whetting my appetite for next week's trip.

I doubt we'll get to do Nakwakto, though; the exchanges are too big this coming week. Reason to come back!

[ljjames]

simply brilliant!

scott, i LOVE the wide angles... love love love... did anyone shoot video?

[Octoloco]

A couple more pics:

Hooded Nudi Bay produced thousands upon thousands of these guys!

Basket Star and Lemon Peel

This guy was huge!

Candy Stripes on nearly every painted? anemone

Donald Duck?

Fighting or making out!?

And of course, the spectacular Nakwakto Rapid Gooseneck Barnacles

[Bric Martin]

Nice shots Kathy! Glad to hear everyone made it back safe. Here are a couple more shots from topside. The last one is a picture of the new guest house, a really nice improvement!

[BASSMAN]

in a word..."WOW!
I'm sitting here with my jaw on the floor, as I read and look at these awesome pictures. Thanks!

[Dusty2]

Wow! Great shots Brick they look like post cards.

Kathy. Looks like your finally getting a handle on that camera. Nice work

I'll just have to live vicariously thru your photos and reports guys cause I ain't never going to have the bucks to get that far north.

[Alexitt]

in a word..."WOW!
I'm sitting here with my jaw on the floor, as I read and look at these awesome pictures. Thanks!

+1
Definitely on my bucket list... Really sympathize about the camera woes John...

[Blaiz]

as near as i can recall or reconstruct, this is the schedule in general of what we did. can some of you help fill in the blanks, or correct me where i'm wrong? :luv:

10-2 2pm rock of life
10-2 5pm eagle rock?
10-2 seven tree night dive

10-3 9am hooded nudi bay
10-3 12n browning wall
10-3 night dive…where?

10-4 630 morning wakeup with the otters
10-4 9am seven tree
10-4 1pm browning pass wall
10-4 night dive?

10-5 930 shipwreck?
10-5 223pm browning pass wall?
10-5 9pm snowfall night dive

10-6 7am eagle rock
10-6 12pm nakwato rapids
10-6 1pm humpbacks
10-6 4pm orcas
10-6 6pm rainbow? night dive

10-7 9am rock of life
10-7 10am Kathy and larry did the wreck