Northwest Dive Club

Hello All!

I am a recent transplant from the midwest, I found your wonderful forum when looking for information on diving Keystone. I love cold water diving, we have been diving in the Vancouver area, and God's Pocket many times. And I am looking forward to exploring the Puget Sound more!

You came to the right place. Welcome!
What part of the Puget Sound area are you in? Lots of buddies all up and down the coast ready to show you around.

We're about half an hour outside of Seattle. Willing to drive pretty much any place!

Welcome!

Keystone's is a great dive site! Unfortunately, you just hit the end of Keystone season! You can dive keystone at other times but the tides are best the first half of the year, which is now past. The sweet spot is to dive this site an hour before slack on a mild flood (1.5 knots or preferably less) if you want to make a great 2 dive day of it. Now we're at a tide cadence when most of the best times to dive it are either too early to commute from seattle to do or a bit late.

The best days to dive Keystone for the rest of the year coming from Seattle (wind pending) are July 12, and exactly every 4 weeks therafter. All late afternoon dives.

You can still dive low tide slack on other days but the tides would likely be too strong to go to the end of the jetty or spend much time there.

If you stay on the island, it opens up other optimal options. From Issaquah, I have to leave my house 3.5 hours before slack, no fun if slack is at 7:30 am. (3.5 hours = 2 hour commute with ferry, + .5 hour gear setup + .5 hour slack correction + .5 hour jump in before slack)

-Eric

Well Shoot! We were planning a dive for Sunday I believe there’s supposed to be slack around 11:30.
Thanks for the great info Eric. Sounds like we might have to pick another spot.

The ideal time to jump in on Sunday is at 6:15 am. 5pm is also a better choice. You want to jump in slack before flood if you can. The slack before ebb is hard to predict and would be way easier than 11. Try maybe 9 splash if those other times don't work for you.

When the currents are running you have an option to stay in closer... don't go too far beyond where it begins to push you out past the end of the jetty.
There's the "rock of life" which is a bigger rock which has the line connected to it that is often nice. Right now its pretty full of kelp but nearby rocks are nice. Enjoy!

-Eric

Hi Eric!

Thanks for all your help! Figuring out what tides are the best is still new to me...
I talked to my dive buddy last night and we might end up going to Mukilteo, and save Keystone for a date when it will be really good. There also looked to be a brewery close that would be fun to stop at on our way back.
OR we might go to Keystone around 5pm as you suggested. Haven't decided yet.

Great! Is the nearby brewery you speak of The Diamond Knot? Fun place to go, just because its named after a local shipwreck/divesite. Don't go if you have a peanut allergy though, lol. Another nearby option is the Mukilteo Lodge, slightly better food.

A couple of us are on Whidbey tomorrow, let us know if you go either early or late! Watch the wind forecast, so far the wind is coming from the north at Keystone which is ok.

We'll probably be at keystone for 9. We were going to do deception but the forecast + that tide doesn't look for a pretty exit.

Thanks for the invite! We’re headed for Mulkiteo right now! Have a great dive.