Some friends and I braved the weather this last weekend and had an amazing dive off of Orcas at Obstruction Pass/Brown Rock. Wind subsided and a great slack/minimal exchange held through most of the day despite some pretty heinous forecasts leading in. Surface temps were about 17, with water hovering around 44. Toasty! Visibility was poor for winter, maybe 10ft near the surface and 15ft at depth. Turbidity soaked up pretty much all light by 50fsw.
Dive starting off the launch at the marina across the bay,(notice the icicles on the dock) we had about a 30 minute surface swim with light current. Reaching Brown Rock we followed a spiral route counterclockwise around the rock, descending to a max of 65fsw. I'd estimate about a 2knot current at depth, which mixed with pretty poor visibility made the experience feel like a drift and/or night dive. Thrilling! We kept the rocks to our left and stayed neutral as a plethora of structures and fauna flowed by.
The dive started pretty timid, plenty of orange cucumbers feeding in sandy terrain. Once the boulders were reached we drifted by an array of sponges, anemone, Puget Sound King Crab, enormous urchins, and a few kelplings. Near max depth I spotted a crevice filled with various crab parts, and the enormous GPO hiding within. Held a gentle safety stop in some kelp near the surface and breached to a beautiful winter sunset. Wonderful and dive with plenty to see!