Edmonds Oil Dock...How Deep Does it Go?

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:08 pm

What is out beyond the final pilings? If I wanted to do a "deep dive" (132 FSW max) with my buddy, does it get that deep? Anything to see?

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 2:24 pm

It goes all the way to the bottom.....which is deeper than I'll go, but I've been pretty deep right there. It's a great dive, but I have to caution you- make damn sure you hit it at slack on a low exchange- the current there can be absolutely ferocious.
If you head out perpendicular from either the North or South end of the "T", you'll start hitting sunken pilings and cool junk to look at below 100 fsw or so- for some reason, the area straight off the middle of the pier doesn't seem to have as much stuff to look at, and from the pier to about 100' is kind of barren- one of my favorite shore dives, though- lots of huge lings and cabbies down there. I really can't stress timing slack here enough, though- I got it wrong, once, and it was a wee bit more.....*exciting* than I care for.

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 3:16 pm

slack before flood is best. you don't want to be beyond the pilings on a slack before ebb.

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 6:44 pm

Nailer99 wrote: make damn sure you hit it at slack on a low exchange- the current there can be absolutely ferocious.

We're going to be hitting it pretty close to slack. How deep is it at the end of the pilings ("dock")? I haven't been there in years and my previous dives there topped out at 70 FSW. Is 132 FSW easily obtainable without finning a mile?

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 9:25 pm

Yeah- from the end of the dock, it drops pretty fast; a lot like the slope off the Mukilteo T dock. Let me know how your dive goes- like I said, one of my very favorite dive sites, but I've had about as many thumbed dives as successful ones there.

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:11 am

Nailer99 wrote: Let me know how your dive goes- like I said, one of my very favorite dive sites,

Will do. We're headed over there on Friday. I'm going to take down the standard "toys" for our deep dive: an egg, tennis ball, ping pong ball, etc.

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:18 am

Friday, as in tomorrow? Pretty big exchange......even if you hit slack, you might still get blown out. Actually, I'm pretty sure you will get blown out. I've learned the hard way to look for low exchange days for that site- if you're going, be carefull!

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:29 am

-2.8kn to +1.8kn (admiralty inlet) is the correction direction but too big an exchange without a scooter IMO

what's up with the 132ft fascination? this isn't some sort of depth record attempt is it?

dsteding · Post by **dsteding** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:37 am

Here come the scuba police . . .

Seriously, why the 132 fsw on a day with bad exchanges? To me, that seems to be two strikes on the dive plan, for what it is worth.

What is your gas plan? I'm assuming you'll be in doubles?

Disclaimer:

I hate scuba police. I also can't sit quietly when someone is posting what I would think is a clearly bad plan . . . listen to Nailer, he's got a fair amount of dives there. Really deep with bad current=CO2 buildup, narcosis galore and bad juju.

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:50 am

dsteding wrote: Seriously, why the 132 fsw on a day with bad exchanges? To me, that seems to be two strikes on the dive plan, for what it is worth.

Might as well go for three strikes and do it nekkid ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:51 am

132 is the max recreational depth (5 atmospheres). No facination, just fun. I haven't been that deep in quite a while, and I"ve alway wanted to go beyond the "dock" out there. You are correct though, if the tide exchange/current is going to be a problem, I will absolutely level off far above 132. I'm certainly NOT stupid!
(Well, except with it comes to diving naked in our waters.

)

dsteding · Post by **dsteding** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:53 am

Seth T. wrote:132 is the max recreational depth (5 atmospheres). No facination, just fun. I haven't been that deep in quite a while, kinda wanted to give it a shot. You are correct though, if the tide exchange/current is going to be a problem, I will absolutely level off far above 132. I'm certainly NOT stupid!
(Well, except with it comes to diving naked in our waters. )

Coolio. What is your gas plan for the dive? Personally, I'd reserve 60 cubic feet of gas to safely get you and your buddy back to the surface from that depth if the fit hits the shan, so to speak . . .

There is a fairly long history of people getting smushed on deep dives around here, mostly due to poor gas planning. So, expect a bit of questioning of your plans if you post them publically, it is part of all of us being involved in a safe dive community.

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 9:57 am

Okay, so here's an obvious dumb question: how do you tell if it's going to be a "bad" exchange day? I use THIS site for the tide tables. We were planning splashing just before high tide. Please educate me. (Be kind!)

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:03 am

I've done dozens of "deep" dives (132 max, you techies are crazy for going deeper) and thoroughly enjoy them. The Saskatewan wreck in BC is at about 130 FSW at the floor. I've done that four times. Awesome dive!

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:05 am

Seth T. wrote:Okay, so here's an obvious dumb question: how do you tell if it's going to be a "bad" exchange day? I use THIS site for the tide tables. We were planning splashing just before high tide. Please educate me. (Be kind!)

Tide charts are fairly useless ... especially at this site, due to the topography of the site.

Use current charts instead ... and at the oil docks, there are substantial corrections that you will need to apply. Not sure if it's SBF or SBE, because I don't dive the site often enough to keep that info in my head ... but one of the corrections is for more than an hour beyond the actual predicted slack.

I would avoid this site on Friday ... you're looking at a 9-foot tidal exchange, which means that the water will be MOVING! Often, when exchanges like this occur, you don't really get a slack at all ... the water just swirls around till it settles into a new direction. What you'll commonly get in that situation ... especially at a dive site like EOD with a fairly steep dropoff ... is downwellings. You won't like those ... they make you work hard to get back up the slope, and that means a buildup of CO2 in your system at a time when you can least afford to deal with it.

I'm not suggesting that you'd die or anything ... but under the best of circumstances, you probably wouldn't enjoy the dive. And if it ain't enjoyable, why do it? We're in it for fun, after all ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:08 am

Grateful Diver wrote: Use current charts instead ... and at the oil docks, there are substantial corrections that you will need to apply. Not sure if it's SBF or SBE, because I don't dive the site often enough to keep that info in my head ... but one of the corrections is for more than an hour beyond the actual predicted slack.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Okay, that makes sense. Any recommended sites to get these?

I'll see how bad it is. I have no problem keeping our depth to 50 FSW or less. If it's brutal, we'll just head down the road to EUWP! $\:D/$

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:09 am

I use software called Nobletec Tides and Currents Pro- nifty stuff. What you really want is currents , and around here, you want to know the currents for Admiraly Inlet. Then you need to know the current corrections for the site you wanna dive- Got a copy of Northwest Shore dives? They list all the corrections there- those corrections plus a set of current tables will give you what you need. I don't have my references with me right now, just the computer program. With the oil dock, I've learned the hard way that if there's a larger exchange, slack might not really feel like slack.....it's really, really, current intensive, unlike the park right around the corner, or cove 2.

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:11 am

Seth T. wrote:
Grateful Diver wrote: Use current charts instead ... and at the oil docks, there are substantial corrections that you will need to apply. Not sure if it's SBF or SBE, because I don't dive the site often enough to keep that info in my head ... but one of the corrections is for more than an hour beyond the actual predicted slack.
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
Okay, that makes sense. Any recommended sites to get these?

I'll see how bad it is. I have no problem keeping our depth to 50 FSW or less. If it's brutal, we'll just head down the road to EUWP! $\:D/$

This is the site I'd recommend ...

http://www.dairiki.org/tides/daily.php/adm

Nortwest Shore Dives (Steve Fischnaller's book) has the current corrections for Edmonds Oil Dock ... perhaps someone with the book handy can look them up for you. Check predicted slack on the date you plan to dive and apply the corrections. I've found them to be fairly accurate ... but remember, there's a reason they're called "predictions".

Personally, I think EUP is a better idea for Friday ... but then, I'm a bit more cautious than some when it comes to making my dive plans.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:17 am

Grateful Diver wrote:

Nortwest Shore Dives (Steve Fischnaller's book) has the current corrections for Edmonds Oil Dock
... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Oh sweet! I've got that book. I'll take a looksie this evening.

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:19 am

Nailer99 wrote: Then you need to know the current corrections for the site you wanna dive-

And the "corrections" mean what?

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:21 am

Yeah, I keep one eye open for mellow exchange days, and try to hit the oil dock on them, when possible. It's a great dive, especially below 100', but, yeah, the current is brutal.

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:27 am

Seth T. wrote:
Nailer99 wrote: Then you need to know the current corrections for the site you wanna dive-
And the "corrections" mean what?

They explain it in the book better than I can, but they mean the amount of time to add or subtract to the times from the buoy at Admiraly inlet- slack before ebb and slack before flood have different corrections at each site.

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:33 am

Seth T. wrote:
Nailer99 wrote: Then you need to know the current corrections for the site you wanna dive-
And the "corrections" mean what?

Take the reference station slack time and add of subtract the correction factor to get the predicted slack at the subordinate station. For the oil dock there is no nearby NOAA subordinate station. However Steve Fischnaller has spent a fair number of days out there looking at the water swish back and forth. So just use his corrections factors. The reference station for the oil dock is Bush Point / Admiralty Inlet.

You want slack before flood at the oil dock. Ebb currents are stronger than floods there.

You can be fairly loosy goosy slack before flood and still have a fun dive in the pilings well into the flood. I have been there many times during an ebb and its doable but quite a hassle.

You definately want slack before flood on a reasonably mild exchange to go outside the pilings. <7-8ft exchange at Edmonds is probably fine.

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 10:34 am

Good grief. I'll have a look. Thanks!

sheahanmcculla · Post by **sheahanmcculla** » Thu Sep 27, 2007 11:52 am

Seth
Maybe you can educated me. I understand what the egg is for when going deep. But what do you do with a tennis ball, and ping pong ball??