Neah Bay info needed

[Jaksonbrown]

Has anyone done much diving around Waddah Island? It is connected to the shore by a manmade jetty.... This should reduce the currents rather dramatically on the inside of the jetty out to the island,.. shouldnt it? Has anyone dove this site before? Can anyone recomend a good shore dive near Neah bay that might be somewhat protected from this time of years weather??
Any information would be greatly appreciated!

[dsteding]

I've never heard of anyone diving Neah Bay this time of year.

[Jaksonbrown]

I was checking out Curleys Resort,...

Here is a caption from their website....

<<<<Come and Scuba Dive Sekiu, Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Explore the miles of Olympic Peninsula's beautiful Ocean Coastline. The best time to come is during the winter and early spring. You'll see large fish, scallops, Dungeness crab, octopus, sea urchins, and moon snails. >>>>

It also talks about diving neah bay,.. within the straight that is..... but it warns of current sensitivity,... hence my questions of anyones experience.....

Thanks again,

[boydski]

Has anyone done much diving around Waddah Island? It is connected to the shore by a manmade jetty.... This should reduce the currents rather dramatically on the inside of the jetty out to the island,.. shouldnt it? Has anyone dove this site before? Can anyone recomend a good shore dive near Neah bay that might be somewhat protected from this time of years weather??
Any information would be greatly appreciated!

The dive sites on Waddah Island are on the Northern Tip (Waddah Fingers) and off of the east side of the island. They are not accessible from shore, and are very current sensitive. The fingers form a large ridge that has a boiling upwelling on even mild incoming currents as the incoming water is forced up from deep to shallow around the tip of the island. The diving there is some of the best in our state, but we only dive there in the summer when we can expect seas that are mild enough to actually dive in.

The water inside Neah Bay is protected, and we have done several dives there (there are a couple of wrecks inside the bay like the Sognefjord), but it's pretty boring and devoid of life. There is a jetty that connects Waddah to Neah BAy, but its 1.5 miles long and I don't believe it is publicly accesible any more. It would be a heck of a long walk in dive gear!

You could probably dive the "Western Anchor" from shore with a scooter, but the trip out to the wreck and back would be dull.

I'm pretty sure Curley's (Sekiu) is closed for the winter as well. There may be a couple of more protected shore dives near Sekiu, but there's just not much diving in that area in the Winter due to the long string of winter storms that blow in.

Now that I think about it, the road to Neah Bay was actually closed by a rock slide last week, so you may want to check with WSDOT before you jump in your car and head up there.

We will have the Mark V up in Neah Bay this summer if you're interested in diving Waddah Island and some of the even better sites out there.

[camerone]

I'm pretty sure Curley's (Sekiu) is closed for the winter as well. There may be a couple of more protected shore dives near Sekiu, but there's just not much diving in that area in the Winter due to the long string of winter storms that blow in.

Now that I think about it, the road to Neah Bay was actually closed by a rock slide last week, so you may want to check with WSDOT before you jump in your car and head up there.

We will have the Mark V up in Neah Bay this summer if you're interested in diving Waddah Island and some of the even better sites out there.

The middle of winter is probably not a good time to be out there on the coast diving. It lashes pretty hard, and you'd need to be in a pretty protected site. There are a few do-able locations, but careful planning is essential.

The Mark V and the Porthole guys are absolutely the way to see Neah Bay. Not only will you hit Waddah, you'll probably get a try out at Duncan Rock ("The" best site, probably, in all of WA), and all around Tatoosh Island (wickedly fun on a scooter...) The Mark V also has a compressor onboard, with good filtration, a nitrox membrane, etc, so you don't have to worry about logistics. Otherwise, it can be a little tricky to plan dives and cylinders.

Jim, the fellow who owns Curley's in Sekiu, is a snowbird and takes his winters in Southern California. It's your best choice for lodging out on the peninsula - clean, diver friendly, and, sadly, the highest quality lodging west of Port Angeles. There are two fill stations way out there on the peninsula - one at Curley's resort, which is okay to breathe, and one at Snow Creek Campground, which is just downright scary from what I've seen of the compressor (it's a wonder their block hasn't seized). There's also a dive shop in Port Angeles in the back of the kayak/bike shop, but every time I've gone there, it's been closed -- even when I've called ahead to say "I'm coming, are you going to be there to fill me up?" I'm so fed up with that place that I would never go in.

If you go, once they've opened back up, Curley's has a handout of various "shore dives" along highway 112 that you can do. Most of them _aren't_ worth the trouble. They're long hikes through shallow mud flats to get out to some rocks, and then long hikes back. They're not very deep and not too interesting.

Good dive sites out there for shore diving are the Sekiu Jetty (watch for monofilament), if you're staying out that way, and the four entries at Salt Creek County Park, about 30 minutes west of Port Angeles or an hour east of Sekiu. The park, owned by Clallam county, has excellent facilities, camping, and some of the best shore diving in WA state, if not _the_ very best shore diving.

Don't forget to take a dunk in Lake Crescent on your way back to clean all your gear off before the long haul home. There's a few interesting bits in the lake, and having clean, no-so-smelly-gear on the three or four hour haul home is a real bonus.

[Jaksonbrown]

Hey Camerone,

Have you dove Seal rock area around Neah Bay? How is that for a shore dive? The weather is supposed to be very nice this weekend and the currents and tides look GREAT for the straight Sat....But if not,... I guess a good boat dive is in order. What do you think of the point off of Whidbey island by the sunken Ferrry??

[camerone]

Hey Camerone,

Have you dove Seal rock area around Neah Bay? How is that for a shore dive? The weather is supposed to be very nice this weekend and the currents and tides look GREAT for the straight Sat....But if not,... I guess a good boat dive is in order. What do you think of the point off of Whidbey island by the sunken Ferrry??

Eric and I were looking at Possession Point and wondering if we could do the fingers as a nice scooter dive. The ferry is too far out, but the fingers should be okay, currents and tides permitting.

I haven't done Seal Rock as a shore dive. All of my the stuff that far west has been from one of the Porthole boats over the last few years. If the weather and currents are good, go for it. Be aware that morning dives are better than afternoon dives, as the wind almost always picks up later in the day out there.

[boydski]

Seal Rock is about 600 yards off shore from where the Sail River enters the Strait. I have only dove the outside of the rock from a boat (Wreck of the Andalusia), but it is a very nice dive site. It is typical of the shallow ridges and grooves that cover most of that area. If the weather cooperates, you'd probably have a nice dive, even if you don't make it all of the way out to Seal Rock. I know that people used to like diving out in front of Snow Creek, which is right next door.

Here's the marine forecast(expect a bit of surge):

.SAT AND SUN...SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT. W SWELL 8
FT SUBSIDING TO 6 FT.

[Gill Envy]

in the winter, it's all about the weather... it's hard to plan for but when it's good, the added viz is awesome! Whadda is one of my favorites, but doing it without a live boat is daunting at any time of year. We've done it by kayak a few times and by boat. the one December dive we did by kayak was with 4 inches of snow on the ground and some swell... but only because we were familiar with the site and, well you know, a bit crazed from a winter with not enough diving. for the big current sites I look through ports and passes for very minor tidal exchanges. I usually buy my guide book in january and sit down with a hot beverage and look for the periods throughout the year where the charts for deception and seymour narrows are down at their lowest max 3-5 Knots and 3-8 knots respectively- i'll compare currents with tidal height change as well... I highlight these times and try to plan the challenging dives around them...this is when you get the longest slacks and the most forgiving transitions, particularly critical for kayak diving. Whadda island is one of those sites were you can get you A-ss handed to so be careful! if the swell is to big, bag it, it's not worth the risk. there is no way to get to the good spots by shore without boat or kayak. I have found the north west end of the island, the fingers, to be the best for a shore dive (via kayak). the fingers protrude pretty obviously from shore and jut right out into max current... it's stunning! and if you are not careful you will be stunned at the end of slack with strong down and upwellings pushing you away from shore. the shore/kayak dive involves putting in at the boat ramp in neah bay, paddling around the east end of the island, coming up the north and paddling into the fingers and on to shore, the fingers make a protected bay for shore entry. there is a cut in the north side of the main two fingers that makes for a nice protected swim in and out of the current and swell.

When we went out there in December a few years back the coast guard came over and collected our names as, in their words, " we want to know how to identify the bodies". We were not fazed, only that much more cautious...the dive was amazing, the whether was perfect!! they are just not used to seeing people out there in the winter.

Salt creek would be a better bet for shore diving, but again the weather is the wild card this time of year... best to head out there with more than one thing to do, IMHO, so you can go enjoy a nice hike out to cape flattery or Realto if it's just not good for diving. Bachelor rock is a really loong shore dive, but I know folks who have done it... much easier by kayak or boat but one of the options in that general neck of the woods.

I had to learn some very hard lessons early on to gain the proper respect for the currents in this part of the world, it's all about how many feet the tidal exchange is and how big the max current will be and the wind of course... when doing anything without the protection of a live boat, take baby steps till you get a good feel for what you are up for.