Jim Morrison's Dive Log

Mukilteo State Park, just south of the Mukilteo Lighthouse. (and also about 1/4 mile south of the Ferry Landing). We entered from the sandy area of the parking lot half way between the launching ramp and the bathrooms. Two of my tech diving friends dove to 218 feet! The bottom drops off quickly, and is wall-like just south of here. We went south in considerable (but workable) ebbing current, then turned around in the "Rocky" area. The current lessened or quit in deeper water. It was windy on the surface above us. Bottom type varies depending on location and depth. The so-called wall is straight out from the rest rooms and if you don't find it keep looking going south. There is a small wall at 40' then a little south of that a bigger wall at 67 feet. People say the wall erodes and produces fossils, but I haven't found any yet. I saw a few sand dabs, numerous star-fish, crabs, sculpin, shrimp and one big old moon snail. In season, divers harvest large quantities of shrimp here at night, but you have to be skillful or experienced to get the fast little devils! Excellent place to execute a deep dive, good access all year. Currents can be tricky, especially nearer the point at the lighthouse. Since boats can launch here in summer, stay away from the ramp. But in winter when no boats launch here, look for octopus holes under old concrete debris adjacent to and straight out from the launch ramp.

We started from north of the Kailua Kona near the Hono Kohau and started our dive from "Crescent Beach". With our gear, we walked about 200' over lava rocks and that took 5 to 10 minutes. From Crescent beach on the S. side of the harbor swim toward the green channel Buoy. We saw wonderful scenery right from the start of the dive. This is a protected bay. We saw a boat 80' above us, it was clear as a bell. Big Rocks in shallow water and big coral to 75' or so. Sand started at 80'. Garden eels at 90'; hundreds of them.

I believe this is officially called the Fort Casey Underwater State Park. Many think this is the best shore dive in the Northwest (excluding the San Juan Islands of course). The jetty is over 200 feet long and consists of very large boulders. To say the current can be challenging is an understatement. Depths are about 60 feet maximum at the end of the jetty. Wind chop can be severe. I would select a day when there isn't much tidal exchange and dive at slack. Because of the high current here it is a great place to dive. Vis. can be quite good and the marine life is plentiful and varied. The jetty rocks create lots of neat caves to look into. I wrote that we saw at least one wolf eel, lots of china rockfish and large perch in the shallower areas. I would recommend a "tour" going all around the Jetty. Lots to do shore side (hikes, gift shops, beaches) on the island and at Fort Casey for non-divers. As for directions: From the Seattle side take the Mukilteo Ferry and drive north on Whidbey Island about 21 miles on St. Hwy. 525. Then take Hwy. 20 about 3 miles to Keystone. The Jetty is adjacent to (and south of) the Keystone-Port Townsend ferry dock. Of course from Port Townsend you take the ferry to Keystone and you are like there already. Bring a U/W light and ferry fare to get home, driving around over the Deception Pass Bridge is a long, but scenic way to drive back to Seattle.

This is certainly the most popular dive site in Washington state. And, for good reason. There are all sorts of things, including an old dry dock, a tug boat and several smaller boats that have been sunk there to create an artificial reef. It is a preserve and you will see 35 lb. Ling cod and large Cabezon...many of them. Tons of invertebrate life and smaller fish too: rockfish, Irish lord, perch, flounders, sculpin, and if you know where to look, octopus and wolf eels. Try for a week day as week ends are crowded and parking isn't the best. The big hazard is the ferry, but you can dive out from the jetty and you never need to be near the ferry if you don't want to. There is an excellent underwater park map at the bath house. A head and outdoor showers are available. City law requires you to have a buddy. I said best for intermediate because it is a moderate swim out. Try to dive the high slack for best vis. Lots to see in shallow water too if you don't mind poking around in 15 to 25 feet. U/W trails make navigation easy. Maps of the U/W park can also be found on line. There is a dive shop about a quarter mile South of the park.

I call this Alki south and it is an old sewer pipe that has rocks and growth on it going way out into 35' of water. It is at the Charles Richey Sr. viewpoint. Lots of small perch everywhere. Large stars and anemones. Lots of painted greenling. It is out from the intersections of Beach Drive SW, 63rd and also Spokane street comes in there. Nice beach. Take a compass heading while following the pipe out (about 200 degrees magnetic?). You will not see rocks or pipe at between 20 and 25 feet, keep going the best is yet to come. Peek back inside the end of the pipe but I don't think it is safe to swim inside the pipe (6' diameter?). A few more rocks and debris south of the end of the pipe in 38 feet of water. (I dove with a tide of 6.3 feet, so these depths are relative to that.) Weight so you can spend some time in shallow water (10-15')looking around all the rocks when you come back in.

Well, first of all, I agree, Nydia W. did a great job in her narrative of this site. As for my ratings: We really don't have reefs here in the NW, but the pilings attract fish in a similar way. And we don't do much snorkeling, but this would be a great place to practice that. I said it was good for beginners because although it is a long swim to deeper water, a beginner could play in the shallow water and find lots to look at on the pilings. We don't have much surf, but with a SW wind there could be some uncomfortable chop on the surface here. If you find the U/W park at Edmonds too crowded this is a very close alternative that isn't usually too crowded. Fall and winter produces the best Vis. as does high tide. Air and local conditions information is available close by at the dive shop.

I have dived Richmond beach many times. There is some debris on the bottom, otherwise not too much to see. There is a pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks [i.e., carry your tanks several hundred feet up and over the bridge. We found some big concrete anchors and an old steel propeller {14' across?] at 60 feet deep that were used as temporary anchors. Look carefully and you will find they are attached to each other by big steel chains. These were straight out from the bathhouse. The biggest hazard is trains, at least one child has been killed on the tracks.

9/25/1962 Bottom drops of fairly quickly. Some waves and ebbing tide made Visibility very poor. Unless you count star fish: NO FISH. My log reports that I enjoyed the dive and I do remember returning to dive there: I just can't remember why!