Peter's Dive Log

Dove here on 20 May. Vis was great, over 30'. Got down to 118' and 114' on the two dives. Only the top 15' was turned up. H2O temp was 51 degrees. Lots of small crabs, sculpins, a huge school of shiner pearch (20' long, 3' high and 2' deep). Saw a pin fish that was floating along with the seaweed. It almost looked like seaweed until I saw its eyes. Lots of flat fish of all sorts. Some were as big as 1 1/2'. Lots of sea cucumbers. A few less now that I ate some. Things were quiet, I was the only diver there. As always, another two dives logged.

Dove Electric Beach AKA Kahe Point Beach Park on 12-20-2012 twice before morning. The pavilion and bathrooms were under repair when we were there. Weather temp was 77 and the water 75. Both dives didn't exceed 30FSW. There was lots of parking. When you get out to the water outlets from the power plant, the water temp goes up about five degrees. There of course is a huge up current and if you get caught in it, your going to the surface fast, stay as close to the bottom as possible when swimming by. Wander up on top of the box covering the outlets, lot of fish up there. We saw Antler and Acropora coral and a short list of the fish follows: Hawaiian White Spotter Toby, Yellowtail Coris, Hawaiian Dascyllus, Bigeye Emperor, Reticulated Butterfly, Barred Filefish, Blue Stripe Snapper, Convict Tang, Rock Dam Teardrop Butterflyfish,, Thompson's Butterfly, Whitley's Boxfish, Pennant Butterfly, Raccoon Butterfly, Spotted Porcupinefish and a whole bunch of others. On the second dive we were told to go out to the second set of inspection openings and take a 310 degree bearing and just keep on swimming until you know you're so far away that you should turn back. At this point you'll come across a shelf and there will be White Tip Reef Sharks hanging out. Never found the shelf or the sharks but did run into a Green Sea Turtle feeding. On the swim out for the second dive a pod of about 10 Spinner Dolphins were cruising by. Don't touch the turtle, they're protected both by the State and Feds. $10,000.00 fine if you get caught messing with them.

We started out at the parking lot. It's about a 100 yard surface swim to the edge of the reef but it was an easy surface swim. We ran into a Lyon Fish around 60FSW. Not good. A school of Blue Tangs came in from the north above us and then dropped right through us. They continued down about another twenty feet and turned around and came back up through us again and headed off toward the north. Cool as fish go, there weren't as many fish as other reefs on the island. However, lots of coral. We saw lobsters, ells, Parrot Fish and lots of little fish. Since this site is in Washington Park, get an early start because it will take two to three hours to get there. Bring a lunch because the restaurant isn't always open.

Did 2 dives here on 20 Aug. 11. Vis was not greatest, but as always the diving was a blast. Did the jetty first and tons of life, ling-cod, rockfish and everything else. When we came out the other group said they saw a GPO, we didn't. Did the piling the second dive and didn't see much in the way of lingcod but lots of rockfish. Kelp was thick every where. We did the dives at high tide to make getting in and out easier. Last but not least, don't forget your parking pass. The rangers were out in force. The rangers seemed to be getting on peoples case. $10.00 for the day purchase there. Or go online and get a year pass for $30.00 plus $5.00 for user fees, etc. Https://fishhunt.dfw.wa.gov/wa/license/select

I agree with Marty about watching your stuff. I made a trip to the ferry docks to use the restroom for the obvious reason. I hit the road a little bit later. When I made my turn at the stop sign my tailgate fell open. Yep...BC, dive computer and numerous items were gone. $2300.00 in total. F*$#%&s. I had my gun with me. Good thing I didn't see them. If they're reading this...I'm going to get you sooner or later. I did get two nice dives in though. Busy place this weekend. Vis got better below 30FSW. Lots of crabs and people gathering them. Usually a nice place to dive except this time. Oh yeah...if anyone saw anything let me know.

Dove here on 26 March. First dive since returning from the Arabian Sea for a six month deployment. Did my refresher dive down to 30fsw for almost an hour. Very easy entry and it's only a few feet from the water at high tide which it was. Lots of crab and baby flat fish. The second dive was down to 60fsw. Found the Geo-Dome at 60 ft. There were lots of starfish and grunt sculpins hanging around it. I still haven't seen a GPO there but the divers before me did. The water was 41 degrees, 15 to 20 feet vis and little or no current. Lot's of silt was kicked up at the shallower depth's because of the class going on. Below 30 feet every thing was clear. Even with the ten person class and the other divers there was plenty of parking. I've been here several times and it's always fun.

Dove here on 24 Jul. 10 with my daughter. We started at Three Tables with a few locals and almost got killed. Surf was crashing over the top of the tables and we lost the locals in seconds. We turned around and crawled our way onto the beach. We found the two locals who changed their mind also. Not to mention the city was putting out red flag warning no one to enter the water. We moved over to Sharks Cove and the conditions were completely different. Diving was great. We had bottom time of over 80 min. with a 80CF tank. Saw too many fish types to count. There were a few squid in the middle of the bowl and a octo in closer to the beach. Vis was still around 50' even with all the surf. Lots of people and we had to make a round or two through the parking lot before we found a spot to park. We had lunch at the Roach Coach parked across the street. I recommend the shrimp and shaved ice with the ice cream on the bottom. Get close to the coral to see lots of little fish hiding in the coral.

Dove this with my son on 3 Jan. 10. It was his first dive after getting his cert. Easy walk down to the water, rocks to navigate around once you got there. Lots of snorkelers (75) and some divers (8). Parking was an issue because it was the weekend. This was our first dive in HI and had a fantastic time. We did two dives that day. I was told to bring a dive flag. There's a $100.00 fine for not having one if you got caught. About half the divers had them. A cop did come around and say to keep an eye on your belongings. Apparently there is a little problem with theft, even from locked cars. Vis was about 50' and around 35' deep. Lots of sea life. I would say we saw more than 50 different species of fish. No turtles or eels. The second dive was off to the right in the lava flows. Really cool. I would do this site in a heart beat.

Dove the jetty on 20 Feb. 10. H2O was 44 degrees, out side temp was 55 degrees and sunny, max depth was 57' vis was 25'. Got half way out the jetty and the current grabbed me and pulled me toward the end of jetty. I grabbed a rock and was immediately twisted 180 degrees. I carry a pony tank and the current pulled the regulator right out of its holder attached to my BC. Clawed my way back in and decided to bag it for the rest of the day. This can be a current intense dive spot. About at the 19' mark ran into a GPO (Giant Pacific Octopus) out in the open. It was about three feet long. I surprised it as much as it did me. It inked at me and headed toward the rocks. It then inked again as it went behind and under a rock. I followed it and spent the next ten minutes watching before I got too cold and ended my dive. As always this is a great place to dive.

First time I dove this site and I did it twice on 9 Nov. 08. It was right after the big rain storm and vis wasn't all that great. About 15' the first dive and at high tide the sediment seemed suspended and vis went down to about 10' or less. H2O temp was 50 degrees. There was a class of about eight people and other than visiting with them on the beach I didn't see them on either of my first two dives. We did two dives during the day and two after it got dark. Didn't notice anything difficult about the current or surf that hindered us. Started out at the stairs and headed out on a 20 degree bearing. There's a bench out at 30' that's about 50' to 75' wide. After that the bottom starts dropping. The deepest I got was 97' the deepest in our group was 112'. Right around the 30' mark at the end of the bench old concrete pieces of Tacoma Narrow Bridge are there, aka Galloping Gerty. Lots of perch and lingcod, on, around, under, and hiding inside the holes in the concrete. Bring a back up light in the day. Anenomies, starfish, rockfish, shrimp, and crabs are everywhere. Saw my first octopus on my first dive. It was at 60' about 100' out, and 200' west of the stairs. Look for crab bodies in a pile. It was hiding in its den. The suckers were about the size of a quarter. We were daring each other to stick our hands in the den and yank it out. No takers. There's a lot around Les Davis Pier for relaxing after diving. Dozens of people were jogging on, lots of restaurants and parks. We did a lot of goofing off between day and night diving. Parking was not an issue all day. The lot was less than half full all day long. It wasn't raining either.

Dove this site on 8/31/08. There were beginning and tech diving classes going on. Lots of people at the T Dock, so we opted for the oil dock. Our first dive here. We walked our way down because it was low tide. If you are averse to a long walk or swimming, avoid this spot. Because it was the end of crab season…lots of activity above and below the surface. Saw six divers on my first dive and three on the second. My buddy got hit by a falling crab pot 3/4 the way out on our second dive. On our second dive it was a little difficult getting back on the other side of piling. It was high tide and we got banged around a little bit. The surf kicked up a bit. Since this was both of our first dive at this site, we avoided going through the pilings except at the beach. Avoid this site if it's stormy…lots of stuff lying under the pilings from what I could see and I was warned about this from a few people we met. What was out here…lots of ratfish, nudibranches, crab (mostly females), gunnels, all kinds of sculpins, anemones, rock fish in holes in the pilings, and giant sun stars. Had a great time and we'll be back. I'm guessing if it's not crab season this would be a deserted area and a great place for diving.

Dove Rosario twice on 2 Aug, both at low tide. Visibility on both dives was about 5'. We went around Urchin Rock on both dives. Tons and tons of different kinds of algae along with seaweed. There were spots 3' deep. Never saw any oto but there was plenty of proof that they were there. Lost of sea cucumbers and yellow rock fish. Easy entry but the climb up to car required a break before the hill. Got a refill of air in Anacortes...and did two more on Sunday. Not much changed from the 2nd.

Did two dives on Sunday June 15th. The first to 117' and the second to 106'. Vis was about 10', H2O temp was 37 and 41 degrees, at the surface it was 50. Easy slope all the way down, so a deep dive was easily accomplished and the shore can't be missed. I saw lots of smaller crabs (only a few legal size), stars, rock sole and a plethora of other small guys. If you wander north you'll come across a pipe. Use this to mark the farthest point north. At that point go inshore and you'll arrive at the piling, almost where you started. There's some manmade reef structures, such as an old porcelain throne and sink, tires, huge springs, metal basket, a 10' satellite dish, and a street sign standing straight up. There were three open parking spaces when I arrived and the same when I left, and a few restaurants within throwing distance. The beach got crowded during low tide because everyone was sitting there eating lunch. I went by myself and I buddied up with a couple who were going in as I was. There were about ten divers there total. Nice dive and friendly people, but aren't all divers.

This is where I did my first dive two years ago and it's still incredible! I did it last weekend, May 08. Tons of plumose anemones, greenling, lingcod, algae, crab, and bull kelp. I get a kick out of swimming around the bull kelp during high tide. I dive this in all current conditions. If the tide is pushing one way I dive the jetty, if the other way I do the pilings. I drift my way from the pilings to the jetty if conditions are correct, then it's a easy walk to the car. I glide a few feet over the kelp and keep a sharp eye out for the kelp crab. This site is really busy on Saturdays, but only a few divers show up on Sunday, at least that's been my experience. For the nondivers, my wife included, there's Fort Casey. Lots of activities for the kids and adults alike.

Dove this site at the end of March. Vis was about 15', H20 temp was 46F, deepest depth was 37'. Started out in the middle of the park, swam west to the boundary line, north, east and back to the starting point. Basically did the outside of the boundaries. Fantastic. This was my second time there. First time was at night. Saw huge Lingcod and Cabezons not to mention the largest Dungeness and kelp crabs I've ever seen. Parking was hard to find on the weekends. Get there early. I counted 36 people suiting up at 10am. There was only one spot to park in after I parked. Don't know where everyone was though. I saw one person heading back to shore when we first went down. After that, only my partner. Someone said this is a 27 acre site. The site was totally enjoyable. Put this on your must do dive site list. I'll be back this weekend for night diving. Finally, don't forget, this is now called the 'Bruce Higgins Underwater Trail' for all the work he and his crew of volunteers have done. All I can say is, tremendous job and keep up the good work!

At the recommendation of coworkers, I dove Maeda Point with them. There is a short but steep set of stairs going down to the entry point and a short rock climb into the water. Going down is easy, but not the climb up. However, it's well worth it. Visibility is fantastic. I dive cold water in Washington where 25 feet of vis is normal. At 80 feet I rolled over and could see people at the surface. There's a cave a short swim or walk away. The cave is 15 feet high inside and a great place to jump off and take a rest interval. The entry/exit was a little crowded because it's a popular spot with the Japanese as well as the Americans. This was my thirteenth and fourteenth dive and the first time in water over 50 degrees. Fantastic. Lots of fish...fish I've only seen pictures of. Fantastic dive site. For military members, rent gear at the Marina at Kadina.