Northwest Dive Club

Deception Pass, March 17, 2023 Beautiful sunny day. Reminiscing with my friend about the days where there was so much more marine diversity and color here... https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Deception-Pass-Whidbey-Island/i-nD9w3FP/0/a55e56e1/XL/3.17.23%20Deception%20Pass%20Dive%201-XL.jpg https://ph...

Lagoon Point March 18, 2023 One reason I have access to private area diving - check on friend's boat, change zincs. This time I enjoyed help from Maya. After we finished, neighbor asked if I could check a sailboat in the other canal. The owner of that boat died years ago and his wife now would like ...

Langley Harbor, March 14th, 2023 Sausage and cucumber, slug encounter :) https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Langley-Tire-Reef/i-5LNmmH6/0/de7885ff/XL/3.14.23%20Tiny%20Red%20Sausage%20jelly-XL.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Langley-Tire-Reef/i-cRTvx7q/0/63715294/XL/3.14.23%20Dirona%20on%20CA%20cu...

Langley Harbor. March 14, 2023 Sea star wasting survey. The good news - no wasting observed in any of the 5 species of sea stars making Langley their home. And found 19 small Sunflower stars. On last visit I found Spiny Pink star with 6 arms. This time it was a Leather star with one extra arm. :) ht...

Another Pycnopodia story from the Time Long Past when Sunflower stars ruled :) :) :) https://photos.smugmug.com/Fauna-Flora/Fish/i-FHzmjWW/0/0a085337/XL/9.1.13%20Lingcod%20eat%20flounder%202A%20%20-XL.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Fauna-Flora/Fish/i-F8bTJqg/0/5b2f0903/XL/9.1.13%20Lingcod%20eat%20fl...

Some pictures from the days when there was so much more to find on every dive, before the diversity took this terrible downturn I witness now at every location around Whidbey Island. This set is from Langley Harbor when stars and sea slugs were plentiful. Interaction between species was common. Here...

Deception Pass, March 4, 2023 dive. The rest of the pixels... https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Deception-Pass-Whidbey-Island/i-mDTppvd/0/6ceb2b5a/XL/3.4.23%20Blood%20stars-XL.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Deception-Pass-Whidbey-Island/i-qBZbcJq/0/28efc26d/XL/3.4.23%20Mottled%20star%20Red%20cu...

Deception Pass, March 4, 2023 I did not find Lingcod eggs, but I managed to add a new specie to my list. Zade's Ear Shell. What is interesting about this critter, the new, undescribed specie was collected in Port Townsend by no other than diver I know, (and some of you do as well), Richard Zade aka ...

Skyline, March 1, 2023 And the rest of the pixels from the dive ... https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Fidalgo-Island-and-vicinity/i-5gVxV34/0/33732cac/XL/3.1.23%20Copper%20rockfish%20above-XL.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Fidalgo-Island-and-vicinity/i-hcjfsCf/0/a5e22315/XL/3.1.23%20Kelp%20gree...

Skyline, March 1, 2023. First dive of March. It is cold and mostly gray, the world above seems to carry this color lately. The rising sun soon disappeared in clouds. Skyline wall usually provides reprieve from that even if the visibility there is never great. But ten to fifteen feet for this site is...

Possession Point Fingers. February 23, 2023 Many Northern Kelp crabs took up residence on Zoanidths. Not sure why... https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Possession-Point/i-RcxkWQv/0/6383e7d9/XL/2.23.23%20Posses%20Fingers%20%20Dive%202-XL.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Possession-Point/i-DQvT28V/0...

Scary indeed
Well done Chris !

Possession Point Fingers, February 23,2023 Another visit to the southern point of Whidbey. Not much new to report from the dive. Very cold above and very cold below. I found the two Ling still guarding eggs, but because of bad visibility, did not find the other two I found couple weeks ago in shallo...

Langley Harbor, February 20, 2023. Sea star wasting survey. I found juvenile Sunflower stars, Pink spiny star with six arm and no wasting stars . All good news. https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Langley-Tire-Reef/i-CQ8wk6x/0/5d3c6ef3/XL/2.20.23%20Spiny%20pink%20star-XL.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/...

Langley Harbor, February 20, 2023 Winged sea slugs and their eggs - thousands of them, not one slug using their wings. All grounded. Hermit crab trying to hatch some of the eggs, not much success. :) https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Langley-Tire-Reef/i-wpjtGr6/0/dc9942e6/XL/2.20.23%20Langley%20Harbo...

Keystone Jetty, February 18, 2023. I did not see the Lingcod guarding eggs, others did. And so it goes... https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Keystone-Jetty/i-ZVTHgS6/0/bf7df1c4/XL/2.18.23%20Ling%20Kelp%20greenlings-XL.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Keystone-Jetty/i-WDCcZDf/0/f0f08b0c/XL/2.18.23%...

Keystone Jetty, February 18, 2023 In spite of drizzle, many arrived here on Saturday morning, filling the parking lot with cars three rows deep, plus some had to park on boat-trailer area, not used now because of construction work on the boat launch. It always pleasure to meet some of my diver frien...

More from Deception Pass, February 15th dive. Red sea cucumbers begin to wake up here. https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Deception-Pass-Whidbey-Island/i-Cph4wq8/0/375feaca/XL/2.15.23%20Wrinkled%20dogwinkle%20stamp-XL.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Deception-Pass-Whidbey-Island/i-wN9rBjm/0/7344c...

Deception Pass, February 15, 2023 Cold, but the current was mild and there was sunshine and no wind above. Some of the Red sea cucumbers are beginning to show up after the winter sleep. Northern featherdusters feeding happily too. :) https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Deception-Pass-Whidbey-Island/i-p...

Driftwood Pond #2. February 11, 2023 There was no sign of the Stickleback fish, no shrimp, no slugs, no jellyfish. Just few Sea gooseberries. Truly a dead, winter pond. https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Driftwood-Park-Admiralty-Inlet/i-rrV5QP8/0/2cd209bb/XL/2.11.23%20Driftwood%20Pond%20%232%20Dive%20...

Driftwood Park, February 10, 2023 Bering hermit crab eating Barnacle eating dorid eggs. How is that for a convoluted caption. The short version Crab eats slug eggs. :) https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Driftwood-Park-Admiralty-Inlet/i-WfrPQFG/0/e75ac31d/XL/2.10.23%20Bering%20hermit%20eat%20dorid%20eg...

Driftwood Park, February 10, 2023 Since I did not see a single rockfish on the tire reef here, I think there is some truth to the "Winter sheltering" theory. Only larger fish I encountered on this dive was juvenile Wolf-eel. https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Driftwood-Park-Admiralty-Inlet/i...

Possession Point Fingers, February 8, 2023 And few other critters. https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Possession-Point/i-JkkMFnp/0/fa72947e/XL/2.8.23%20Clown%20nudi%20Plumose-XL.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Possession-Point/i-P54Ngjn/0/992d0501/XL/2.8.23%20Sand%20rose%20anemones-XL.jpg https:/...

Possession Point Fingers. February 8,2023 Lingcod are slowly coming back. Five egg nests found. I hope that dive clubs will not repeat organized spearfishing dives here again and let the place recover. https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Possession-Point/i-X2kd4PJ/0/2b0010bc/XL/2.8.23%20Possession%20Fi...

Keystone Jetty, February 5,2023. Lots of construction on the ferry side of Keystone Jetty, frequent wind storms, rainy weather, what else can I blame silty waters with poor visibility on ? 🙂 https://photos.smugmug.com/Other/Keystone-Jetty/i-tgdRHZH/0/d5f23c62/XL/2.5.23%20%20Keystone%20Jetty%20Dive%2...