Search found 1055 matches

by oldsalt
Wed Mar 20, 2024 8:56 am
Forum: Dive Recaps & Trip Reports
Topic: Saint Helena Island dive trip report
Replies: 4
Views: 201

Re: Saint Helena Island dive trip report

Sixty: Thank you so much for posting this. This triggers so many of my interests: a remote island full of history and romance, fascinating geology, whale sharks, and an animal new to me (mobula ray). My 80 year-old body ached just looking at the photo of the stairs. When I was in my sixties, I showe...
by oldsalt
Wed Mar 06, 2024 7:08 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Whales: Blue and Gray
Replies: 5
Views: 211

Re: Whales: Blue and Gray

Thank you, friends. I surely miss seing you. YE: Great idea. I cruised up to Port McNiel in my sailboat years ago. I remember orca chasing dolphin, humpbacks, a grizzly bear turning rocks over on the beach to eat what was underneath, and wolves howling in the woods while we were enjoying the evening...
by oldsalt
Thu Feb 29, 2024 9:02 am
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Whales: Blue and Gray
Replies: 5
Views: 211

Whales: Blue and Gray

To celebrate turning 80, I traveled to Baja to see whales. The whales turned out mimic the Civil War soldiers, blue and gray. We first went to Bahia Magdalena to watch gray whales. The experience differed dramatically from what I nomally see. In the Salish Sea or Depoe Bay the whales are scattered a...
by oldsalt
Fri Oct 06, 2023 9:58 am
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: The Bottle Thread
Replies: 275
Views: 165748

Re: The Bottle Thread

Sixty: You do realize that the turn of the century wasn't that long ago? ;)
-Curt
by oldsalt
Tue Oct 03, 2023 11:22 am
Forum: Dive Recaps & Trip Reports
Topic: Marrowstone Point Dive
Replies: 2
Views: 436

Re: Marrowstone Point Dive

Sixty: I did this dive a couple of times years ago. We entered at the point and drifted west across the north end of the island. I didn't have a scooter, but I had a chase boat, my inflatable dinghy operated my a family member. It was pretty plain, but you never know. We saw a longnose skate once. T...
by oldsalt
Tue Oct 03, 2023 11:07 am
Forum: Dive Recaps & Trip Reports
Topic: Silfra fissure, Iceland
Replies: 5
Views: 800

Re: Silfra fissure, Iceland

Jan : We all know you would have dived circles around them. We age differntly. Still, having such an adventure, and with Maya, is really a gift.
Still rooting for you, Curt :supz:
by oldsalt
Thu Sep 21, 2023 5:51 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Whale update
Replies: 3
Views: 556

Whale update

When reviewing my whale observations, I was struck by the total change in whale populations in my lifetime. My first encounter with whales came when a pod of orca surrounded the boat I was rowing in 1960. Those whales came to be called "Southern Residents" , the imperiled and much publiciz...
by oldsalt
Fri Aug 11, 2023 9:10 am
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: My 15 minutes of fame.
Replies: 3
Views: 487

Re: My 15 minutes of fame.

Any publicity which doesn't have the words "indicted, convicted, or sentenced" in the headline, is good. My wife commented on the new breakwater as we departed Point Hudson last weekend. I wondered about the effect on the benthos. Thanks for doing this. -Curt p.s. your 60 south website is ...
by oldsalt
Thu Feb 02, 2023 7:56 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Whidbey Island Critters
Replies: 5393
Views: 924772

Re: Whidbey Island Critters

I guess I should have noticed the relationship between sticklebacks and tubesnouts before, but the sticklebacks' ability to move back and forth from fresh to salt water dominated my interest. I have only seen tubes in salt water while I remember sticklebacks in abundance in Cranberry Lake. Don't I? ...
by oldsalt
Mon Jan 30, 2023 9:28 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Sperm whale carcass
Replies: 0
Views: 601

Sperm whale carcass

My obsession with whales continues. While stopping to visit the wreck of the Peter Iredale on the Oregon coast, I found a bunch of people checking out a dead sperm whale. Of course, I had to hobble down to the beach to see for myself. The first photo shows the relationship between the whale and the ...
by oldsalt
Mon Dec 19, 2022 1:32 pm
Forum: General SCUBA Discussion
Topic: Have you ever had a reg freeze in Puget Sound?
Replies: 7
Views: 1565

Re: Have you ever had a reg freeze in Puget Sound?

Wow. With your experience and credentials, I would defer to you on all such matters. But yes, I have had a regulator freeze up and free flow. The temperature was in the 20's or less. Ice had formed at the edge of sound. This was at Edgewater Park just east of Mukilteo. I made the assumption that the...
by oldsalt
Thu Oct 20, 2022 3:22 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Vintage Dive Books (Free)
Replies: 1
Views: 630

Vintage Dive Books (Free)

I pruned my bookshelves. Most are heading to the used bookstore or the dumpster. If any of you want "Northwest Shore Dives", "Diving the San Juans", "The U.S Navy Diving Manual (1970)", or a well-worn edition of Ricketts and Calvin "Between Pacific Tides", sen...
by oldsalt
Thu Oct 13, 2022 7:43 pm
Forum: General SCUBA Discussion
Topic: San Juan Boat Access Snorkelling
Replies: 3
Views: 861

Re: San Juan Boat Access Snorkelling

I used to do a lot a snorkeling from my sailboat because I couldn't get my tanks filled. There are some interesting things to see if you anchor in Ewing Cove on the NE corner of Sucia Island. It's been a long time though.
-Curt
by oldsalt
Fri Oct 07, 2022 7:28 pm
Forum: Dive Recaps & Trip Reports
Topic: Philippines Adventure!
Replies: 9
Views: 1559

Re: Philippines Adventure!

Keith: To say your efforts didn't work out too badly is a huge understatement. The thresher is breathtaking. You are living the dream.
Curt :rawlings:
by oldsalt
Fri Sep 16, 2022 11:04 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Some type of ?
Replies: 1
Views: 1096

Re: Some type of ?

Chris: It looks like a Glove Sponge. There are other similar species. Maybe one of the smart guys can give a better i.d.
-Curt
by oldsalt
Wed Sep 07, 2022 10:49 am
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Snorkeling the Channel Between Indian Island and Marrowstone Island
Replies: 4
Views: 1412

Re: Snorkeling the Channel Between Indian Island and Marrowstone Island

Sixty: I really hope to meet you some day. Your video ranks with Jan's Driftwood Ponds as seeking sealife in overlooked places. I didn't realize the channel had been re-opened. Both islands are part of my past, Indian from my navy days, and Marrowstone as a sailing stopover (Mystery Bay). Way cool. ...
by oldsalt
Sat Aug 20, 2022 10:06 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Whales and such
Replies: 4
Views: 882

Re: Whales and such

Yelloweye: What an impressive list of mammals. Seabirds, and diving too! You are so lucky. It's been 18 years since I've been to Port McNiel and the rest. Your pictures will be treasured by me. I haven't posted earlier this year because i haven't had anything new. While individual i.d. of orca and g...
by oldsalt
Sat Aug 20, 2022 6:56 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Whales and such
Replies: 4
Views: 882

Whales and such

For years, watching whales was a side benefit of my diving and sailing. On dive charters, I was the guy standing out on deck scanning the horizon when everyone else was down below. Since I had to give up diving and sold my boat, seeking whales had become much more intentional. So far this year, I ha...
by oldsalt
Fri Jul 29, 2022 9:44 pm
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Shark ID
Replies: 4
Views: 1520

Re: Shark ID

Thanks to you both. I was unfamiliar with the soupfin shark. I gave away all my keys and field guides, so I am reduced to asking you guys, and google.
-Curt
by oldsalt
Thu Jul 28, 2022 9:04 pm
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Shark ID
Replies: 4
Views: 1520

Shark ID

Friends: I know this isn't diving, but there are some smart people here who might be able to help. I saw this shark beached at Grayland today, just south of Westport. Its gills still opened each time a wave washed over it. I don't know what kind of shark it is. I saw plenty of blue sharks yesterday ...
by oldsalt
Fri May 13, 2022 7:42 pm
Forum: Dive Recaps & Trip Reports
Topic: Keystone,Driftwood Park & Pond 1
Replies: 5
Views: 1654

Re: Keystone,Driftwood Park & Pond 1

Bob: Great to see you are still diving. Great pictures, as usual. Miss seeing you.
Your old friend, Curt
by oldsalt
Thu Mar 17, 2022 10:51 am
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Whidbey Island Critters
Replies: 5393
Views: 924772

Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Jan: I thought you would be posting pictures of Irish lords today.
Curt :laugh:
by oldsalt
Wed Mar 09, 2022 1:23 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Shipwreck found
Replies: 1
Views: 778

Shipwreck found

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/clim ... leton.html
Earnest Shackleton's iconic ship, Endurance, has been found. It looks like it sunk yesterday, not 106 years ago. Wreck divers drool.
-Curt :rawlings:
by oldsalt
Mon Jan 17, 2022 4:56 pm
Forum: Everything Else
Topic: Dive #1000
Replies: 4
Views: 1317

Re: Dive #1000

Sixty: It's tough to get a lot of dives in when you work for a living. And grad school. Congrats on this milestone.
-Curt :rawlings:
by oldsalt
Mon Jan 10, 2022 12:12 pm
Forum: Critter Watchers - PNW Marine Life
Topic: Whidbey Island Critters
Replies: 5393
Views: 924772

Re: Whidbey Island Critters

Wow, Jan. You don't often post a brachiopod do you? I think that is a cool sighting.
-Curt :rawlings: