Northwest Dive Club

Hi everyone. So here it is. I'm new to this site but I'm sure this is long awaited. I'm starting this thread to share my dive experiences, coastal local dive site knowledge, weather updates, and yes, VIZ REPORTS! I'll be hitting shore based dive site, jetties, and the off shore destinations we all salivate over. For those of you who are unaware, our off shore diving rivals the best the Sound has to offer. Don't believe me, come see for yourself.
I'm going to try to keep this thread as clean as possible so if you have any questions, comments, additions, or corrections, feel free to post them on my "New Member Intro" thread, pm me, or email me at aquanomad@yahoo.com. I'll post anything relative to the thread but as I dive regularly it is my intention to make this thread an easy visit for everyone to catch up on what the viz is like, weather, and even diving opportunities without filtering through our whitty banter;) I value everyones input but would like to avoid clogging the pipe. We'll see how it goes.

The best dive site on the Oregon Coast has to be the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Viz is unlimited, sea life is unsurpassed, and come on, where else are you going to dive with Seven Gill sharks? Becoming a volunteer is not difficult, will keep you in the water, offers valuable opportunities to meet other divers and even participate in on going programs. We just started a full face mask interpretive program. If interested, contact the Dive Safety Officer Vallorie Hodges at Oregon Coast Aquarium.

Additionally, if you are headed over to the Central Coast and need an air or nitrox fill, local advice, or that last minute piece of gear you forgot then stop by South Beach Scuba. Owners Scott and Wendy are very friendly and helpful. Scott has brought nitrox to the coast (I believe he is only the second shop to offer nitrox on the entire coast). He is very knowledgeable and can help you get the most from your dive weekend. When it comes to customer service, South Beach Scuba is second to none!

Ok ok, enough with the shameless plugs. On with the show!

This was a quickie:
Today I had the chance to go diving and help our local ODFW researchers by recovering one of there testing devices. Lodged at the bottom was 1 small barrel with a screen lid used to hold rockfish for survival testing. As I understand it, the fish is caught, measured, photographed, and a basic health assessment is made. The fish is then "released" into the barrel and checked several days later for general health assessment. This is to better understand the survivability of fish that are released. The barrel is attached to a break away anchor, chain, and floating crab line with a buoy marker on the surface.
I boarded the local charter fishing vessel Mrs. Raven at South Beach Marina at 6:30am accompanied by Oregon Coast Aquarium Head of Husbandry Jim Burke and Dive Safety Officer Vallorie Hodges. Also on board was ODFW project leader Polly Rankin and her assistant ?Matt? (I believe his name was Matt), and the crew of Mrs. Raven.
We headed to sea in calm conditions with little swell and even less wind. After about 15 minutes of motoring south to the site located a mile or so outside of Seal Rock we came to our target and geared up. Jim and I teamed up for the recovery and Vallorie stayed topside as a safety diver (it's in her job description;)) Jim was to do the man handling, untangling, and pliering while I was on light support with my trusty 35 watt Salvo HID. A quick descent down the line to 84 feet led us right to the problem. The chain was clear as was the anchor and line but the barrel was smack dab in the middle of a nasty rock pile. With a little persuasion Jim dislodged the barrel, dragged it to the sand flat opening, and cleared the line and anchor for retrieval. A quick OK sign was given followed by a thumb up and up the line we went. After our 3 minute safety stop we were back on board. As for the barrel a quick trip up the crab davit and the equipment was back on board safe and sound. After 3 weeks on the bottom, our small rockfish was alive and finning! Amazing huh!
BOTTOM TIME: 14 minutes
TEMP: 50
VIZ: Crappy: ~5'-8'. There were lots of large particles in the water making back scatter a problem. The water column was thick with this stuff but by time we made it to structure it was certainly worth diving.
WEATHER: Swells 2-3', wind <5mph, no rain.
On the way back we were lucky enough to see a whale, porpoises, and a sole pelican.
Many of you are probably thinking all of that for a 14 minute dive? Yes! The dive was short but still rewarding. The task ended up being simple but preparation time was spent devising a safe plan to achieve our goals. We looked at a drawing and picture of the devise and even pulled one from the field to get a look at what we were dealing with. It took team work and and an early morning for everyone but MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Welcome to our "Nut and Fruit Bowl" Mad.

Keep us informed. A lot of us Oregon divers with boats want to dive off coast but half the time we get there and can't get out. I have taken my zodiac out to the South Jetty at Barview, the Nehalem, Newport and Nestucka bays. Have always wanted to go out of Depoe Bay and do Little Whale Cove and the rocks off shore. I guess we need to have some local boat divers show us the way.

Nice report, and good work! I too am interested in diving on the oregon coast, and the dive you just did sounds like a kick! Dive and learn at the same time!

Nice report...keep 'em coming. I too am interested in diving some spots on the Oregon coast since I'm originally a native of the coastal foothills (hill people). I think our local dive shop (7C's) is eventually going to set up a dive trip to the Oregon coast which will be a hoot and I'm certainly signing up for that. It would be cool to get a nice dive map of the Oregon coast put together with some of the more premier spots on it. Conversely, if you ever want to hook a ride up the sound or canada for some dives, give us a holler.

Hey Gooch!
I am also hoping 7Cs puts together the Oregon coast trip and plan to cling on to it if possible.
I don't know how much travel time it would cut off for us compared to the sound/hood canal -- but diving options are always good to know

I know...I'm going to have to put a bug in someones ear down there to make sure they follow through with that one. It may not happen soon if their schedule holds true. Mainly, I would like to get someone to guide us through stuff they know a little so I wouldn't be completely lost (or dragged out to sea). If you do the same, maybe we can build little momentum

Sorry all for the posting delays. I have been internetless and recently took a job as the Assistant Dive Safety Officer at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It has kept me very busy and in the water all the time. I should be moved and back online mid August. Until then I will try to log on with my Iphone for basic vis updates.
Yaquina has been very good this last week with vis in the 15'-25' range. Larger incoming exchange high tides have been better then those with a lesser rise but high slack has been good all around. I'll post again when it goes to crap.
I am also working with many other Oregon divers to put together an interactive web site that ties together many facets of diving in Oregon. I have come up with an excellent dive planner and am hoping to create some 3d maps of our most popular sites. Stay tuned for more.
In the mean time, check with South Beach Scuba on Twitter for more vis reports. I will try to stay more current but with this new job I am crazy busy.
Stay safe, stay wet, and have fun ALL.
Cya,
Ian

Sat. aug 8 just about a mile South of the Garibadi bar. Looking for a crab pot in 40' , viz was 5-7', and pot is still there . Will have to go back and look for it again, since I have the GPS numbers where I dropped it.