Summer Diving

Tell us your tale of coming nose-to-nose with a 6 gill [--this big--], or about your vacation to turquoise warm waters. Share your adventures here!
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H20doctor
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Summer Diving

Post by H20doctor »

Ahhhhhhhh summer... Hot days mixed in with weekend adventures, Hiking.. Having friends over for Dinner, Planning camping trips .... Going to the lake or floating the river... Summer offers many things this time of year and I hope that yours Is going well.. For us divers here in the salish sea summer usually means terrible Viz, and Crowed parking lots with no place to park for dives.. But this summer seems to be one of those summers where we have summer Viz.. Summer viz is where we really dont have the Algae bloom and floating Snot that usually destroys all hopes of summer diving. I have seen great summer Viz here up in the North End through out my years of diving.. This year so far when we have had Low wind days , and decent tides , the viz has been 20 to 30 feet.. and Im like WOW ..
So Sunday was a summer dive at Mukilteo Light house park, or as some would say.. Mukilteo clay wall..The park was full of people today , couples holding hands and walking on the beach, others on a blanket with food and a Picnic .. birthday parties going on under the Picnic table areas , and we cant forget everyone Playing Pokemon on their Cell phones.. Parking was difficult but i managed a spot in the turn around by the Giant Log tree thing, Gdog Had come up from Tacoma , and complaining about the LOOOOOOONNGG drive to come up to the N end side of town.. Its very difficult to getting any south end diver to partake in the N end diving, but that another dive report to be told.. Our other diver for today was Mr Robb Carter..
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He and I had originally planned on diving today somewhere , and Gdog was the extra bonus as he could not Line up a dive at Sund Rock...
We Put on the Gear and headed to the water.. As we walked people are staring and thinking we are Nuts, there Eyes are staring as seeing divers is a rare and Cool thing.. I smile and say Hello, as I trudge with this Dam heavy gear on my Back.. My only goal right now is to make it to the water before I overheat and die!! Once in the water I will be weightless and Cooling down rapidly... the Tides is out and we are doing a Low tide / slack extravaganza.. the shore is covered with rocks and as you get closer to the water the rocks become covered In green Mossy slippery Goo, one mis step here and you are going down hard..
Im in , and I feel the cold melt away my inner core heat , the cooling process has begun, Gdog is checking his camera , strobes are popping and im putting on my fins , Robb is ready to go ...and so we swim ... Out a bit and then the word is given.. Time to drop .... Down into the green we descend, one hand is purging my ears , my other Hand is switching between my drysuit inflator and wing.. down and down we drop and i see he sand bottom come into View.... we Start on the North side of the Ledge robb is above the ledge and Gdog is in front of me, I clear my lens and get my camera ready to go, no Moisture in the housing and No leaks of death , Always a divers worst nightmare..
Lots of Holes in the clay , from afar it seems scarce and void of life as we slowly Inspect it today, But then robb is circling his light in excitement as we find our first Juvenile wolf eel who is Hiding in one of the clay holes.. Gdog gets first shots and when He is done I take my turn.. He or she is bright Vivid orange and wondering why we are Blinding him shot after shot with Lighting bolts..?
adult wolfie.JPG
wolf eel peek 2.JPG
Another Baby wolf eel is found out in the open just farther south now and Gdog snaps away.. I explore the kelp stuff Below and find a Baby Red octo Hiding and Peeking
red octo.JPG
red octo 1.JPG
As we kick and explore I see lots of Baby rockfish in the nooks and crannies on the ledge and some are Below, schools Of shiner perch , and Tube snouts also are seen on this dive, we swim down to the other section of the ledge and discover Another baby wolf eel, a sunflower star, and a Lost tackle box that has gone overboard from a boat..
rockfish.JPG
goby.JPG
gunnel.JPG
Back to the north ledge and we spot a slightly bigger octo who is out and about on the clay Holes, Robb has also acquired a friend during the dive
octo wall.JPG
octo wall 1.JPG
rob arm 3.jpg
baby Wolf eel shots
baby wolfie.JPG
wolfie 2.JPG
wolfie Black and white.JPG
wolfie cave.jpg
Gdog ...
george Black and white.JPG
Robb...
rob black and white.JPG
And then time is up , and we have to leave this underwater world of wonder, we swim upslope to the eel grass and do our safety stops.. As we exit the water kids are playing on the beach and coming over to us once again asking us what we saw ? how deep did you go ? are there sharks ??
light house.JPG
Post dive food and beer was provided at the Diamond Knot where we talked and laughed about diving stories and adventures...
the knot.JPG
floor.JPG
Until next time Be safe and enjoy the diving..
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H20doctor
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Re: Summer Diving

Post by H20doctor »

rainbow.JPG
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ScubaJess
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Re: Summer Diving

Post by ScubaJess »

Great recap! Sorry I missed you guys! I'm so glad you saw the Wolfies & octos! :)
You guys are soooo cool!!!
Live Long And Prosper!!!

Stay Warm underwater with the Weezle Extreme Plus undergarment! Please let me know if you would like to order one or have any questions. :luv: :partydance: :eric: :taco:
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YellowEye
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Re: Summer Diving

Post by YellowEye »

Great report and pics!
Did you see any shrimp?
Visit pnwdiving.com for viz reports, slack planning, galleries and more!
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Gdog
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Re: Summer Diving

Post by Gdog »

Great writeup Doc! It was great diving with you, worth the loonnngggg drive. And Eric, no shrimp.
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H20doctor
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Re: Summer Diving

Post by H20doctor »

YellowEye wrote:Great report and pics!
Did you see any shrimp?
If you want to see shrimp do a night dive..
Plenty of shrimp at night.. Coons, spot prawns etc..etc...
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kalailyliani
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Re: Summer Diving

Post by kalailyliani »

awesome!!
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Gdog
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Re: Summer Diving

Post by Gdog »

Chris, you didnt point out the parasite on the one juvenile wolf eel. Here is a shot...
Juvenile Wolf Eel.jpg
Notice the parasite on his cheek.
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H20doctor
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Re: Summer Diving

Post by H20doctor »

ok Here is a creepy parasite sucking the brains outta this poor wolf eel who only wants to eat crabs and urchins

parasite.JPG
BY the way , I hope you are going to share more pictures .... the Minimum Picture sharing is 6 pictures , Now i have shared up and beyond the Minimum and Hope that you do the same ...

flair.jpg
flair.jpg (9.19 KiB) Viewed 2015 times
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Echo
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Re: Summer Diving

Post by Echo »

99% of fish have parasites, think about that the next time you enjoy a raw-fish sushi lunch. Once their exposed to heat via cooking their totally okay to eat. I see these particular parasites on lingcod all of time. In fact some at Edmonds are covered in them. I think they are the oceans version of a tick on deer and rabbit in the woods
-Erika
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Gdog
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Re: Summer Diving

Post by Gdog »

OK fine. I see you have more Flair than I do. I will find some more tonite.....
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stphnmartin
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Re: Summer Diving

Post by stphnmartin »

Love the juvi wolf eel shots! So colorful!
:popcorn: View dive videos on my youtube channel. GH5, Nauticam housing, Big Blue 9000s, Sola 500, 1200, Scuba Lamp Snoot, Mavic 2 Pro, Osmo, Final Cut Pro X
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Tom Nic
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Re: Summer Diving

Post by Tom Nic »

Loved the report! Thanks!
More Pics Than You Have Time To Look AT
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