Keystone & Skyline 1/14/17

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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GearHead
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Keystone & Skyline 1/14/17

Post by GearHead »

After many days of rain and drizzle, we finally had a gloriously sunny day on Whidbey Island! I managed to get one of the last spots in the first row of parking after taking the 8:00 am ferry. The few remaining spots were quickly taken, and a second row got started. Seems quite a few divers had read the favorable forecast, and we had a great turnout.

My buddy and I had elected to splash by 9:30, and managed to enter the calm water a couple minutes early. Past experience has indicated that actual slack before ebb occurs about 30 minutes earlier than predicted by the Admiralty Head current marker. This day reinforced that experience. Given the predicted slack time of 10:21, we anticipated actual slack to occur around 9:50, and that is what it felt like under water. We enjoyed a leisurely swim towards the end of the jetty. The water was a rather brisk 47°, and visibility was a milky 15 feet, maybe more in some spots. While dealing with a problematic mask, I nearly swam head first into an Orange anemone which was occupied by a Candy Striped shrimp. First time I've seen one of those at Keystone. Pretty cool.

We reached the end of the jetty just as the current was starting to switch. I do enjoy swimming a little way past the end on calm days, and certainly took advantage of that on this day. No giant Octos in any of the dens at the end, but there were plenty of other fish and small critters to enjoy. I even got to enjoy my moment of Zen with a large school of striped giant perch on the way back. The current cooperated by giving us a gentle push on the way back, until we were just a few minutes from shore. Perfect timing!

Since a few of us planned to do our second dive at Skyline, we didn't have an abundance of time to socialize. It was definitely fun seeing so many friendly faces along the beach, and I scored one of the new NWDC t-shirts. Thanks ScubaJess!

I arrived at the Skyline Marina almost exactly one hour after leaving the Keystone parking lot. Our planned splash time was at 1:35, and we just made it into the water in time. The plan was to do a drift out, then back after the current switched. Visibility wasn't nearly as nice as it had been at Keystone, but there's no hiding the colors along the Skyline wall. With about 6 feet of milky vis in spots, bright HID lights were a real advantage. We mostly followed the bottom out, then finally leveled off at 65 to 70 feet. There was just enough current for a comfortable drift. I spent much of the time traveling backwards to keep an eye on my buddies' lights, in addition to enjoying the life on the wall. The burrowing sea cucumbers weren't out, but there was plenty of other stuff to see.

After a 30 minute drift out, we reversed direction and began our return leg back to the beach. The current had died to the point that it was an easy swim going the other way. However things got even easier once we ascended to about 50 feet. The shallower depth seems to get an earlier reverse current - anywhere from 50 up to 40 feet seems to work. We found a very large Puget Sound king crab at 45' on the way back, as well as quite a few white lined alabaster nudis on the bottom as we were back in the shallows. Another dive vey well timed.
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Tom Nic
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Re: Keystone & Skyline 1/14/17

Post by Tom Nic »

Great report! Just like being there!

Thanks for telling the story....
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ScubaJess
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Re: Keystone & Skyline 1/14/17

Post by ScubaJess »

Fantastic report. I looked all over for the candy stripe with no luck. Do you remember what part of the jetty it was on?
Was so nice to see you :)
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GearHead
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Re: Keystone & Skyline 1/14/17

Post by GearHead »

I wish I could give a better description of where I found the Candy Stripe. I think it was in about 36 feet of water, but not right on the bottom. There weren't too many Orange anemones in the area, and it was definitely in one of those. I literally stumbled upon it while descending after dealing with a loose mask strap on the surface. We were close to the sign on the rocks at the end of the jetty while on the surface.
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fmerkel
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Re: Keystone & Skyline 1/14/17

Post by fmerkel »

Proceed down slope past 50'. Start looking for Crimson An. Generally they don't grow shallower than that, though there are a few. Look closely at the base of all of them. That's where they are.
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YellowEye
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Re: Keystone & Skyline 1/14/17

Post by YellowEye »

fmerkel wrote:Proceed down slope past 50'. Start looking for Crimson An. Generally they don't grow shallower than that, though there are a few. Look closely at the base of all of them. That's where they are.
This was in reference to a candy stripe at Keystone! I assume you're talking about Skyline :taco: :partydance: :calvin:

That being said, I did find a crimson anemone at Keystone, near the line yesterday. My first siting of one there ever! :eek: :popcorn: :partydance:
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