Visited a wreck at Harper's Ferry

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Matt S.
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Visited a wreck at Harper's Ferry

Post by Matt S. »

I guess there are two boats there, according to the map I found. I think I visited the bigger of the two today.

Last time I was at this site, it was a good dive, but we didn't find the wrecks. This time, I was there for crab with a different buddy, but found a wreck too... GREAT dive. There were schools of fish all over the place, and the wreck was very scenic. This is probably the neatest stuff I have seen in the sound, and as neat as anything I saw in Mexico. (Of course, the vis isn't like Mexico...)

Pictures are here: http://wrongcrowd.com/gallery/harpers

Here is one of them:

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Grateful Diver
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Post by Grateful Diver »

Yup, that's the larger of the two. The smaller one's just a rowboat.

Love that dive site ... it's a great place to take newer divers, cuz it's shallow and very little current.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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Tom Nic
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Post by Tom Nic »

Nice pic... this is on my list of places to dive. From your pic viz doesn't look bad.
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Matt S.
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Post by Matt S. »

Vis was very good, about as good as it has been at the coves lately. Can't wait to go back.
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Tom Nic
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Post by Tom Nic »

Wide angle pics are a bit of a rarity around here... at least for me. Unless you have gargantuan widely spaced strobes the light and backscatter make pics that are more than aobut 4' away just unworkable.

Really liked your pics! =D>
More Pics Than You Have Time To Look AT
"Anyone who thinks this place is over moderated is bat-crazy anarchist." -Ben, Airsix
"Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman
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Matt S.
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Post by Matt S. »

I much prefer available-light photos, so I was very happy with these too. Conditions cooperated.

(I have honestly thought about making some kind of tripod to take down.)
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Penopolypants
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Post by Penopolypants »

Nice pics Matt! I will have to return. I recall that the viz was really good the last time we were there....I wonder if it's a good viz kind of place? That would rock.
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Post by rcontrera »

Harper can be an excellent vis place. I have hundreds of dives under and around the dock and dolphins (used to own a dive shop about 5 miles from the dive site and we ran almost all of our classes there) and I polished my photography skills there. Back scatter is never a problem if you outfit yourself right and learn how to overcome it.

One year in the fall (the best time to dive here), we actually did an underwater wedding where we built a small platform by the dolphins and had hundreds of 3' long plumose anenomies as a backdrop to our altar. We had a videographer down there shooting it all (it was shown on channel 5, Evening Magazine) while the wedding party on the dock watched from the closed circuit video feed. We also had the minister, bride and groom in full face masks with audio so they could do their vows. Very cool!!

The point I was going for before tripping down memory lane was that we had almost 50 foot vis and could see the divers from the dock for a while. Of course, after the ceremony, the minister dropped his weight belt around his knees and he had to crawl back to the dock ... stirring up the bottom something fierce.

You can always count on tons of macro shots. But, wide angle is always suggested. I always used to take my 50mm Macro lens to get both shots on one dive. One of our divemasters had made a dive out there one time and only took his Nikonos III with a set of extension tubes. And that was the time that a sick gray (I think) whale had swum in close and just laid by the dolphins before it died later that week. He was only able to get macro shots of the eye and not the full whale ... or even close to a good shot.

There is very little parking so be kind of the locals. Don't leave any litter and NEVER get nekkid on the beach. Divers used to do that and we almost got the area closed to all divers like they did at a favorite Fox Island dive spot.
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Matt S.
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Post by Matt S. »

The coffee joint on the beach is run by nice people. I found some old information on the web that said the opposite, that they hated divers... I guess it changed owners.
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Post by CaptnJack »

Matt S. wrote:The coffee joint on the beach is run by nice people. I found some old information on the web that said the opposite, that they hated divers... I guess it changed owners.
Glad to see that changed owners. The previous ones (4 years ago) were definately cranky. May have something to do with divers using their parking but not buying anything, or the reconstruction of the dock
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Post by Sergeant Pepper »

CaptnJack wrote:May have something to do with divers using their parking but not buying anything...
I've always wondered how this goes over at Fish and Chips at Alki.

Harper's Ferry sounds like another one to put on the list, thanks for the pics. =D>
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Post by Nwbrewer »

Pretty sure the parking lot at Alki is for the park, not for the restaurant, so not much they can say. If it was a parking lot owned by the Fish n Chips place I'm sure there'd be all sorts of "No Divers" signs around the parking lot.
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Post by Grateful Diver »

FWIW - I've only ever had pleasant encounters with the folks in the coffee shop at Harper's ... maybe it's because I make a point to buy a soft drink or something when I'm there.

As for the fish'n'chips place at Cove 2 ... Yvonne has always had a great relationship with the dive community.

For the most part, it doesn't take much to create a friendly relationship with the people we need to share our dive sites with (remember, most of them are multi-use facilities) ... it starts with our own desire to be good neighbors.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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Post by L.A. »

Thanks for the post and sharing the pics!

This site would be a good entry in the "NW Dive Sites" section (hint, hint). :smt024
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Post by spatman »

is Harper's Ferry current/tide sensitive?
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Post by al NDOF »

Magnificent photos :fish: thanks for sharing. Good to see all the marine life, I thought there was a lack of O2 in the canal that would kill off the wildlife; glad to be wrong. =D>
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Post by Grateful Diver »

spatman wrote:is Harper's Ferry current/tide sensitive?
Not really ... you can dive there on almost any tidal exchange. Large ebb tides are not desireable simply because it's such a shallow site. If diving on an incoming tide, be careful not to leave anything laying on the beach ... the tide comes in all the way to the sea wall.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)
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CaptnJack
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Post by CaptnJack »

Yeah its kinda like the Langley tire reef. Doable at all tides but much better at something other than a low tide. Currents are mild.
H20doctor

Post by H20doctor »

Where is this divesite..? can someone do a write up on it in the divesite link...? thank you
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Matt S.
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