Port Townsend on Labor Weekend

[ulisses]

Hi everybody:

I'm going to be in Port Townsend this weekend and would love to dive it. I will be there with my wife and a friend, they both Open Water and I, and Advanced only ...

Problem #1: I have never dove there.
Problem #2: I'm not at the point to look tides/currents and plan a dive.

I know some of you actually have dove a lot there and was wondering if can give me a hand on choosing a site, a good time to hit the water with low current and some hints on how to dive the particular site. I have some stores information but not sure if they organize "fun dives" for people on the weekends there. If any of you guys want to join us you are more than welcome.

Thanks in advance for any help!

U.

[60south]

Hello U.!

We love diving here. Most of the sites are current sensitive, so it's very important to time it right. You can actually park right in town and walk out into the water anywhere but that's kinda boring. The best diving (IMO) is going to be at...

1. Point Hudson
2. Fort Worden
3. Fort Flagler (actually on nearby Marrowstone Island)

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PT. HUDSON

This is our favorite. Here's a link to the tide/current at Pt. Hudson: http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/tideshow. ... on+Current
Here's a dive site map: http://www.townsendbaydive.net/townsend ... ext=hudson

Basically, just drive to the end of Water Street downtown until it ends. Park near the Landfall Restaurant, suit up, and walk out into the water. There's a lot of construction there with the new Marine Center, so the usual parking lot is closed and it's not a convenient as it used to be, but still "doable". Looking at the map, the jetty (#1, #2) is going to have the most life. There's even been a new GPO hanging out there lately near the barge (#1). The dolphin (#4) also has some good life on it. Just avoid surfacing in the entry channel to the marina (on the left in the map). This site has TONS of life because it's fed by currents sweeping around the point, so it's important to hit it at slack tide. Most of the best stuff is between 20-60ft; beyond the barge it turns into a mostly sandy bottom.

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FORT WORDEN

Here's a map of the dive area at Ft. Worden: http://www.townsendbaydive.net/townsend ... ext=Warden
Park near the Marine Science Center or cooking hut, suit up and walk in. There's showers near the restrooms. The parking lot may be very busy on a nice weekend day. This area is fairly shallow, maybe a max depth of 35ft. There will probably be a slight current even at "slack", so it's often easiest to just drift along for a bit. Beware of jetskis and nuts with power boats. There's no distinct reef here, but lots of random stuff to look at. Even though Ft. Worden is only a half mile from Pt. Hudson the slack times can be very different. Here's the tide predictor for Ft. Worden: http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/tideshow. ... on+Current

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FORT FLAGLER

I won't try to describe how to get there, here's the link: http://www.townsendbaydive.net/townsend ... xt=flagler
Flagler can be a bit more dicey because it's exposed to Admiralty Inlet -- but the shallow areas under the old pier and just beyond the end of it can be great and very colorful. If you catch it on a long, easy slack, this would be a great beginner's dive. You can go deeper for more of a challenge; beyond the pier it drops down into a sand flat that has fields of sea pens and random rocks, concrete debris, and other hidey holes for fishes.

I'm not sure if I'll be available for diving -- got friends coming into town sometime soon -- but if I'm available I'd be happy to dive. Always ready to go!

glenn

[wa_divergal]

We were there two weekends ago, you really need to time the Ft. Flaggler dive right, or it's a great workout for your arms crawling along the bottom

Ft. Worden can have current issues and they're not intuitive. If I remember correctly, the currents flow the same direction during both ebb & flood (kinda crazy)

Pt Hudson is really cool (I found my first octopus hiding in the jetty there )

But with the construction, the only close parking is for the salmon club members. Hint: One of the local guys at the dive shop let us borrow his parking pass - but don't tell anyone

Plus you want to make sure you stay clear of the boat traffic.