Suquamish Dock and Harbor, Port Madison, WA

[60south]

Skill Level: Beginner to whatevah.

Current Sensitive: Apparently not, or only slightly so. Nearby Agate Pass was rippin' but the harbor was practically calm.

Location: Suquamish dock and harbor area, Port Madison, Kitsap Peninsula, WA.

Driving Directions: I couldn't begin to tell you. This whole area confuses the squid-eggs out of me. Check out the Google links below for more help.

Free Parking: Yes.

Staging Area: A parking lot, boat ramp, or the dock.

Surface Swim: As little or as much as you want.

Nearby Facilities: Bella Luna Pizzeria has some really great pizza by the slice, local beers, and a very cute staff. What more could you want? Beyond that, well, you're on your own.

Special Considerations: Boat traffic. And let's be honest: I believe this is on the reservation. The Suquamish could nuke any diving here with a mere whim. We half expected someone to tell us to get lost even as we suited up. Kindly, they didn't do that. We had a good dive even though it was nasty currents and low tide everywhere else. So long as the Suquamish continue to permit diving here, go for it. Be respectful and discrete, and perhaps we can all enjoy this for a long time to come.

Maximum Depth: 40ft, maybe a bit more at a higher tide or farther out.

Dive Site Description: This was a pleasant surprise. Conditions sucked everywhere else so we were looking for something different that wouldn't be heavily influenced by tides and currents. We suited up in the parking area, waddled down to the end of the long dock, and jumped in. Vis was not bad, maybe 10-15 ft. Near the dock there are bottles. Maybe not really old ones, more like middle-aged bottles from around early 1900's to present day. It's kind of hard to tell because most are heavily barnacle-encrusted. For sure, someone drank a lot of Coke-a-Cola. Regardless, there's enough unusual glass on the bottom to be intriguing. The area has been a site of trading and villages since Captain Cook's days so who knows what you'll find? I came up with a nifty (but not valuable) cream pitcher about the size of an overgrown thimble. Turn of the century stuff. It's all right there on the sandy bottom.

Here is a Google map of the area and a satellite view of the dive site. Long Dock is Looooong.

[renoun]

Interesting, I have done a shore based drift dive of Agate Pass from Old Man House just to the South. I suppose that this is an other option for Kitsap divers or folks wanting a dive before/after Agate Pass.

[Dusty2]

Wow! That's one hell of a long dock! Were there any postings? What about critters?

[60south]

There's metal pilings as part of the dock but we didn't spend a lot of time there. Lots of kelp, dunno about critters. The bottom slopes very gently, which explains why the dock is so long. It's still fairly shallow at the end where we jumped in.

Note that the dock has ladders of a sort, so it might be possible to exit the water there. We found it easier to exit at the nearby boat ramp.

[60south]

Attached is a picture of the half-pint milk bottle and small cream pitcher found near the Suquamish dock. If I can clean these sorts of bottles up I love putting them back to use in the kitchen for spices, etc.

The tall, embossed "Palmboom" gin bottle was found at Norrander's Reef (A.K.A. Rockaway Park) nearby on Bainbridge Island in about 30ft of water. This bottle is actually somewhat valuable and in great condition, from circa 1890. Finding it there was a total surprise because I figured that area had been picked clean years ago.

glenn