North Beach, Port Townsend WA

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60south
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North Beach, Port Townsend WA

Post by 60south »

Dive Site Name: North Beach park, adjacent to Fort Worden, Port Townsend WA

Skill Level: All Divers, with a caution regarding currents.

Current Sensitive: In shore, not really. Farther out, yes.

Location/Address: Here's a map.

Directions: Drive into Port Townsend. Follow the signs to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Near the fairgrounds there will be a road on the right leading to North Beach, Kuhn street. Follow Kuhn street to the park, continue down the boat launch, into the water, and drive until reaching Nanaimo. Dive the HMCS Saskatchewan.

Free Parking: Yes

Staging Area: Gravel parking lot with a small park.

Surface Swim: Short-long.

Nearby Facilities: Porta-potties.

Special Considerations: Current patterns are undetermined. Wind and surf action often makes the site too dicey.

Maximum Depth: 10-30ft.

Known Hazards: Kelp, wave action, surf.

Dive Site Description: A long, shallow, level bottom. Lots of kelp, it could be dramatic in high 'kelp season'. There are occasional rocks covered with life. You'd have to go very far out to get deeper than 30ft, which is not recommended because the currents start to rip. The beach is exposed to the straits and prevailing winds, and is not often a good choice due to surf action unless the winds are blowing off-shore; when this happens, nearby Point Hudson (which faces the other direction) may be too rough but North Beach becomes calm. All that said, it does make for an interesting change of pace. Seals and otters are often seen in the area.
WaGigKpn
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Re: North Beach, Port Townsend WA

Post by WaGigKpn »

I'm looking to do this dive soon. Planning to freedive and drift dive it with an incoming tide to point wilson.
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60south
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Re: North Beach, Port Townsend WA

Post by 60south »

WaGigKpn wrote:I'm looking to do this dive soon. Planning to freedive and drift dive it with an incoming tide to point wilson.
In calm weather this would be a great choice for freediving. If it's too rough, maybe Fort Worden or around the piers in Port Townsend.
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McGlencoe
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Re: North Beach, Port Townsend WA

Post by McGlencoe »

My dad and Ohopdiver dove the north end of the park, basically the beach out in front of Kinzie Battery back in the '70s when they first started diving together, lots of kelp, big fish and gnarly current are what I remember from their dive.... gnarly current, right Dan?... LOL!
WaGigKpn
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Posts: 102
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Re: North Beach, Port Townsend WA

Post by WaGigKpn »

60south wrote:
WaGigKpn wrote:I'm looking to do this dive soon. Planning to freedive and drift dive it with an incoming tide to point wilson.
In calm weather this would be a great choice for freediving. If it's too rough, maybe Fort Worden or around the piers in Port Townsend.
Thanks. I dove it on Saturday with a 12ft incoming tide exchange. Was a blast! No fish to be seen but zooming around without a tank was a lot of fun.
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