Point Wilson Reef

[PeninsulaDiver]

My dive day sort of fell apart so it was time to make lemonade. I was reading another thread and someone had mentioned Point Wilson Reef (H2ODoc?). It had been a while since I visited it so I headed that way. Thanks H2O for motivating me!

With the winds out of the South the shoreline is very protected, so I figured this was as good of a day as any. A quick check of the currents yielded a slack before flood shortly after my projected entry.

A dive buddy of mine used to dive this site from shore back in the day when he was young stupid and strong. I have dove it a half dozen times but always from a live boat, never from shore. Today I choose to do it from shore but with a scooter. Here is a picture of my starting location with an arrow pointing to the dive site along with a chart snippet.

I headed out on a compass heading of roughly WNW and figured I would lay on the trigger for 10 minutes and depending on depth, resurface and see where I was. There was really nothing of interest to see during this time and I had only achieved 22fsw. Visibility was 10ft at best. Upon surfacing, I could tell I was getting close to my destination. I dropped down and ran for another 5 to 10 minutes. The bottom started taking shape and dropped to 48fsw. I knew I was close. There was a slight current but picked up as I approached the reef.

If you are into fish and lots of them, this site is not for you. However, if you are into Urchins and lots of them, this is a goldmine. It reminds me a lot of Salt Creek. The macro life was very nice as well. I love macro but my Point-and-Shoot-Piece-of-Poop camera does not.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQlRcaga4bk[/youtube]

The bottom is pretty much current swept compressed clay and gravel.

The structure appears to be of the same compositon with some basalt mixed in.

At 45minutes the current started pushing harder so I decided to head towards shore and ride it back to my starting point.

This site can be very very current intensive. If you decide to give it a shot from shore, make sure you know what the currents are doing (http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/tideshow. ... on+Current).

There is decent parking.....

with a nice staging area...

...and the entry is not too bad.

Water temp was a balmy 44degrees, Max depth 48fsw.
Nothing spectacular to report but all in all it was a fun dive.

-Mark

[Dusty2]

Very current sensitive is an understatement not to mention very subject to rough waves and surf should the wind change. Plan your dive for slack before flood only on a low exchange.

Not on my list for sure! But if you just have to dive and the wind is from the south??? Not really much choice in PT. You could have done Hadlock though it's pretty dull.

[renoun]

If I had a scooter and wanted to shore dive Pt. Wilson reef I would launch from the public shore access (used to be a functional launching ramp) at the end of Kuhn St. to the west of the reef at 48°8.675'N,122°45.867'W. There may be a bit of kelp off that beach too. The distance similar but you would be away from the worst of the tide rips that occur in the shallows off Pt. Wilson while in transit to/from the reef.

[CaptnJack]

If I had a scooter and wanted to shore dive Pt. Wilson reef I would launch from the public shore access (used to be a functional launching ramp) at the end of Kuhn St. to the west of the reef at 48°8.675'N,122°45.867'W. There may be a bit of kelp off that beach too. The distance similar but you would be away from the worst of the tide rips that occur in the shallows off Pt. Wilson while in transit to/from the reef.

This "site" is in one of the older editions of Fsichnaller's shore dives book and its "not recommended" without a scooter IMHO. Basically just shallow sand for as far as you'd want to swim.

Jealous you did Pnt Wilson reef from shore Mark!

[Dusty2]

Scooters do give you a big boost in shore dive choices. I'm not a big fan for monkey diving and general cruising but to get to and from otherwise inaccessible sites they are better n sliced bread! (he sez while green with envy)

[H20doctor]

It was me.. Im guilty.. I did this dive with renoun.. Mz and pensacoladiver.. We drifted the reef from a boat, but it is way off shore for sure.. Chad back in the day had a bit of a miss hap there with current, and had to swim into shore, and get a ride back out to his boat lol.. Ha ha ha .. But, this reef is amazn.. Huge rock structure and lots to see as a drift dive.. If you ever need a boat diver for a weekend let me know and I will drive over..

[renoun]

This "site" is in one of the older editions of Fsichnaller's shore dives book and its "not recommended" without a scooter IMHO.

I don't think that either site would fall into what I would be comfortable with but I think that the Western access I described is potentially a safer place to be than the beach at the state park if you don't completely understand the currents or have a breakdown. I have seen the standing waves that form off Pt. Wilson when the current gets running and wouldn't want to end up in them on my way to spending some quality time drifting in Admiralty Inlet.


.

It was me.. Im guilty.. I did this dive with renoun.. Mz and pensacoladiver.. We drifted the reef from a boat,

I remember diving Pt. Wilson Reef with Chad, somebody tried to take his lift bag during our safety stop and then we surfaced to find that our boat wasn't in sight. MZ's videos from that day are still up but it is probably a good thing that Chad's words with the SMB hijackers wasn't recorded.

[pensacoladiver]

As I look back over my dive log, I recall that fateful day of 27 Jul. That was my 2nd boat dive in the PNW and my 4th TOTAL dive in the PNW. I had my new buddy Karl with me who was just recently certified.

We had just dove the Alaska Reefer the day before (my first boat dive in the PNW). So to say I had no understanding or respect for currents was a gross understatement.

during the safety stop we were just a drifting further and further from the boat and we were both fat dumb and happy to do so.

When we surfaced, I was a bit shocked. It was not the furthest I had even been from the boat, but I had no idea about the current. I started swimming and after 20 minutes of exhausting myself, I was not 10 feet closer. Neither was Karl.

Now of course, that bad weather that area is good for getting was starting to come in from the west.

Not knowing a damn ting about current, I am absolutely convinced that my anchor has given and my boat is drifting away into the sound and toward the rocks in Pt Townsend.

That makes me swim even harder for another 10 minutes. Karl finally hollers over at me... "we are getting set". I had no idea what the hell he meant. But he turned south and started swimming to shore. I wisely followed. about 40 minutes later, we made it to the rocks... humped the gear 500 yards to a park and got a ride to the marina.

I talked a guy with a motorized sailboat dingy raft to give me a ride back out to my boat. He did. I was never happier to see my baby sitting tight on the anchor.

Oh yes, the other thing I was thinking while I was drifting away.... "Boy, I sure am glad I bought this drysuit 2 days ago"

That which doesn't kill us...

[Dusty2]

Wow! That could have gone way bad. It's lucky you were good swimmers and in good condition. The fates were looking out for you that day. I know that feeling when you surface and realize there is no way your making it back to your boat and you may never see it again.

[mz53480]

That which doesn't kill us...

I hear this site is also notorious for SMB hijackings....???!!!

[pensacoladiver]

Yeah, all around dangerous spot. Lol

[PeninsulaDiver]

...I think that the Western access I described is potentially a safer place to be than the beach at the state park if you don't completely understand the currents or have a breakdown. I have seen the standing waves that form off Pt. Wilson when the current gets running and wouldn't want to end up in them on my way to spending some quality time drifting in Admiralty Inlet.

Sounds good however the distance from the North Beach Ramp (Kuhn Street) is somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 times further so getting there and back becomes more problematic. See my observations below.

Observations by boat diving it:
There is a definite back eddy that occurs at the reef. I have dove it a half dozen times on various currents, both flooding and ebbing trying to figure it out, and the water at the reef has always moved the same direction, ~West to ~East. The current at the reef appears to never stop. It simple slows or speeds up.

Observation by shore diving it:
Considering the information from diving it via boat, once on the site, it's important to head back perpendicular to the beach. This should land you near or at the sandy beach portion of the State Park (my starting point yesterday) assuming you terminated or aborted the dive at the reef itself. Waiting too long to start your exit may land you that one way ticket aboard an incoming freighter. Once you start getting shallow in the sandy spot between the reef and the shore, <15fsw, the current dissipates drastically.

Chad, I did hear about your excursion but didn't know who was involved. Dive in the PNW, short or long enough, and stuff happens. Been there, done that! The important thing is to know how to handle the situation when it arises and even more importantly learn from it.

Jealous you did Pnt Wilson reef from shore Mark!

Armed with the same WX forecast and current predictions I had, I would do it again without hesitation, with scooter, of course.

Care to join me?


-Mark

[BASSMAN]

a good thing that Chad's words with the SMB hijackers wasn't recorded.

So was this the dive where someone kept trying to pull his SMB up?

If it is, that was a great dive report!

[deep diver]

I remember diving years ago off a buddy's boat at Colvos Rock in Mats Mats when we came over the reef and saw a big puff of smoke. Wondering what it was but not thinking about it too much until we surfaced to find the boat GONE!
Looing around we finally spotted the boat, which looked about 2" long way far away..... we would still be swimming if our luck hadn't been with us that day and the anchor caught on another reef. We were tired, but grateful to make it to the boat.

I did dive at Point Wilson once about 15 years ago and that was enough muck diving for me.

[pensacoladiver]

a good thing that Chad's words with the SMB hijackers wasn't recorded.

So was this the dive where someone kept trying to pull his SMB up?

If it is, that was a great dive report!

No, those were 2 seperate dives. the SMB hijacking was with a live boat. Unfortunately, on that dive me and the boat operater did not communicate effectively before the dive so she ended up all the way around the point out of sight of us.

Again, I was floating on the surface at that site worried... DeJaVu. After deciding to swim for shore again, albeit rather slowly and some long drawn out blasts on the dive whistle, she finally came around the corner to pick us up.

If it was not for the awesome vis that site can produce, I would probably call it quits diving there. hahah
But, there have been days when the vis there is on par with Neah Bay.

[PeninsulaDiver]

I did dive at Point Wilson once about 15 years ago and that was enough muck diving for me.

Dale, you may be thinking of the artifical reef located off the kitchen shelter. Believe me, Point Wilson Reef is far from muck.

I remember diving years ago off a buddy's boat at Colvos Rock in Mats Mats when we came over the reef and saw a big puff of smoke....

Yea, me too!
I guess it's OK to Hi-jack my own thread, although there may already be one devoted to "war stories".

I too was diving Colvos Rock years ago when my boat lost anchor. My buddy and I had dove it plenty of times from an unattended anchored boat. This particular day the wind was blowing a steady 15 with gusts I would guess above 20 out of the south and we were diving the slack before ebb. Bottom line, we should not have been there that day. What the hell was I thinking? We dropped anchor in the normal spot geared up and splashed. After exploring the deep part of the reef it was time to head back to the anchor. As we came upon it, I noticed a lot of movement on the chafing chain. That should have been my indicator to abort. But since we had had plenty of gas and bottom time remaining we decided to explore a while longer. When we returned to where the anchor was, all that remained was a dust trail. Upon surfacing we could see the boat well to the northeast heading to Klas Rock. With no other boats in the area to flag down, we swam for it. Fortunately we had the wind and current on our side. After what seemed an eternity, we didn't appear to be closing the distance. Then all of a sudden I saw the boat turn bow into the wind. The anchor grabbed as it got hung up on a small pinnacle just before Klas Rock and the boat swung around as if to say "ok dumb ass, hope you learned a lesson here". Talk about relief.

What did I learn?
1. Don't dive Colvos Rock or any site for that matter, from an anchored unattended boat unless conditions warrant.
2. Add more chafing chain.
3. And by god, make sure to let out plenty of rode!

-Mark

[Dusty2]

What did I learn?
1. Don't dive Colvos Rock or any site for that matter, from an anchored unattended boat unless conditions warrant.
2. Add more chafing chain.
3. And by god, make sure to let out plenty of rode!

-Mark

Amen Brother!
We had a similar incident at Ed's fault. The wind came up from the south while we were down. By the time we surfaced the boat was probably a 1/4 of a mile away and getting further every minute thanks to the wind.The big difference was at Ed' once the anchor goes there is nothing but deep water between you and Cape George but no current. Thankfully Grant is a very strong swimmer and was able to make it to the boat. I don't ever want to repeat that one! The lesson we learned in addition to the ones you mentioned is the first one down always sets the anchor.

[CaptnJack]

Jealous you did Pnt Wilson reef from shore Mark!

Armed with the same WX forecast and current predictions I had, I would do it again without hesitation, with scooter, of course.

Care to join me?


-Mark

Yes! When? I bow to your superior knowledge of the site so pick a day and I'll be there.
Your boat, my boat, or scooter works for me.