Dive Site Name: Point Hudson, Port Townsend, Washington
Skill Level: All divers. See caution below about current.
Current Sensitive: Yes. Recommended for slack dives only. A current predictor can be found at:
http://tbone.biol.sc.edu/tide/tideshow.cgi?site=Point+Hudson%2C+0.5+mile+E+of%2C+Washington+Current.
...which is often inaccurate for this site. See the additional post in this thread regarding currents.
Location: 412 Water Street, Port Townsend WA.
Driving Directions: Coming from highway 104, follow the signs into Port Townsend. The main road into town is state highway 20, which turns into Water Street in lower downtown. Pass all the Victorian shops and hubbub until you come to the end of Water Street. Park next to the Maritime Center or nearby.
Free Parking: Yes.
Staging Area: The street parking along Water Street. There is a bit of a walk from the street to the water.
Surface Swim: Short.
Nearby Facilities: Restrooms can be found in the breezeway on the bottom floor of the Maritime Center, and also a short way up Water Street just past the park.
An outside shower A faucet is available outside the Maritime Center (SW side), if you bring your own hose. Air, nitrox and technical gas tank fills can be obtained from
Octopus Gardens Diving, in the Boat Haven as you're coming into town.
Special Considerations: Divers have to thread their way around the Maritime Center, making for a bit of a walk. Facing the water, the left (north) side of the jetty is the entrance to the Hudson Point marina; avoid diving or surfacing in that area. The dive area itself has occasional small boat traffic.
Maximum Depth: Typically 65ft maximum. Most of the attractions are in the 20-55ft range. Beyond the barge the bottom levels out at around 100ft, give or take, but there isn't much to see.
Dive Site Description: Refer to the map below: The pedestrian jetty and rocks (2) that form the entrance to the marina are covered with life. This site has many different kinds of nudibranchs and macro critters, sculpins of all sizes, and one or two GPOs hidden in the rocks. At the end of the jetty is a sunken barge (1). Ropes lead to-and-fro, and down to the "log jam" (3). To the west of the jetty (towards downtown) is a "dolphin" (4), a collection of pilings that is covered in anemones. Juvenile wolf eels are occasionally seen here. Other photogenic creatures can be found in the eelgrass and kelp beds (6), and under the new kayak/sail school pier (7). Look for sunglasses, credit cards, wallets, and other booty accidentally dropped by sailing students under the dock. A good place to enter the water is actually the boat launch ramp, identified with the large word DANGER on the right side of the map -- the gentle entry is much safer than clambering over the rocks elsewhere. The parking lot beside the boat ramp is private and unauthorized vehicles will be towed.
- Map of Hudson Point dive site.
