Keystone -- after the storm

Tell us your tale of coming nose-to-nose with a 6 gill [--this big--], or about your vacation to turquoise warm waters. Share your adventures here!
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YellowEye
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Keystone -- after the storm

Post by YellowEye »

Hi Folks
Tom Nic, Bassman and I went to Keystone yeterday, the day after the big storm.

Wow, keystone got hit hard by that storm.... The parking lot had waves run across it. The picnic tables were thrown about in the waves... some got sent down the beach others were tossed upside down. The lot was completely covered with sand and gravel. The 3-4 foot ledge that previously lead down to the water is now filled in with more sand making the ledge .5-2' tall, making entrance easier...
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Over on the ferry lane side, one of the break waters got knocked down, and the boat launch was completely destroyed.
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I didn't look closely at the pilings but there looks to have been some damage over there too.

The small lighthouse on the end of the jetty got destroyed. The coast guard is wanting to recover the lantern. I saw it out on the jetty at 7 feet underwater but it will be a several person job to recover it. I have a contact number for the coast guard if anybody makes it out there to recover it. I may go tomorrow if the wind is ok.

Hope you all made it thru the storm safely with minimal damage...

Despite all the destruction above, the diving was fantastic. It was Tom/keith's first time at Keystone and it was fun showing them. Highlights included mating cockerel's dorids, a huge octo at 55', lots of nudibranch, lots of kelp greenling eggs (some with the alevin swimming around inside!)

Viz was sandy but improving. On dive 1, all the anemones were closed. On dive 2, they were beginning to open up -- what a beautiful transformation!

One thing which was sad was there was a lot of plastic in the water from the storm :( Many pieces about the size of a postage stamp.
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60south
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Re: Keystone -- after the storm

Post by 60south »

Dove Pt Hudson yesterday... never seen so much destruction under the water. Lots of debris, leaves, wood, kelp, trash. The eel grass beds were missing or mostly destroyed. Many metridium anemones and monster barnacles gone. Just a mess. :-(
Sharkb8
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Re: Keystone -- after the storm

Post by Sharkb8 »

Glad to hear the diving was still great (even with the plastic). I can't wait to see the new and improved ledge!
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Tom Nic
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Re: Keystone -- after the storm

Post by Tom Nic »

Keystone definitely delivered in spite of the storm!

I will post pictures later. Thanks to Eric for a wonderful introduction to a wonderful dive site!
More Pics Than You Have Time To Look AT
"Anyone who thinks this place is over moderated is bat-crazy anarchist." -Ben, Airsix
"Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman
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Tom Nic
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Re: Keystone -- after the storm

Post by Tom Nic »

So.... every time I mentioned to someone that I had never dove Keystone they turned to me in wide eyed incredulity, "YOU'VE NEVER DOVE KEYSTONE?!?!" :tomnic: :nutty: :BDub: Wow... give a guy a break... Seattle traffic is evil and I live in the South end, which makes several awesome northern sites seldom dove. And anyway... yadda, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Enough with the excuses already, time to dive Keystone. And boy, will I be back! :burntchef:

Viz was marginal, but even though I was not shooting exclusively macro it wasn't long before I realized that most of my shooting was going to be done in the 2' and under range, so just go with it. So I just had to imagine the clouds of rockfish floating 15' above me in the cloudy green.

Here's a few snaps from the day....

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I'm not sure if she was trying to warn me away from eggs, but she swam with me for about 10 minutes on each dive, going around me in circles until I could predict where she would be and set up for a shot in the murk.

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It was fun finding this gorgeous Spinynose Sculpin...

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And a couple more.....

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And a few egg shots to close things out - that's enough for now!

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More Pics Than You Have Time To Look AT
"Anyone who thinks this place is over moderated is bat-crazy anarchist." -Ben, Airsix
"Warning: No dive masters are going to be there, Just a bunch of old fat guys taking pictures of fish." -Bassman
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Gdog
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Re: Keystone -- after the storm

Post by Gdog »

Nice! Good work Tom! Glad u got to dive it.
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ScubaJess
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Re: Keystone -- after the storm

Post by ScubaJess »

Fantastic report! Yes you need to go back on a nice sunny day and stop by pickles deli on the way also :)
Live Long And Prosper!!!

Stay Warm underwater with the Weezle Extreme Plus undergarment! Please let me know if you would like to order one or have any questions. :luv: :partydance: :eric: :taco:
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