Sunrise Beach Park

Post by **H20doctor** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:36 am

Has anyone done this dive from the Shore Lately...?
How is it as a shore dive and walking down the Hill..?
What did you see on this dive..?
Is it worth driving to from Seattle ?

DiverDown · Post by **DiverDown** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 2:18 am

Sunrise is a great dive, better done from a charter. But I have done it from shore. Still well worth the death march.. The bottom of the reef is only 70 fsw on a high tide. But beware of the currents, they can be wicked.

http://www.pnwscuba.com/sitemaps/sunrise.jpg

If any one that is familiar with that site from shore, please add it to the dive site listing

Seth T. · Post by **Seth T.** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 7:22 am

I've only done it via boat, too. It's in the NW Shore Dive book, though. It doesn't sound brutal.

boydski · Post by **boydski** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 8:25 am

H20doctor wrote:Has anyone done this dive from the Shore Lately...?
How is it as a shore dive and walking down the Hill..?
What did you see on this dive..?
Is it worth driving to from Seattle ?

Sunrise County Beach Park is one of the best dives in South Puget Sound. Having done this from shore a few times, we now only dive this site by boat as well. I'm just getting too old to haul two sets of gear back up the hill.

The dive from shore is not all that difficult if you time the currents correctly, but the walk back up the hill with all of your gear on is pretty nasty. However, everyone should do it at least once, it's really good exercise!

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 9:01 am

Hee Hee Hee.....I agree with Scott! Fantastic dive.....from a boat or otherwise.

The walk DOWN to the beach is fine, but the walk back UP after the dive/s is (in the words of John Kay of Steppenwolf) evil, rotten, mean and nasty. In my younger days I would do it.....I will never do it again.

Still, everyone should make that hike at least once....for bragging rights if nothing else!

- John

Cold_H2O · Post by **Cold_H2O** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 10:44 am

I have dove this site lots of times.
Have only done it twice from boat.

Boat diving this site is easier.
The hike up the hill is a bit bothersome.
Currents can be wicked... if your timeing is off..

I love this site. Well worth the hike up after a great dive of critter sighting.

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 11:00 am

The hike is especially bad in August!

WylerBear · Post by **WylerBear** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 11:09 am

I've done it from shore a few times also and lived to tell about it even though I'm old and have bad knees. Wouldn't be my first choice but it is a great site and the dives I've done there by shore just coincidentally have been much better than the dives I've done there by boat. The walk up is killer but the surface swim can be killer as well. It's a long way & I always seem to be swimming it against current in order to time the dive correctly. But it is worth it.

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 11:32 am

A hand truck really helps for the walk. There's a nice wall on the beach to help you gear up. Also bring your tank down seperately from your weightbelt. And don't even think about doubles!

gcbryan · Post by **gcbryan** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:17 pm

I've done it by boat a few times and as a shore dive many times. I prefer it as a shore dive for several reasons (if you have you're own boat these don't apply) as it is too crowded done as a charter dive. It is a rather short wall to dump 15 dives on it at once.

It also seems to be the second dive done when on a charter boat with Dalco being the first dive. Therefore, it ends up being done as a drift dive. Again, a short wall done as a drift dive makes for a rather quick dive.

The walk up the hill is not fun but just go slow. Since it's at the end of the dive you have had all the weight off your body for the entire dive and your body is rested. It's just not a Cove 2 exit and that's what we have gotten used to.

It's no worse than Salt Creek, Sund Rock (the free way) or Whycliff Park. It's good for you!

Aquanautchuck · Post by **Aquanautchuck** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:36 pm

This is one of my favorite dives sites in Puget Sound. I think I have like 12 or 14 dives there. Done it from shore 6 times. Every time I walked up the hill after a dive I thought that some where in one of my many dive manuals said something about "do not do hard exercise after diving".

The rest of the times I have done it from the "Scuba Kat". This is the only way to do it. A short trip from Gig Harbor, roll off the side and away you go. This is the site where I found out the two old anchors (one navy type and one mushroom) were worthless. Another story. I now have two big Danforth anchors for big cabin cruisers.

If you do not hit it right the current can be unbelievably brutal. One time my buddy and I had to dump our air and use both our knives to pull ourselves along the bottom into the shallows.

cardiver · Post by **cardiver** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 7:03 pm

Shawn and I did it as a shore dive on Thanksgiving morning a few years ago. We miss timed slack by a few minutes and when we dropped in it was ripping. We just laid on the bottom hugging a couple of big rocks until slack and then had a great dive. The walk was not a problem at all. Gear up on the picnic tables and walk the 1-2 minutes down to the water....

Post by **H20doctor** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 7:09 pm

Ok sounds good.. But what Did you see Here ...?

Post by **Sea of Green** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 7:20 pm

CaptnJack wrote:A hand truck really helps for the walk. There's a nice wall on the beach to help you gear up. Also bring your tank down seperately from your weightbelt. And don't even think about doubles!

I think this is the only shore dive that I don't mind paying a charter to take me too, but my prefered method is the FREE method, from shore. Don't try to be macho and hike up that hill with all your gear in one trip. Just invest a few bucks in a radio flyer, it's money well spent:

cardiver · Post by **cardiver** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 8:18 pm

H20doctor wrote:Ok sounds good.. But what Did you see Here ...?

Well.....My avatar for one thing. Just click on my sig bloc and check out the pics from Sunrise.

Scubak · Post by **Scubak** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 8:20 pm

Sunrise is the place that locals call the "Zoo"! It is a somewhat shallow wall (about 55fsw) and a short wall. Meaning you take your time and just putz around looking in the nooks and crannies for critters. You can see Grunt Sculpin, Decorator Crabs, Wolf Eels and Giant Pacific Octopus as well as Rat Fish and other critters.
I did this 2 weeks ago as a boat dive and saw 2 Very large GPO and a couple of smaller ones and several Wolf Eel. Plus all the other critters such as a one-eyed Red Irish Lord.
This site is a current intentsive site so is best done on a flood slack. The hike down the hill is not too bad with a single tank. The surface swim from the entrance to the bent tree is a bit, but take your time. The walk back up the hill after the dive is a challenge. You are tired from your dive if any current. Take your time. I usually walk half-way up and then stop for a minute and then continue up and stop as I need to. Some even drop some of their gear half-way and then come back for it once rested.
It is one of the top dive sites in the South Sound but it is a dive that needs to be well planned and executed on the correct currents.
Enjoy.
K

Cold_H2O · Post by **Cold_H2O** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 10:34 am

H20doctor wrote:Ok sounds good.. But what Did you see Here ...?

A better question is WHAT WON'T YOU SEE....

We call it the petting zoo for a reason.
The finest critters in the PNW call Sunrise home.

Dancing Scallops, Octo's, Wolfies, crabs of all variety, Gunnels, Anemones, Sea cucumbers... the list goes on.

As I have shared it is one of my all time favorite sites.

Kirby · Post by **Kirby** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 6:39 pm

Just did this dive last Saturday from shore, with dual 100's, not really that bad if you pace yourself. Use the slack time for the Gig Harbor entrance station with no correction, its right on. You can dive it on just about any exchange, but must time slack correctly, don't show up late. 5 giant octo, 3 wolf eels, and I missed a few since we went deep to explore.

Kirby

Post by **H20doctor** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 9:45 pm

sweet, sounds Great thank you for the info and all the exciting finds at this site.. I think I will hike down the hill and do it from the beach.. To minimize the swim I will bring a DVP, and see the sites... thank you for all the Posts

jeff98208 · Post by **jeff98208** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 4:00 pm

hey doc, count me in on that bud!

Aquanautchuck · Post by **Aquanautchuck** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 8:14 pm

Remember that the public beach is like only 50' long. After that it is private and you need to walk below the low tide line. That's one of the reasons I love diving from my boat. There are a couple of neighbors that love to yell at divers. Have fun.

CaptnJack · Post by **CaptnJack** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 11:56 pm

You really don't need a scooter, the swim is only ~200ft. Once you're UW its a fairly short wall. Lots of hidy holes to peer into. Hauling a scooter down there would not be worth the extra effort getting it back out.

Post by **H20doctor** » Sun Nov 18, 2007 12:44 am

my scooters only weigh 19lbs dry... So they are very easy to carry on any dive that I Do. We have the same beach problem with people at 100ft Rock in meadowdale. They get all cranky when we park in front of there homes.

Northwest Dive Club

Sunrise Beach Park

Sunrise Beach Park

Re: Sunrise Beach Park

Sunrise