Sekiu/Neah Bay

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 5:33 am

Got in my 1,500th dive this past week-end ... in Neah Bay. This was the annual Emerald Seas Dive Club trip. Cheng and I just went for the week-end, althoug some of the crew are still out there. We did two dives off of Porthole Charters, and two dives in Sekiu.

Our original plan was to also do a dive on Friday at Salt Creek on the way out ... but one look at the surf booming into the rocks was enough to convince us that it probably wasn't a good idea ... so we hightailed it out to Sekiu and did a dive there instead. It wasn't "magical" like the dives we did in early June, but vis was nice and there was plenty to see.

Saturday we were up early (3:30) and were loading the boat in Neah Bay by 5 AM. The plan was to hit Duncan Rock early. Unfortunately, we got there a bit late and the currents were already turning the place into a washing machine ... so we decided not to dive it. Instead we turned back toward shore, to a place called "Ballbag Cove". That was a nice site, and vis was on the order of 50 feet or so. The best part of this dive was a "canyon" where we were swimming between two sheer walls ... the separation between them was on average about 15-20 feet, but there was one place where it narrowed down to the point where two people could not swim side-by-side. It was very cool. Our second dive was on the south side of Tatoosh Island, in a cove enclosed on the east side by some pretty nice walls and sloping down to ledges as you went westward. This is where dungeness crabs go to molt ... there were MILLIONS of empty shells, sometimes several layers thick, littering the bottom. But the walls and ledges were the real treat ... and technicolor display of sea life with anemones and nudibranchs everywhere. A great dive!

Oddly, we were back on shore by 10 AM, and back in Sekiu by 11. So Cheng and I did a third dive that day at Sekiu ... which proved to be the best dive of the whole trip. We stayed out there 71 minutes, and while our hearts and air supply wanted to prolong the dive, our body temps didn't ... the water out there is 46 degrees and we were both getting cold.

Sunday when we got up it was raining and chilly, so we decided to bag the planned dive and just head home.

Here's a photo show of our week-end's dives ...

http://photoshow.comcast.net/watch/WH4eE9fW

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Joshua Smith · Post by **Joshua Smith** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 9:20 am

Beautiful photos, as always, Bob. Congrats on 1500! Do you feel different now?

Dolphin_Diver · Post by **Dolphin_Diver** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 9:49 am

congratulations on 1500 dives those pictures are awsome. thanks for sharring them. one of these days i hope jason will learn how to take good pictures like yours. thanks

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:02 am

Wahoo!!!

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:02 am

I think you get a merit badge for 1500 dives don't you?! $\:D/$

Think of how many cubic feet of compressed air you've breathed!!!

How many days (24 hour periods) have you spent underwater?!

Congrats!!!

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:05 am

Sounder wrote:I think you get a merit badge for 1500 dives don't you?! $\:D/$

Badges ??? We don' need no steenkeeng badges ...

Sounder wrote: Think of how many cubic feet of compressed air you've breathed!!!

It boggles the mind ... if only they could come up with a way to make it help me lose weight ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:07 am

Mrs. Sounder and I have a little gift (don't get too excited, it's not much) for you to mark the occassion!!! We'll bring it on Friday. She's on the phone and says congrats too!

Zen Diver v1 · Post by **Zen Diver v1** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 3:03 pm

Congrats on 1500 Bob, that's truly amazing. What are you planning for an encore?

-Valerie

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 3:07 pm

Zen Diver wrote:Congrats on 1500 Bob, that's truly amazing. What are you planning for an encore?

-Valerie

Well ... I would say 1501, but I already did that ... $\:D/$

Got in 29 dives for July. For August I have plannned a trip to the San Juan Islands (next week-end), a trip to Porteau Cove (two weeks after that), and a trip to Bonaire (leaving on the 26th).

I guess that's enough ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Maverick · Post by **Maverick** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:44 pm

Cool 1500 sweet, are you diving wednesday?

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 9:27 pm

Maverick wrote:Cool 1500 sweet, are you diving wednesday?

Uh uh ... gotta prepare for Friday's gas management seminar.

I'm diving Thursday (Day Island Wall) with some friends ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Tangfish · Post by **Tangfish** » Tue Aug 01, 2006 10:51 pm

Bob, you are a diving machine!

Here's to the next 1500

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 11:46 am

Bob, see you Thursday perhaps... Bassman and myself have also been planning to dive there. Sweet tides... $\:D/$

BASSMAN · Post by **BASSMAN** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:04 pm

I call dibb's on one parking space!

Who Hoo! Day Island!!!!!

What time you planning on being there Bob?

Grateful Diver · Post by **Grateful Diver** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:38 pm

BASSMAN wrote:I call dibb's on one parking space!

Who Hoo! Day Island!!!!!

What time you planning on being there Bob?

We'll be there around 6ish ...

... for those of you who consider diving this site, why not also consider carpooling? I sometimes meet my dive buddy at Titlow, and leave one car over there somewhere. Day Island has very limited parking availability ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)