Northwest Dive Club

Never done it. Have an opportunity on Saturday, May 12th. I don't know what are considered "good" tides/currents for that site. Sooooo, can someone tell me if that is really a good tide/current day for Deception Pass? I'm kinda looking for second, third, and fourth opinions here other than just the one that I already have. Thanks!

May 12th has a +4.1 to a -6.2 to a +5.7
I don't think I would do it that day but I am picky.

If it were me I'd be looking at March 2nd, 30th or 31st.

Not sure if the park gate is open yet.. ? call the ranger station

H20doctor wrote:Not sure if the park gate is open yet.. ? call the ranger station

From http://www.parks.wa.gov/parkschedule/
Forest loop in the Cranberry Campground is open year round.

The CCC Interpretive Center closed October through March.

Rosario day-use area closed October through February-construction is scheduled for this spring.

North Beach closed November through February.

Back loop and middle loop of Cranberry Campground closed October through April.

Lower Loop closed November, reopens March 1.

Bowman Bay Campground closed for repairs; will open when repairs are completed.
Quarry Pond closed Oct. 1 – May 15.

There were folks on the beaches last weekend when I dived it.

I did a drive-by at Rosario on my way down to keystone a couple weeks ago. Gate was open could drive up and park easy. It was almost dusk so the ranger was coming right behind me to get ready to shut the gate. So.....

CaptnJack wrote:May 12th has a +4.1 to a -6.2 to a +5.7
I don't think I would do it that day but I am picky.

Thanks, Jack, for a second opinion! I appreciate it. And, I pretty picky too.... Any third, fourth, or fifth opinions out there about May 12th???

enchantmentdivi wrote:

CaptnJack wrote:May 12th has a +4.1 to a -6.2 to a +5.7
I don't think I would do it that day but I am picky.

Thanks, Jack, for a second opinion! I appreciate it. And, I pretty picky too.... Any third, fourth, or fifth opinions out there about May 12th???

Yeah I think it's in excellent day to buy me some presents and drop them by my house, as that is my birthday.

Joshua Smith wrote:There were folks on the beaches last weekend when I dived it.

Psshhhh , where are your pics and dive report? Nailer.. Huh[sarcasm]I think not[/sarcasm]

H20doctor wrote:

Joshua Smith wrote:There were folks on the beaches last weekend when I dived it.

Psshhhh , where are your pics and dive report? Nailer.. Huh[sarcasm]I think not[/sarcasm]

For some reason, my dive reports seem to start flame wars. I quit writing them. And pics? I'm a spectacularly bad photographer. And after flooding my first camera, I decided it just wasn't for me.

Yeah.. I dont think people would believe you were attcked by underwater diver eating squirrels at deception pass, guarding there hidden acorn cave..

Joshua Smith wrote:

H20doctor wrote:

Joshua Smith wrote:There were folks on the beaches last weekend when I dived it.

Psshhhh , where are your pics and dive report? Nailer.. Huh[sarcasm]I think not[/sarcasm]

For some reason, my dive reports seem to start flame wars. I quit writing them. And pics? I'm a spectacularly bad photographer. And after flooding my first camera, I decided it just wasn't for me.

I can't remember the last good flame war here Are you getting all sensitive on us now? :luv:

CaptnJack wrote:

Joshua Smith wrote:

H20doctor wrote:

Joshua Smith wrote:There were folks on the beaches last weekend when I dived it.

Psshhhh , where are your pics and dive report? Nailer.. Huh[sarcasm]I think not[/sarcasm]

For some reason, my dive reports seem to start flame wars. I quit writing them. And pics? I'm a spectacularly bad photographer. And after flooding my first camera, I decided it just wasn't for me.

I can't remember the last good flame war here Are you getting all sensitive on us now? :luv:

I've ALWAYS been sensitive, you brute.:mrgreen:

You're killing me..... Hijack away (I do think it's pretty darn funny...), but can anybody give me a 3rd, 4th, or 5th opinion on the tides/currents for May 12th for Deception Pass? Please? Pretty please?

i wouldn't do it on that day, but, i've never dove there...

here's the tide chart for the bridge...

enchantmentdivi wrote:You're killing me..... Hijack away (I do think it's pretty darn funny...), but can anybody give me a 3rd, 4th, or 5th opinion on the tides/currents for May 12th for Deception Pass? Please? Pretty please?

You want to do this as a shore dive right? Not via a boat.

Ok here's my logic on the Pass as a shore dive:
#1 why? get a charter let someone else deal with where you end up.
ok ok so you really want to dive from shore...

#2 You are entering in the west end so you absolutely have to be diving a slack before ebb.
#3 You don't want to end up in a washing machine
#4 Ebbs tend to be stronger than floods

So on 5/12...
Slack before ebb is
0610 +4.1
0901 slack
1201 -6.2

You need to leave the house at an insanely early hour, take the ferry and be splashing about 8:30am. If you are late you are screwed. And then you'll have about 25mins to drift east and 18mins to drift back west to exit where you started. But the ebb is going to be pretty strong. So I would go on a milder day where you aren't going to be tossed up and down like a rag doll starting at 9:30. That way there's opportunity for a longer dive and with less opportunity for up-downwellings once that ebb gets ripping. YMMV.

The dates in March I suggested have ~1 knot less maximum ebb and 1.5knots less maximum flood so they are better days. not saying you couldn't do May 12th. But what about that day appeals to you? I see nothing positive about it except its a Saturday instead of a weekday. To me its worth taking vacation to have actually relaxing dives on our difficult tide sites.

Boat. But with that said, even though the boat can chase me down, I don't particularly want to do this dive if the conditions are not optimal. Or, have only a 10 minute window.

enchantmentdivi wrote:Boat. But with that said, even though the boat can chase me down, I don't particularly want to do this dive if the conditions are not optimal. Or, have only a 10 minute window.

K, I was editing while you posted.

Your best bet is to either pm Jan K.. Cause he dives the bridge all the time.. Or call whidbey island dive shop, and they can help you with the best time and day to do this dive.. Ive done the bridge 3x , its not for intermediate divers.. There are down currents and up currents, and also toilet bowl whirl pool currents..

CaptnJack wrote:

enchantmentdivi wrote:You're killing me..... Hijack away (I do think it's pretty darn funny...), but can anybody give me a 3rd, 4th, or 5th opinion on the tides/currents for May 12th for Deception Pass? Please? Pretty please?

You want to do this as a shore dive right? Not via a boat.

Ok here's my logic on the Pass as a shore dive:
#1 why? get a charter let someone else deal with where you end up.
ok ok so you really want to dive from shore...

#2 You are entering in the west end so you absolutely have to be diving a slack before ebb.
#3 You don't want to end up in a washing machine
#4 Ebbs tend to be stronger than floods

So on 5/12...
Slack before ebb is
0610 +4.1
0901 slack
1201 -6.2

You need to leave the house at an insanely early hour, take the ferry and be splashing about 8:30am. If you are late you are screwed. And then you'll have about 25mins to drift east and 18mins to drift back west to exit where you started. But the ebb is going to be pretty strong. So I would go on a milder day where you aren't going to be tossed up and down like a rag doll starting at 9:30. That way there's opportunity for a longer dive and with less opportunity for up-downwellings once that ebb gets ripping. YMMV.

The dates in March I suggested have ~1 knot less maximum ebb and 1.5knots less maximum flood so they are better days. not saying you couldn't do May 12th. But what about that day appeals to you? I see nothing positive about it except its a Saturday instead of a weekday. To me its worth taking vacation to have actually relaxing dives on our difficult tide sites.

Jack, THANKS so much for taking the time to draft that response. This helps tremenously! Boat or not boat, I'm waiting for another day, another opportunity.

enchantmentdivi wrote:

CaptnJack wrote:

enchantmentdivi wrote:You're killing me..... Hijack away (I do think it's pretty darn funny...), but can anybody give me a 3rd, 4th, or 5th opinion on the tides/currents for May 12th for Deception Pass? Please? Pretty please?

You want to do this as a shore dive right? Not via a boat.

Ok here's my logic on the Pass as a shore dive:
#1 why? get a charter let someone else deal with where you end up.
ok ok so you really want to dive from shore...

#2 You are entering in the west end so you absolutely have to be diving a slack before ebb.
#3 You don't want to end up in a washing machine
#4 Ebbs tend to be stronger than floods

So on 5/12...
Slack before ebb is
0610 +4.1
0901 slack
1201 -6.2

You need to leave the house at an insanely early hour, take the ferry and be splashing about 8:30am. If you are late you are screwed. And then you'll have about 25mins to drift east and 18mins to drift back west to exit where you started. But the ebb is going to be pretty strong. So I would go on a milder day where you aren't going to be tossed up and down like a rag doll starting at 9:30. That way there's opportunity for a longer dive and with less opportunity for up-downwellings once that ebb gets ripping. YMMV.

The dates in March I suggested have ~1 knot less maximum ebb and 1.5knots less maximum flood so they are better days. not saying you couldn't do May 12th. But what about that day appeals to you? I see nothing positive about it except its a Saturday instead of a weekday. To me its worth taking vacation to have actually relaxing dives on our difficult tide sites.

Jack, THANKS so much for taking the time to draft that response. This helps tremenously! Boat or not boat, I'm waiting for another day, another opportunity.

RJ knows his stuff with the currents and such. I had wanted to dive there since I started, but never had. Ron Akeson, of Adventures Down Under, in Bellingham, had a charter going there last weekend, and I jumped on at the last minute. It's a cool dive. Just West of the Bridge, in about 60 fsw, there's a huge bed of weird tubeworms....we saw lots of greenlings and a few huge lings down around 120'. And when the current turned on us, it REALLY turned. We went from leisurely frog kicking our way West to getting blown South like leaves in the wind in about 2 minutes. I was very glad we were doing a live boat charter.

H20doctor wrote:Your best bet is to either pm Jan K.. Cause he dives the bridge all the time.. Or call whidbey island dive shop, and they can help you with the best time and day to do this dive.. Ive done the bridge 3x , its not for intermediate divers.. There are down currents and up currents, and also toilet bowl whirl pool currents..

Yehaw!! (But yeah, even as someone who hasn't done it, the tides look iffy that day...since you asked for opinions, but failed to specify on their validity )

H20doctor wrote:There are down currents and up currents, and also toilet bowl whirl pool currents..

It must be the vodka, but I find this very funny.

spatman wrote:

H20doctor wrote:There are down currents and up currents, and also toilet bowl whirl pool currents..

It must be the vodka, but I find this very funny.

It must be the beer, but I find this funny too.