Point Whitney, Brinnon, WA

[60south]

Dive Site Name: Point Whitney

Skill Level: All Divers

Current Sensitive: A bit. There are currents, sometimes annoying, but I don't think you'll get swept away.

Location: 1000 Point Whitney Road, Brinnon, WA, at the shellfish lab.

Directions: Head south from Quilcene or north from Brinnon on highway 101, turn off at Point Whitney Road. Google map.

Free Parking: A vehicle use permit is required to park there. This is either a Discovery Pass, or included with a combo fishing license, or for a daily fee.

Staging Area: A gravel parking lot.

Surface Swim: Short

Nearby Facilities: There's a bathroom on site. The nearest services are in Brinnon or Quilcene.

Special Considerations: Lots of boaters launch from here during fishing season. Bring a dive flag, if you have one.

Maximum Depth: 15-140 fsw or more.

Known Hazards: Boaters.

Dive Site Description: A life-encrusted intake pipe extends out, running north-south. You'll find the pipe starting at about 15' and running down to 100 feet, more or less depending on the tides. Look for GPOs under the supports. The start of the pipe is located near the center of the parking area. (There's really two pipes, but one is shorter.) Octopus Gardens Dive Shop has a good map and write-up of this site on their web page.

[Jeremy]

Cool, will have to check it out. Thanks for the write up!

[AdrianSmith]

If you head due north off the end of the pipe you can hit 130-140 pretty easily, so you may want to modify your max depth for the site.

And as an FYI, the vehicle use permit has been required for four years.

-Adrian

[60south]

Thanks Adrian, the post has been updated.

[AdrianSmith]

No worries. Thanks for the update! It's one my favorite sites.

[FlyinV]

vehicle use permit is this the discovery pass or something else to purchase?
I have dove it twice this year and put up the discovery pass but I like to be sure so I don't get a ticket or a tow

[AdrianSmith]

The Discover Pass is what you need.

-Adrian

[60south]

This site grows on you. The first time I dove it I thought, meh. Vis is not always good.

Dove it again yesterday and saw much more. Aside from the pipe, there's other stuff down there that's a magnet for sea life. Loads of fish, crabs, and smaller critters. Yesterday I found myself in a baitball of thousands of candlefish (?), it was magical.

This would also be a great site for snorkeling or training, or when currents are blowing out everything else.

[60south]

An update-- we found another pipe, one we haven't seen on any of the dive site maps.

Heading north and west from the shore, we picked it up around 35 ft depth. It runs NNW, more or less, to about 80-90 ft of water.

[enchantmentdivi]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what kind of life did you see on this pipe???

[60south]

Tons of anemones. Signs of GPOs near the concrete supports but nobody home. Schools of tubsnouts and candlefish (?) down to about 60ft, thousands of shrimp, big sculpins trying to look like shell hash, and crabs doing battle.

And one badass jellyfish, presumably a lion's mane (although I never saw the bell) that wrapped my lips and cheeks in its loving, nematocyst-filled tentacles.

[enchantmentdivi]

Nice!! (except for the jellyfish sting...)