It's a no-current site. We've run into a mild current once on a massive-exchange day, and even that was a bit of a fluke. You have to climb down about 3 feet of rocks to get to the water, but they're roughly step-shaped and not that difficult. The shore is river-rock stuff; if you've ever been to Salt Water State Park, the shore is a lot like that. The walk to the water depends on the tide, but it's not too bad even on a low tide. There are a couple of ways to dive it; one is to poke around under the pier looking for little stuff. That will get you to a depth of about 20 fsw if you get to the end of the pier. The biggest hazard there is entanglement, because it's a popular fishing and squidding spot. We have gone out in the evening, just before the regular crowd of squidders got there, gathered anywhere from 3 to 10 squid jigs that we found under there, and at the end of the dive brought them up and given them to the squidders. Just watch out for stray line.
It's a good idea to bring your dive light, because if you go beyond the pier you'll make good use of it. The most popular attractions here by far are the dolphin and the two boats. There's a line leading from the end of the pier to the dolphin, and there's always cool stuff along the way. At the dolphin the pilings are covered with the usual critters, plus there are dozens of little perch and a big school of tubesnouts that usually hang out there. If you go left around the dolphin you come to a rope leading off into the distance. Follow this for about 120 feet and you come to an old sunken trawler that is covered with different kinds of life. We've spent upwards of an hour just exploring this 30 foot hulk, because it's only in about 30 fsw depending on tide, so air consumption isn't a huge problem. It's about 60% reclaimed by the sea, which means parts of aren't terribly sturdy, so look but don't go under anything. This is where those kelp greenlings have been known to hang out, and we've even found an occasional young lingcod. But the trawler is the place for invertebrates. Nudibranchs, gorgeous tubeworms, sea stars, zoanthids, it's an explosion of life.
Back at the dolphin, if you bypass the line to the trawler and keep going around to the left, you come to another line leading off into the distance. This will take you to a little speedboat that's obviously been there for a while, because there's not much left of it. The interior is filled with sand and the shell is partially collapsed. We don't find this one very exciting most of the time, but this was where we found our first-ever Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker. Go figure. It's worth checking out. If you go there first, then take a heading straight west, you should intersect the rope to the trawler. That pattern makes a pretty good tour.
Back at the dolphin yet again, if you keep going around to the side opposite the pier, you come to a field of piling stumps. These are covered with giant plumose anemones, and continue ESE further than we've ever gone. This is where the great sculpins usually hang out, and also where we have found the little octopus before. The place is a jumble of stumps and fallen pilings and it's easy to get turned around, so keep your compass handy. Be sure to look inside the fallen pilings where they've rotted out, because scalyheads, red rock and helmet crabs and lots of other little guys hang out in those dark spaces. When it's time to head back, take a heading west; that will point you back toward the pier. There are more fallen pilings all around this area, so it's anything but dull. Look for little stiletto shrimps and other tiny critters hiding in the sea lettuce; I even found a little blade shrimp here a while back. As you get closer to the pier, watch out for entanglement again, because not only has this area been fished a lot, there are some old discarded crab pots down there, and some still have ropes and such on them. By the time you get to the pier, you'll be back to about 15-20 fsw. You've only been to about 30-35 fsw, but the usual safety stop is always a good idea anyway. The nice part is, you can do it while puttering around in those fallen pilings or under the pier and enjoying the critters. Kelp crabs hang out all over the pier pilings, and you can also find Monterey dorids and white-lined dironas, to name just a few. By the time you've been to the trawler and the speedboat and back, if you're looking closely, you've also probably seen enough
Flabellina verrocusa to last you several weeks.
There's more than one way to get in and out on those rocks. One way is to gear up and carefully climb down; my girls usually put their masks and fins down on one of the rocks within easy reach, then climb down and retrieve the small stuff once they're on the shore. I usually just carry it all, but I'm not as bright as they are
Another way is to have your strongest diver climb down without gear, then hand the equipment down to him or her and gear up in the water. Getting out, I usually go first because I'm the strongest climber in our team. They hand their small stuff up to me and then I help them climb up. As with getting in, it's also possible to remove your gear in the water and bring it up to shore, then hand it up to someone who's up top. It's a case of different strokes for different folks, and everybody has their preferred method. Either way, it's easier than it sounds.
There's an excellent map at Janna's website,
www.pnwscuba.com/sitemaps/harpersferry2.jpg I confess that most of the headings and stuff I've given you came from that map, which makes sense since I've actually never had an original thought in my life
If you want to give it a try some time before March 8, let me know and we'll hook up.