My dive buddy and I decided to dive the Oil Dock on Sunday and we could not have made a better decision for a place to dive. When we arrived the water was flat and the visibility was excellent. It was one of those perfect October afternoons that we always dream about with calm weather and excellent visibility.
After gearing up we started swimming out to the dock and the current was minimal to non-existant. Once out at the dock we looked down and could see the bottom which was crawling with Sunflower starfish there was easily 50 to 100 carpeting the bottom. After descending 20 feet we looked thru the dock and could see the other side very easily the visibility was 30 to 40 feet horizontally and 50 feet vertically. We decided to swim clockwise around the dock in midwater. There were thousands of shiner perch and tube snouts in the water column. After reaching the South side of the dock we swam out from the dock to look at what might be on the bottom. We found some huge tires that were covered in plumose anemones and there were black, brown and copper rockfish suspended above the pile of tires. We then started to swim North on the outside of the dock and we saw a large cabezon with it's head just sticking out of a broken off piling. About halfway down the dock we moved to the inside and we were swimming inside a cathedral of anemones and shiner perch. Everywhere we looked there was life of some kind, ratfish, sponges, feather duster tube worms, sculpins and kelp greenlings. We were looking at some feather duster worms about halfway up the pilings and I turned my head and saw 3 different size grunt sculpins on the piling. After completing our swim around the dock it was time to head back to shore so we followed the pilings back in. We saw 3 divers swimming out to the dock and 2 more getting in as we were getting out. Water temp was 52 F, max depth 55 feet and total dive time of 50 minutes.
Mike
Edmonds Oil Dock 10-19-08
Re: Edmonds Oil Dock 10-19-08
Is that an incredible place, or what? I'm so glad our government is looking out for the marine life and destroying it.
Anyway, we were there on Saturday. Wind was kicking up some waves and we didn't time the current very well, but it was a small exchange so I figured it would be okay. We got down to 86 feet, and I actually shot some video with 4 different kinds of rockfish. The usual ratfish, big red rock crabs and schools of perch were out, as well as the sculpins and various anemones. We found a couple of nice creeping pedal sea cucumbers and tons of orange cucumbers, and that cabezon "hiding" behind the anemone that I posted yesterday. He was at least 3 feet long, and we couldn't help wondering what he was doing over there instead the Park. His problem, I guess. There were two dive boats anchored out there when we went in, and at one point when we were under one of them we found a tank, just sitting there. It seemed to be in perfectly good condition and we were pondering what to do with it when a diver with a rebreather came along and motioned that he had been looking for it. We gave it to him, he thanked us profusely and went on. Best I can figure, it must have fallen off the boat! I'm not sure I want to know how that happened. Anyway, we went up into the I-beams where we found all kinds of critters, the best being two nice big red dendronotids. When we got back up to the shallows and were working our way in at safety stop depth, we found that the current had picked up considerably. It was interesting, because there was no current at all below about 40 feet, it was all up in the pilings. We wore ourselves out getting back in against that current, basically leaping from piling to piling and hanging on, but it was worth it. I sure hope we can convince the powers that be to preserve at least some of that habitat, because I do believe ripping it all out the way they've done at other places would be a crime.
I have to share one picture: we were speculating that this red dendro, Dendronotus rufus, might be chowing down on those hydroid-type things he's surrounded by. Looking at the "trail" he seems to be leaving behind him pretty well removes all doubt!
More pictures are at http://s445.photobucket.com/albums/qq17 ... 010-18-08/
Anyway, we were there on Saturday. Wind was kicking up some waves and we didn't time the current very well, but it was a small exchange so I figured it would be okay. We got down to 86 feet, and I actually shot some video with 4 different kinds of rockfish. The usual ratfish, big red rock crabs and schools of perch were out, as well as the sculpins and various anemones. We found a couple of nice creeping pedal sea cucumbers and tons of orange cucumbers, and that cabezon "hiding" behind the anemone that I posted yesterday. He was at least 3 feet long, and we couldn't help wondering what he was doing over there instead the Park. His problem, I guess. There were two dive boats anchored out there when we went in, and at one point when we were under one of them we found a tank, just sitting there. It seemed to be in perfectly good condition and we were pondering what to do with it when a diver with a rebreather came along and motioned that he had been looking for it. We gave it to him, he thanked us profusely and went on. Best I can figure, it must have fallen off the boat! I'm not sure I want to know how that happened. Anyway, we went up into the I-beams where we found all kinds of critters, the best being two nice big red dendronotids. When we got back up to the shallows and were working our way in at safety stop depth, we found that the current had picked up considerably. It was interesting, because there was no current at all below about 40 feet, it was all up in the pilings. We wore ourselves out getting back in against that current, basically leaping from piling to piling and hanging on, but it was worth it. I sure hope we can convince the powers that be to preserve at least some of that habitat, because I do believe ripping it all out the way they've done at other places would be a crime.
I have to share one picture: we were speculating that this red dendro, Dendronotus rufus, might be chowing down on those hydroid-type things he's surrounded by. Looking at the "trail" he seems to be leaving behind him pretty well removes all doubt!
Dave
"Clearly, you weren't listening to what I'm about to say."
--
Check out my Internet show:
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"Clearly, you weren't listening to what I'm about to say."
--
Check out my Internet show:
http://www.irvingszoo.com
Re: Edmonds Oil Dock 10-19-08
Very cool rockfish. I love dives like that. So rare in puget sound.
