Edmonds Oil Dock 10-19-08
Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:14 am
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
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