Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sunday June, 26 at Devils Boulders
I went diving with Jeff H. today off of his boat. Jeff has an inflatable boat we take out of Eagle Harbor. I was talking up the dive from yesterday so Jeff decided to follow me today instead of my usual of following someone else. We rolled in backwards off the side and met up at the buoy line then followed it down. The viz wasn't as good today and down to about 15 feet. At the bottom of the line we went off and followed the contour around the rock piles in about 75 feet of water. Once we were off I realized Jeff was following me so I set off to find the GPO and the Wolf Eel we generally can find at the site. We went around for a bit but couldn't find the Wolf Eel and the site was not as familiar as it usually is. I thought it was just do to a bit better visibility and we made a full circle back to the line. I did find a scallop that I set off swimming once it was given a bit of a push. This one clacked its shells and swam for quite a ways before settling back down. Once we were back to the line I found the secondary line that goes down to the main set of boulders and to the Wolf Eel. There was still 9 minutes left on the no deco time so I figured we could take a look for the Wolf Eel and head back up. I went down the line and at the end turned back but Jeff wasn't there so I turned around and headed back up. By this time the NDT was down to about 6 minutes and Jeff's dive computer was heading into the yellow zone so he decided to go back up and I went with him. A safety stop at 15 feet and back up to the boat. Interestingly, we were at this site about a month and a half ago and the area we were in had an abundance of life. This time there were a few fish and some invertebrates but not much else of note. All in all another good dive in Puget Sound.
Saturday, June 25 at China Reef and ShangriLa Reefs
China Reef
Diving was extraordinary for this site. We had about 30 feet of visibility. I probably should not have had the extra beer last night as I was feeling it a bit this morning. Boat time was 7:30AM and so I got up at 6am to finish packing my gear and getting out the door. We met at the shop and had the usual crew: Stephen W, Kari, Ben, Alyssa, Kelly (Dive Master) and Molly the Marine Biologist. Our boat is the Spirit and our captain is Mike,he can hit China dead-on without the buoy. We went down to the dock and Mike was waiting for us with the Spirit almost ready to go. We never take off without the soup and deserts. The soup today was minestrone with shredded beef and lemon bars for desert. At the dive site Ben and I were paired up and we went down the line first. It's easier for me to follow someone than to be the leader so I usually volunteer for that. At the bottom of the line the clarity was fantastic. The last dive on China I could barely see the reef and fought to just stay with my buddies watching there fins. Since that time I could see from the bottom of the reef all the way to the top and it was beautiful with the emerald green of Puget Sound framing the reef as I looked up towards the surface. We found one GPO tucked into the reef so it was difficult to see. There were some beautiful Nudibranchs of the really small variety about an inch long with just a few tassels and bright orange tips coming off the back. Once you get into the dive it's incredibly relaxing on the bottom except we were at 90 feet and I had to watch my no decompression time. The nooks and crannies were filled with juvenile Plumose Anenome's, copper rock fish, sponges, small crabs and a walking Anenome or two. I found a red one this time as they are usually orange. Part way down the reef at about 80 feet on a shelf was a huge Lingcod enjoying the day. As my NDT ran down I went up to the top of the reef to gain some time and see what was up on top. Usually we're looking along the lower depths. I was following Ben who was below me and working his way back up the wall as well. He was staying lower so I knew we would use his NDT as the stopping time to go back up the line. At one point we found a rock completely covered in Plumose Anenome's. Ben was diving around them and signaled me to come down. The consists of flashing your light back and forth on someones face to gain there attention. Ben found another GPO much closer to the opening of its hole so we could easily see it. He also found a Sail Fin Sculpin blending in on the side of the rock wall trying to be camouflaged. At the top of the reef I had found a Grunt Sculpin but be the time Ben made it up it had walked away. I signaled that we should go over the reef to the other side thinking the line was there until he showed me it was right next to me. As predicted that was the end of the dive even though I still had another 5 minutes on the NDT.
ShangriLa Reef
This was one of those incredible dives that you hear about but don't often experience. Again the viz was fantastic and I didn't have my camera so I only had to enjoy the view. I went down with Ben and Kari and we took off to explore the reef. Steve was mapping the reef to finish another portion of his Dive Master training so Kelly was working with Steve. Molly was finishing her dry suit training so Alyssa was off with her. We went over the front of the reef and began exploring the sides. Immediately we found a juvenile Wolf Eel in his own lair. His head was only a few inches across and he appeared dark brown with dark orange to yellow dots. The end of his tail appeared yellow with a streak of dark brown or black. He was poking his head out of the rock and making sure we stayed away. From there we continued along the East side of the reef keeping the reef on our right side. There were a number of Sea Pens on the bottom. Occasionally we went off to explore the rock piles near the reef and on one of the explorations we found another GPO. This time she was taking care of eggs with the casings clearly visible within the den. We watched her for awhile and occasionally saw her fan the eggs to provide fresh water. I've never seen anything like that before. After we watching the GPO and her eggs we headed onward around the reef and caught significant current as we made our way around. I felt like I was trying to push forward with my fins and not making any headway. It was easier to grab the rocks and use those to help propel us forward. I was keeping a close eye on my air consumption and surprised to see it wasn't going down as fast as I thought it would. Just as I was beginning to wonder if my air supply would last we came around to the front of the reef and found the line. We didn't go up though as Ma and Pa Wolf Eel (according to Pam they've been there for 16 or 17 years) came out to greet us. Actually Ma stayed inside the den, she was darker, and Pa came halfway out to say hello. Ben blew bubbles at it, but that didn't seem to attract his interest to much. He was warily watching us and eventually went back inside his den. Kari went up to the line at the point and right then Pa came fully out of the den and headed for my light. Ben later told me he thought the Wolf Eel was going to go after my hand. He didn't and swam back inside. We called it good at that point and went up the line to do our safety stop.
Diving was extraordinary for this site. We had about 30 feet of visibility. I probably should not have had the extra beer last night as I was feeling it a bit this morning. Boat time was 7:30AM and so I got up at 6am to finish packing my gear and getting out the door. We met at the shop and had the usual crew: Stephen W, Kari, Ben, Alyssa, Kelly (Dive Master) and Molly the Marine Biologist. Our boat is the Spirit and our captain is Mike,he can hit China dead-on without the buoy. We went down to the dock and Mike was waiting for us with the Spirit almost ready to go. We never take off without the soup and deserts. The soup today was minestrone with shredded beef and lemon bars for desert. At the dive site Ben and I were paired up and we went down the line first. It's easier for me to follow someone than to be the leader so I usually volunteer for that. At the bottom of the line the clarity was fantastic. The last dive on China I could barely see the reef and fought to just stay with my buddies watching there fins. Since that time I could see from the bottom of the reef all the way to the top and it was beautiful with the emerald green of Puget Sound framing the reef as I looked up towards the surface. We found one GPO tucked into the reef so it was difficult to see. There were some beautiful Nudibranchs of the really small variety about an inch long with just a few tassels and bright orange tips coming off the back. Once you get into the dive it's incredibly relaxing on the bottom except we were at 90 feet and I had to watch my no decompression time. The nooks and crannies were filled with juvenile Plumose Anenome's, copper rock fish, sponges, small crabs and a walking Anenome or two. I found a red one this time as they are usually orange. Part way down the reef at about 80 feet on a shelf was a huge Lingcod enjoying the day. As my NDT ran down I went up to the top of the reef to gain some time and see what was up on top. Usually we're looking along the lower depths. I was following Ben who was below me and working his way back up the wall as well. He was staying lower so I knew we would use his NDT as the stopping time to go back up the line. At one point we found a rock completely covered in Plumose Anenome's. Ben was diving around them and signaled me to come down. The consists of flashing your light back and forth on someones face to gain there attention. Ben found another GPO much closer to the opening of its hole so we could easily see it. He also found a Sail Fin Sculpin blending in on the side of the rock wall trying to be camouflaged. At the top of the reef I had found a Grunt Sculpin but be the time Ben made it up it had walked away. I signaled that we should go over the reef to the other side thinking the line was there until he showed me it was right next to me. As predicted that was the end of the dive even though I still had another 5 minutes on the NDT.
ShangriLa Reef
This was one of those incredible dives that you hear about but don't often experience. Again the viz was fantastic and I didn't have my camera so I only had to enjoy the view. I went down with Ben and Kari and we took off to explore the reef. Steve was mapping the reef to finish another portion of his Dive Master training so Kelly was working with Steve. Molly was finishing her dry suit training so Alyssa was off with her. We went over the front of the reef and began exploring the sides. Immediately we found a juvenile Wolf Eel in his own lair. His head was only a few inches across and he appeared dark brown with dark orange to yellow dots. The end of his tail appeared yellow with a streak of dark brown or black. He was poking his head out of the rock and making sure we stayed away. From there we continued along the East side of the reef keeping the reef on our right side. There were a number of Sea Pens on the bottom. Occasionally we went off to explore the rock piles near the reef and on one of the explorations we found another GPO. This time she was taking care of eggs with the casings clearly visible within the den. We watched her for awhile and occasionally saw her fan the eggs to provide fresh water. I've never seen anything like that before. After we watching the GPO and her eggs we headed onward around the reef and caught significant current as we made our way around. I felt like I was trying to push forward with my fins and not making any headway. It was easier to grab the rocks and use those to help propel us forward. I was keeping a close eye on my air consumption and surprised to see it wasn't going down as fast as I thought it would. Just as I was beginning to wonder if my air supply would last we came around to the front of the reef and found the line. We didn't go up though as Ma and Pa Wolf Eel (according to Pam they've been there for 16 or 17 years) came out to greet us. Actually Ma stayed inside the den, she was darker, and Pa came halfway out to say hello. Ben blew bubbles at it, but that didn't seem to attract his interest to much. He was warily watching us and eventually went back inside his den. Kari went up to the line at the point and right then Pa came fully out of the den and headed for my light. Ben later told me he thought the Wolf Eel was going to go after my hand. He didn't and swam back inside. We called it good at that point and went up the line to do our safety stop.
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