perfect day in the San Juan Islands ...

[Grateful Diver]

Yesterday I did a day trip up to Anacortes for a perfect afternoon of diving on the Deep Sea charter ... accompanied by Scott Lundy, BDub, Pez and Burntchef. The drive up was cloudy with a bit of rain, but as soon as we started loading the boat it began to clear up. We headed off to do Davidson Rock and James Island. Both dives I buddied up with Pez, which was a treat because we haven't dived together in a long time.

Davidson was about as good as I've ever experienced it ... very little current, 20-30 feet of vis, and LOTS of color. We dropped in on the top of the pinnacle and quickly made our way down to 100 fsw ... then did a slow switchback up, experiencing a wall just covered in metridiums, strawberry anemones, brilliant red creeping pedal sea cukes, yellow sponges, and an amazing array of other sea life. After about 20 minutes between 80 and 100 feet, Pez signaled it was time to begin our ascent ... we switchbacked up to about 50 feet and stayed between 50 and 40 for about another 20 minutes, finding a variety of nudibranchs and other cool stuff to look at ... then made our way shallower into the kelp. It was so bright with shafts of sunlight peeking down through the kelp that our lights were about useless ... so we put them away. Finally surfaced after about a 62 minute dive to an almost glassy calm sea. The boat was on the other side of the pinnacle, picking up the other three divers, who'd been out on scooters. It was almost with regret that we finally got out of the water ... but the boat crew had a big pot of ravioli and a hearty soup for our surface interval, which we took while motoring over to James Island for dive #2.

James Island was, frankly, one of the nicest dives I've done in the San Juans in years ... it was, in many respects, every bit as colorful, easier, and more enjoyable than the dives I did last week in the Channel Islands. And if anyone's been wondering where all the nudibranchs are this year ... they're at James ... thousands of them. We saw at least a dozen different species, literally covering just about every ledge, rock, and wall surface down there. This dive was a very gentle drift along the wall ... just enough current to keep you moving along slowly, but really easy to stop and take pictures ... with a reasonable 25-30 feet of vis it was a diver's delight of non-stop cool stuff to see. After 67 minutes underwater, we finally ... regretfully ... surfaced.

Got back to the dock around 7 PM, and was home by 9. Overall one of the most enjoyable, relaxing days of diving I've had in a long time. And since no dive report is complete without pictures ... here's a few of my favorites. Hopefully Scott will chime in with a few of his ... I saw he had taken some really nice ones.

A dendronotus diversicolor amid a sea of creeping pedal cukes on Davidson ...



Dendronotus dalli at James ...



Ever wonder why they call 'em "diamondback"?



Waving ...



Cute little baby PSKC ...



Two for the price of one in the candy department ...



A couple of amorous clown dorids ...



S . t .. r ... e .... t ..... c ...... h ...



Pez finds a new tubby toy ...



... and once I got home, the show wasn't yet over ... as I was unpacking my gear, a new neighbor dropped by to say hello ...



Great way to end a holiday week-end ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[HBDiveGirl]

Thank you for a happy and appreciative and beautiful dive report, Bob!
This one made me laugh out loud:

Cute little baby PSKC ...

If these little articulated cartoon characters don't talk like a chimera of Donald Duck and Popeye then there ain't no justice in the world!!

Now that I've enjoyed dozens and dozens of adult PSKCs, finding a juvenile is up in the TopTen Wanna-See List.

Oh.. and send some nudibranchs our way when you're done with 'em, please!

Thanks for the cool report!

~~~
Claudette

[LCF]

Wow -- I am so sorry I wasn't able to join you guys! All those nudis, and a PSKC to boot!

[Codyjp]

Great stuff, thanks for sharing.

What is that thing that Pez is holding? Is it some sort of shark?

[Grateful Diver]

It's a dogfish ... a small shark. He found it laying under a ledge ... with some fairly sizeable chunks missing ... looked like it swam into a prop or something ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[ligersandtions]

Wow, that looks great! Thanks for sharing, Bob!

Nicole *wonders to herself if she can sneak in a trip up to the San Juans when she's in Seattle next time*

[Grateful Diver]

I've got a charter scheduled on the same boat on August 1, if you want to come up, Nicole ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

[ligersandtions]

I've got a charter scheduled on the same boat on August 1, if you want to come up, Nicole ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

I'll be on a boat down here that weekend. I'm assuming these sites are tide-dependent, right? We'll be back up in the area for a wedding in Eastern Washington in October/November (can't remember which one)....and of course for Christmas at the end of December. If tides are favorable, maybe we could splurge and head out there....I'm sure it would be a ton of fun!

[Grateful Diver]

Let us know when you're coming ... if a boat's available, I can book it.

The best sites are current-sensitive ... so a low-tides week-end works best ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver0