Alki Question

[j3rmzh]

Hey all, I have done a few dives now at Mukilteo T docks and Edmonds Underwater Park, but am wanting to go check out Alki a bit.

I understand that we aren't supposed to cross the boundary line into the passenger ferry area, that has been made abundantly clear. I have been doing a bunch of great reading and site reviews on the are but had a couple of questions that I couldn't find answers too:

1) I found this snippet in this article

For divers who enjoy poking around a wreck, the cove to the marina's left has a special attraction. A handful of sunken boats, up to about 40 feet (13 meters) long, make a great artificial reef for the schools of black-banded surfperch that live here. Wrecks like these are also one of the best "get acquainted" sites for any level of diver seeking to meet the area's most well-known resident, the giant Pacific octopus. In just 35 feet (12 meters) of water the invertebrate-rich wrecks are also great places to learn the fundamentals of wreck diving or underwater photography.
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Does anyone know what cove they are talking about? Is it even one of the coves? None of the other sites I have found seem to mention any wrecks other then the honeybear.

2) are there sites or reviews that list specific compas headings or is this just "general knowledge" that you learn over time?

3) It seems that most of the stuff to see (I beams etc) is out past 60ft which is my max depth so far. I am going to be diving with a friend and this will be his first dive after certification, my 5th is there much to see out in west Seattle <60 ft?

4) any other tips or tricks for diving alki would be helpful if you want to throw them in, although I have done a bit of reading on here (thanks for all the great posts on here by the way)

 

[Matt S.]

1) Cove to the marina's left... The boat launch, if that is what they mean, is past Cove 3. To the left of it would be... the junkyard? I don't know that end of Alki well.

2) You can get a map of Cove 2 here:
Puget Sound Diving and Hood Canal Dive Site Maps and Directions to Washington Dive Sites

3) There is a LOT to see around here in < 60 ft. Cove 2 is good even if you can't go that deep. Redondo is a great site and also very easy. Edmonds Underwater Park isn't very deep at all. Three Tree North isn't deep as I recall. Harper's Ferry is great too, but it's over in Southworth.

4) My best tip is to meet some other divers here or over at nwdiveclub.com. Lots of nice people here, they'll show you around.

 

[gcbryan]

Hey all, I have done a few dives now at Mukilteo T docks and Edmonds Underwater Park, but am wanting to go check out Alki a bit.

I understand that we aren't supposed to cross the boundary line into the passenger ferry area, that has been made abundantly clear. I have been doing a bunch of great reading and site reviews on the are but had a couple of questions that I couldn't find answers too:

1) I found this snippet in this article

For divers who enjoy poking around a wreck, the cove to the marina's left has a special attraction. A handful of sunken boats, up to about 40 feet (13 meters) long, make a great artificial reef for the schools of black-banded surfperch that live here. Wrecks like these are also one of the best "get acquainted" sites for any level of diver seeking to meet the area's most well-known resident, the giant Pacific octopus. In just 35 feet (12 meters) of water the invertebrate-rich wrecks are also great places to learn the fundamentals of wreck diving or underwater photography.
​

Does anyone know what cove they are talking about? Is it even one of the coves? None of the other sites I have found seem to mention any wrecks other then the honeybear.

2) are there sites or reviews that list specific compas headings or is this just "general knowledge" that you learn over time?

3) It seems that most of the stuff to see (I beams etc) is out past 60ft which is my max depth so far. I am going to be diving with a friend and this will be his first dive after certification, my 5th is there much to see out in west Seattle <60 ft?

4) any other tips or tricks for diving alki would be helpful if you want to throw them in, although I have done a bit of reading on here (thanks for all the great posts on here by the way)

It seems that they are referring to the boat launch/fishing pier as Seacrest Marina so the wreck they are referring to would be at Cove 3 but as far as I know there is no wreck there.

There is not much at Cove 3 (in my opinion) just some pilings at the far end. There is plenty to see at Cove 2 in less that 60 fsw but you just need to go slow and look for the smaller things. Just drop down and go straight out looking for gunnels, red octo's etc. and you will get to a rock pile at about 60 fsw. turn right and go along at that depth and you will run into some elevated pilings with a lot of life including a large Decorated Warbonnet, turn right again and at about 35 fsw you will run into the Honeybear, turn right again and go back to the entrance.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

It would be interesting to know how old that article is ... because from the "clues" it's outdated.

Doubtless, the 40-foot boat they're referring to is the Honey Bear. There's that old hulk down along the boundary line as well. Both of these were what one would have considered "wrecks" as little as five or six years ago ... today they're just junk. Traces of other small boats can be found in Cove 3 ... and a hull remains between the Cove 3 pilings and the boat ramp.

Seacrest Marina was the name of what is now Cove 2 ... before they decided to turn it into a park. All the old pilings ... and the I-beams ... are what remains of the days when it was a marina. That's why there's stucture in Cove 2, but not so much in the other coves.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[overandunderwater]

That article doesn't make sense unless you were on a boat not shore. As a person that has spent too much time at Coeve 2 here's the scoop. The Honeybear is located past the large dry wood pylon to the right past the outer boundry of the cove. As for staying out of the "out of bounds" I would never tell you to do that but if you did, that's where all the fun stuff is. If one was so inclined make sure you're deep as not to become taxi chum for the fish. DO NOT go by the fishing pier as you'll be wall mounted an hour later by some happy angler. Cove 2 never ceases to amaze me at the utter crap down there but it's habitat. Go when the thundering heard of divers aren't there and you'll see oct, lingcod, swimming nudibranchs and some saucy crabs now that the season is on hold.

 

[dsteding]

As for staying out of the "out of bounds" I would never tell you to do that but if you did, that's where all the fun stuff is. If one was so inclined make sure you're deep as not to become taxi chum for the fish. DO NOT go by the fishing pier as you'll be wall mounted an hour later by some happy angler.

This is horrible advice.

Bubbles rise, the taxi looks for bubbles. Bubbles within the boundary line will lead to getting this place closed down.

 

[TSandM]

Go take a look at pnwscuba.com. They have a lot of information about local dive sites, including site maps for some of them, incuding Cove 2. The map there does have compass headings.

There is plenty to see on what I call the "shallow tour" of Cove 2. A sixty foot depth limit will include some of the boundary line, a lot of the jackstraw pilings (you'll see them on the right of the map) and what remains of the Honey Bear. Don't discount the other things, like fenceposts and old pilings you pass as you come in from the HB. I've found great stuff on them, including grunt sculpins, black rockfish, and beautifully decorated crabs. The sea lettuce in the shallows (which is going away now) is great habitat for penpoint gunnels, and I've seen Red Irish Lords sitting on the rocks in very shallow water.

I recommend entering the cove from the side closest to the Fish and Chips place; the slope is much steeper at the other end, and the rocks are looser and tend to slide more. If you are going at very low tide, be careful -- There are a lot of flat concrete slabs lying at angles on the bottom, and they are algae-covered and slippery, and make for very difficult walking. There is a path free of them at the left side of the cove.

Please do not cross the boundary line. Keeping good relations with the fishermen and the ferry people is important to maintain access to the site for all of us divers.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

That article doesn't make sense unless you were on a boat not shore. As a person that has spent too much time at Coeve 2 here's the scoop. The Honeybear is located past the large dry wood pylon to the right past the outer boundry of the cove. As for staying out of the "out of bounds" I would never tell you to do that but if you did, that's where all the fun stuff is. If one was so inclined make sure you're deep as not to become taxi chum for the fish. DO NOT go by the fishing pier as you'll be wall mounted an hour later by some happy angler. Cove 2 never ceases to amaze me at the utter crap down there but it's habitat. Go when the thundering heard of divers aren't there and you'll see oct, lingcod, swimming nudibranchs and some saucy crabs now that the season is on hold.

Well, I will tell you to stay out of the forbidden zone ... ignoring the fact that you'll make the fishing guys unhappy, you'll risk entanglement in fishing line, risk creating a scene with the water taxi that might cost all divers use of the cove, and incur a $250 fine if the Seattle Police catch up with you.

... and unless you're on a rebreather, it's very easy to track a diver from the forbidden zone to wherever you plan to exit the water ...

Please stay out of the forbidden zone ... nothing that's in there is worth the risk ... :no

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[overandunderwater]

True, the boundry shouldn't be crossed but the reality people do it , including I bet the people that have posted against this. I'm not going to argue that it's right, it's not, just being realistic. It's also not proper to go past 60 on the freeway, go slow in the left lane and not use your signal, all that can have deadly consequences. I apologize if I've offended.
Cove 2, is a wonderful dive site considering it's so close to downtown and I guarantee that if you keep going back you will see new things every time.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

True, the boundry shouldn't be crossed but the reality people do it , including I bet the people that have posted against this. I'm not going to argue that it's right, it's not, just being realistic. It's also not proper to go past 60 on the freeway, go slow in the left lane and not use your signal, all that can have deadly consequences. I apologize if I've offended.
Cove 2, is a wonderful dive site considering it's so close to downtown and I guarantee that if you keep going back you will see new things every time.

No offense taken ... and you're right, people do cross the boundary from time to time. We do what we can to minimize it from happening, but people make mistakes ... I just want to assure that people don't start thinking it's OK to go in there. Like speeding on the highway, it increases safety risks and poses the potential for a fine. Unlike speeding on a highway, the actions of a few can result in having the resource declared off-limits to all of us.

We are fortunate to have people in the Seattle Parks and Recreation Dept. who are very diver-friendly. They support us. But they also have people to whom they must justify their decisions, and some of those people do not support us. We don't need to make it difficult for our supporters to justify their support.

The park ... Cove 2 in particular ... serves the needs of many different types of users. We need to be respectful of the boundaries that have been established to assure that all of those different users are accommodated safely and fairly.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)