Ease of diving: :thumbs_up::thumbs_up::thumbs_up::thumbs_up:
Photography: :camera:
Fun: :beer:
Creepiness factor: :alien_2::alien_2::alien_2::alien_2:
Other divers have ranted about the de-oxygenation of the bay near Port Angeles, and there's lots of info on the web about it. As I understand the problem (which isn't saying much) the decomposition of the logs at the bottom of the bay is causing the O2 levels to drop, killing any life. The bay is open to the ocean but the tidal exchange isn't enough to reinvigorate things.
Even so, I felt compelled to check it out for myself... (Sometimes you just gotta do harmless dumb things to remind yourself why you don't do them.)
Driving through the Port Angeles mill area seems dubious and dangerous, as if a giant roll of paper will suddenly emerge from a warehouse and squash your car. But you quickly get out on the 'hook', a long stretch of sand bar and rip-rap ending at a Coast Guard station and pilot house. Almost at the end of the road is a nice parking area on the bay side, with a bathroom just up the street and an abandoned shack nearby that still has a functioning faucet and hose, good for rinsing the gear afterwards.
Entry into the water couldn't be easier: just gear up and walk in. There didn't seem to be any concern about currents. The shallow areas were clean and clear but generally lifeless. Below about 50ft the visibility dropped (~10ft) and things became even more lifeless, except for the occasional patch of white bacteria and a few schools of fry. Then the logs started appearing in the gloom. At 90ft the visibility was about 6ft, and rotting logs were everywhere -- eerily hovering on the edge of your vision, appearing suddenly.
Our plan was to go to 100ft, see what was there, and turn around. Mission accomplished on the nose, and I was happy to ascend. Between the poor vis, a touch of narcosis, and the phantom logs, the whole thing just creeped me out.
If you're taking a class, perhaps the shallow areas would be good for practicing skills -- there's no current to speak of, after all. But you can keep the deep. Afterwards we talked to a local salmon rancher (aquaculturist?) about the sound-side, and he said there wasn't much to see there either. Huh.
glenn
Photography: :camera:
Fun: :beer:
Creepiness factor: :alien_2::alien_2::alien_2::alien_2:
Other divers have ranted about the de-oxygenation of the bay near Port Angeles, and there's lots of info on the web about it. As I understand the problem (which isn't saying much) the decomposition of the logs at the bottom of the bay is causing the O2 levels to drop, killing any life. The bay is open to the ocean but the tidal exchange isn't enough to reinvigorate things.
Even so, I felt compelled to check it out for myself... (Sometimes you just gotta do harmless dumb things to remind yourself why you don't do them.)
Driving through the Port Angeles mill area seems dubious and dangerous, as if a giant roll of paper will suddenly emerge from a warehouse and squash your car. But you quickly get out on the 'hook', a long stretch of sand bar and rip-rap ending at a Coast Guard station and pilot house. Almost at the end of the road is a nice parking area on the bay side, with a bathroom just up the street and an abandoned shack nearby that still has a functioning faucet and hose, good for rinsing the gear afterwards.
Entry into the water couldn't be easier: just gear up and walk in. There didn't seem to be any concern about currents. The shallow areas were clean and clear but generally lifeless. Below about 50ft the visibility dropped (~10ft) and things became even more lifeless, except for the occasional patch of white bacteria and a few schools of fry. Then the logs started appearing in the gloom. At 90ft the visibility was about 6ft, and rotting logs were everywhere -- eerily hovering on the edge of your vision, appearing suddenly.
Our plan was to go to 100ft, see what was there, and turn around. Mission accomplished on the nose, and I was happy to ascend. Between the poor vis, a touch of narcosis, and the phantom logs, the whole thing just creeped me out.
If you're taking a class, perhaps the shallow areas would be good for practicing skills -- there's no current to speak of, after all. But you can keep the deep. Afterwards we talked to a local salmon rancher (aquaculturist?) about the sound-side, and he said there wasn't much to see there either. Huh.
glenn
