Know nothing yet about Seattle/Pudget Sound area...

[liamklenk]

Hi Guys!
I am at the moment in the process of moving to Seattle (Shoreline for the moment to be exact), and I have so far lived in Germany and Switzerland and never done any diving in the US at all.
Can you give me information about what awaits me when diving in the Seattle area?
(I'll move over completly in January 2006).
How do I find dive buddies?
Where are good sites to get aquainted with the area underwater?
How is the water temperature over the year? What about thermoclines? Very sudden drops in temperature?
I'll be a student with only few resources and no car. Will that be a big problem?
Does anyone know of a divecenter near Shoreline that needs a divemaster to assist them? I've just gotten my certificate and would like to be active and assist with teaching, so I can build some more experience and do the instructor course sometime within the next few years...
Thanks for all the tipps I can get!
Anything specific I should watch out for while diving in the Seattle area?
Have a great day!
Liam

 

[puckvirus]

Hey Hey, your going to move to shoreline. I currently live in Everett which is about 10 minutes free way drive north where you live.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Hi Liam ... welcome to Pugetropolis ...

Here's a list that provides internet links to most local area dive stores and dive clubs.

http://staff.washington.edu/parker/scuba/stores.htm

There's a dive club in your area called Emerald Sea Dive Club ... I highly recommend them as an excellent way to meet divers and find dive buddies.

http://www.emeraldseadiveclub.org/home.html

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

How do I find dive buddies?

Post here ... or at http://northwestdiver.com/forums/index.php?s= ... or join one of the dive clubs posted in my previous reply.

We have a very active, welcoming scuba community in this part of the world. You won't have to try hard to find people to dive with.

Where are good sites to get aquainted with the area underwater?

Well, just a few miles from where you will be living is Edmonds Underwater Park. This is a great "get acquainted" dive site, as it's relatively shallow (10-12 meters on average), is reasonably easy to navigate, and has a lot of local sea life ... it's protected from fishing, so the local ling cod and cabezon population tends to be on the large size.

Another popular dive site is Seacrest Park Cove 2, which offers a lot of underwater structure from an old marina that used to be there. This is a popular place to find octopus, six-gill sharks, warbonnets, and other types of marine life. Because it's located so deep into Elliot Bay, it's protected and reasonably free from current.

There are many other dive sites around the area that are good, and there's a book called "Northwest Shore Dives" by Stephen Fischnaller that you should purchase to find accurate information about them.

Less locally, day trips or week-end trips to the San Juan Islands are always a treat. And long week-ends or multi-day trips north to Vancouver Island can offer some of the best cold-water diving found anywhere on the planet. There are sunken ships to explore, fantastic walls covered with inverterbrate life, and sea mounts (little underwater mountains) that are home to abundant species of fish, wolf eels, and other marine creatures.

How is the water temperature over the year? What about thermoclines? Very sudden drops in temperature?

Water temperatures range from about 40 degrees Fahrenheit (5 degrees C) in winter to about 55 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees C) in summer. There are some thermoclines, but nothing serious. Most of them are in locations where there are fresh-water inlets, such as the mouths of rivers ... and in those cases, haloclines are more of a concern. If you have never dived in a halocline, it's kind've like diving in Italian salad dressing ... everything looks wavery and distorted. But once you drop down 4 or 5 meters, you pass through it.

I'll be a student with only few resources and no car. Will that be a big problem?

Unfortunately, yes. The Seattle area has less public transit than any city I've ever lived in. We've been planning/arguing/voting for public transit for decades, but beyond a bus system and basic rail, there's just not much in the way of public transit.

Does anyone know of a divecenter near Shoreline that needs a divemaster to assist them? I've just gotten my certificate and would like to be active and assist with teaching, so I can build some more experience and do the instructor course sometime within the next few years...

You're about halfway between the Underwater Sports in Seattle and the Underwater Sports in Edmonds. Northwest Sports Divers in Kenmore also isn't too far from your area.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[liamklenk]

thanx puckvirus and NWgratefuldiver! maybe we can buddy up sometime once i am over there =)
your answers have been very helpful!
brrrrrr... those water temperatures even beat those in the local mountain lakes around here. beneath 10-15 m we have a constant 4°C, but during the summer we get a nice 20°C above 10 m.
So, do any of you dive with a wetsuit or semi-dry suit? and i assume if you dive with a wetsuit, then definitely double exposure suit?
is it a problem to rent drysuits in the local dive centers? i am not quite sure i'll be able to buy my own...
i do own a wetsuit. 7 mm with additional 7 mm vest.
oh, and do you guys usually dive with one 1st stage or two 1st stages. here, in cold water we always dive with two 1st stages for additional safety.
well, diving in your area sounds great and i am truly looking forward to start diving there!
liam

 

[OE2X]

Liam, depending on where you are living in Shoreline you may be only about 5 minutes from me. PM me with an address. It shouldn't be a problem to pick you up. I dive all the time with Bob and others and I average about 5+ dives a week.

Around here most regular divers are diving dry. Rentals are expensive for drysuits. Depending on your size, I have a backup that I would be willing to sell.

The only time we use two first stages is when diving doubles. It is rare to have the air temps go below freezing.

Let me know when you get into town and we'll hook up.

 

[mossym]

liam, bob and 0e2x are well known around here, if you're diving with them you're in good hands...

 

[diveborg]

So, do any of you dive with a wetsuit or semi-dry suit? and i assume if you dive with a wetsuit, then definitely double exposure suit?

I can't speak for anyone else, but if I had to dive wet, I wouldn't dive at all locally. It is a drysuit for me and dry gloves as well.

is it a problem to rent drysuits in the local dive centers? i am not quite sure i'll be able to buy my own...

I don't think it will be a problem other than a cost issue.

i do own a wetsuit. 7 mm with additional 7 mm vest.

There are people that do dive wet here and since you already have the suit, I would suggest that you give that a try before renting a drysuit.

oh, and do you guys usually dive with one 1st stage or two 1st stages. here, in cold water we always dive with two 1st stages for additional safety.

Most everyone I've ever dived with uses 1 first stage, unless they are diving doubles.

Diving here is pretty good; it is best in late fall thru early spring when the vis is at it's best.

 

[Rick Inman]

I dive all the time with Bob and others and I average about 5+ dives a week.

I hate you.

 

[liamklenk]

thanx guys!

Bob/OE2X - i'll gladly take you up on that offer and come diving with you!!!

OE2X: as for the backup drysuit, that would be great... i honestly don't know what size drysuit i need... in wetsuits i usually have something between a small and a medium.

i'll do a drysuit specialty course this fall and plan to do some practicing in lake zurich while i am still mostly in switzerland.

which brings me to a point: i might be a bit early with this posting, so i hope you guys hang in there and don't forget me until the end of the year!

i still have tons of stuff to organize over here in switzerland, with the occasional coming over to sort out lots of bureaucratic stuff and hurrying back to zurich afterwards. since i want to dive as much as possible, and will still spend most of my time in switzerland for now, i'll keep my diving equipment here in zurich until all is settled and i move for good --- which will be sometime during the 3rd week of december 2005.
give me a few days to settle in and by beginning of january 2006 i'll be ready to get into the water! =)
i'd love to go fun diving at least twice a week...
additionally, if possible i'll very much like to help out somewhere as a divemaster...
there is still so much to see and to learn! and i'll be glad to share a bit of that, too.

OE2X: how do i IM you when the time comes? i am very new to this forum... is there an IM function in here?

take care and "guet luft" (= swiss german for good luck while diving --- is there a special english expression?)

liam