Puget Sounds Trips Week of May 19th

[mjgoodman]

Hi All,

I'm looking to do a few more dives during the week of May 19th before I lock myself in my room and study for the Oregon State Bar exam. Does anyone have any planned dives that week? Do I need a dry suit because I don't have one nor am I certified for dry suit. I have over 85 dives. Hope to see everyone next weekend. Thanks.

 

[TSandM]

Water temperature is creeping up toward 50 degrees these days, so it may make it there by mid-May. People DO dive the Sound in wetsuits, although getting a second dive in requires a fair amount of intestinal fortitude.

I'm not sure about dive plans for that weekend. You might check the nwdiveclub.com board, although I don't remember reading anything being planned out that far in advance. You could also, if you are interested in charters, contact the Bandito folks and see if they have any groups signed up for boats that weekend. Tides aren't bad but they aren't spectacular, but a lot of sites should be accessible at slack.

Post again, closer to the dates, and we'll see what's happening.

 

[mjgoodman]

Thank you.

 

[uzun]

I was diving at Los Coronados earlier this week here in San Diego, and at 108' the temp was 49 degrees (it was a hot day and the surface temp was 61 though).

I keep threatening to head up to Puget Sound for a few days in hopes of getting some video of some GPO's, but I currently don't own a dry suit and have been diving in an Xcel one piece 8mm quad polar wetsuit. Do most local boat trips do 2 tanks per trip, and when would the water temps be in the lower 50's at depth, if ever.

Can anyone assist me as to the best option for getting a clear look at a GPO over a 2-4 day period up there? Do people ever buy crabs and take them down, in hopes of getting one to come out?

 

[TSandM]

In the summer -- June, July, August and September -- the water tends to be in the low to mid 50's. But the concomitant is that the visibility is frequently relatively poor (ten feet is not unusual for a summer dive, and sometimes it's worse than that).

Seeing a GPO out in the open is a gift, and no site and no time will guarantee it. Some octopuses will interact with gifts and some won't. There ARE sites where you are almost guaranteed to see one, but they are often holed up in a crack or under something, and what you see is the siphon, eye, and a bunch of suckers. It's still cool.