Seattle diving?

So where do Seattle divers go to get wet? I have been out here on this coast for so long, & have not been there. IS this for dry suits only?

Plenty of diving to be had in Puget Sound and San Juan Islands.

6.5mm wetsuit is more than enough for diving around here especially during the summer where being trapped in drysuit will cook you faster than a drive thru french fry. I am actually thinking about buying a wetsuit just for summer diving and using the drysuit for fall/spring time.

I'm a cold water wimp and I only dive dry here. But lots of places to dive. Are you coming to Seattle any time soon?

I would have to disagree with Wannabe. If you want to cook in a drysuit, try diving in NJ. It's not only hot here, but also very humid. I just came back from the PNW. The water temp was 53-55. There is no way I would be diving there in a wetsuit. The Puget Sound area has a lot of great sites, especially beach dives. I loved the diving there.

Stacey

Victoria's just a hop and a skip from Seattle, and we have lots of dive sites really close to town. And all the way up the island. U$ go far here, too.

Well worth the trip, methinks.

C

I dove the Saanich Inlet (north of Victoria) last summer and had a GREAT time. My buddy dove dry; I had on a rented 7mm farmer john/jacket combo with a separate hood. I'm pretty wimpy when it comes to cold, but even that far north I was good for about 25 minutes at depths around 60 - 70 ft. I hear Puget Sound is similarly nice diving, and I know plenty of folks who dive in just 7 millimeters of neoprene.

Have fun and good luck!

Three dives a day in a wet suit will definitely zap you but if someone is coming to visit from warmer waters odds of them having drysuit availble (as rental or own equipment) is not very likely.

If somewhere new and diving was availble for a couple dives I would endure sub-optimal gear just to see what the area has to offer. If I really like it and think I would go back a few times I would have to think about adding more gear to the arsenal. I have made investment in parts to set-up the snowmobile for other parts of the country why wouldn't I do the same for diving?

Here's my situation: My brother from Illinois is coming to the West Coast to visit a firend in Seattle (lore on this follows for those interested) next week. I was thinking of taking a train up there to join him & his wife. I would surely want to dive whatever is wet if it is do-able & marginally sensible. It may be better for me to wait, investigate, & train in drysuit diving before coming (also, to look for a buddy up there. I mean, I don't even know whether you guys shore-dive, boat dive, or whether the beaches are "rock-tumblers", sandy, or with stationary rocks.) Thanks for everyone's thoughts, but keep em coming; there are more Illinois transplants in my life in Seattle than in LA.

the lore: Central Illinois parties in the mid-80's were forums on how to escape from Illinois. What made escape nearly impossible was our low wages. Most places anyone would want to live were more expensive, & we barely made enough to pay our $200/mo rent. So every time an escapee found a place to run, we all waited in rapture to hear if this destination could work for the rest of us. For a long time, Phoenix was considered the Promised Land. But as our old co-workers re-appeared, hat-in-hand at local businesses, we put out ticket-purchases on hold & began to scout anew. I was consided nuts for chosing California; the new Nirvana was Seattle! The year before I left, the first wave escaped by bicycle (who had the $ for plane tix?) When the transplants did not come home, the next wave went, & this continued long after I was settled in LA.

I have never had both the time & money at the same time to go visit these corn-fed grungers. But I would love to be re-united sometime. Thanks for hearing my rather goofy history!

art.chick,

I have lived and dived in western Washington all my life (okay, I didn't dive SCUBA 'till I was 19). You can dive a 7mm wet suit any time around here, but most locals who dive very often dive dry. If you are stuck in Seattle there are a few easy shore dives at Alki and Edmonds. If you can get away and make it to Tacoma or better yet, Hood Canal you can do even more. These can be basic, easy dives with no tricky entries or anything. There is no ocean swell to worry about in Puget Sound, so as long as the weather is calm there's not a lot to worry about as far as surge. You do have to pay attention to the currents a bit, but that's pretty easy. If you can get even farther from Seattle, you can dive the San Juans, but most of those dives require a boat (there are a couple of good charters up there--a couple of bad ones as well, let me know if you are considering it and I'll elaborate).

In short: most of the shore dives can be pretty straight forward, and you needn't dive dry. Let me know if you decide to come up and need a buddy or suggestions for dive sites.

BTW: Wannabe, I tried the wet suit in the summer thing and found that I was better off with a shell and varying the insulation underneath. I cooked more in wet than in dry (with 14mm over the torso instead of the 7mm) and it was a lot harder to get into. So now I keep the wet suit for playing in the lake and stuff.

That is some great info. I know enough about beach diving to know that you don't just show up on beach X in a new town with whatever gear & hope for the best. I hope that I DO make it up there for some Puget Sound fun! My 7mm wetsuit likes variety!