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I hadn't seen that shorediving.com writeup on the Narrows bridge. Looks like a fairly long swim out to the bridge supports...really need to time it perfectly. Seems kinda risky to me. Underwater Sports in Tacoma has a number of DM's with lots of local experience. See what they say about it...

Cindy, I was thinking of the Narrows as being the waterway between Pt Defiance and Fox Island, which includes shore dive sites at Fox Island East Wall, Day Island, Titlow, and Sunrise. If by Narrows you mean under the bridge, you're right that's only a boat dive. At least I'm not aware of any...

Interesting, I didn't realize seahorses were uncommon in Coz. On my only trip there (so far), the DM pointed out several.

Well, my notes from diving FIEW indicate it's best to splash about 1 hour before slack current at Narrows North, preferably on a small (<2 knot) exchange. Also best to dive this site before the kelp grows up in the summer (makes it hard to see the octo dens). The only entry/exit is a trail...

They also make a 6.5mm hood. It's best to call them on the phone for details. I use one of their 12mm hoods too. The best thing about a custom hood is the fact that the head and neck both fit right. I couldn't get that with off the shelf hoods. Always had water flushing in and out of the...

Actually there are a fair number of spear fishers up here, they just don't post much on the chat boards. I personally know several of them, although I don't spear. The vast majority of spearfishing is done off private boats, mostly out in the Neah Bay area. There are some open areas in the...

HID can light.

The backplate weighs 5 lbs, I don't add any weight to it (though you can bolt DSS weight plates on it). I carry 22#-24# of lead in a Dive Rite weight harness. The weight can be ditched without hanging up on the crotch strap - ditch all at once, half at a time, or open the pouches and pull out...

I use a DSS 30# wing, diving single steel 95's and 130's, occasionally slinging a pony bottle. It provides more than enough lift. Like you, I wear a neoprene drysuit. It's very practical to use a bpw system in warm water. I recently packed that wing and stainless steel backplate to...

I second the above re Dive Paradise. The big boats provide a nice relaxing ride, and a good opportunity to socialize with the other divers. Jorge's a great DM and an entertaining guy.

Well, the nearest shop to him is in Bremerton, but based on personal experience I recommend avoiding it. There are a number of good shops in Tacoma (Tacoma Scuba, A2Z, Lighthouse, etc). Tacoma Scuba uses Dive Rite gear for their OW classes. Might have to go to Seattle if he wants DIR stuff.

You could try Otter Bay Drysuits for a custom hood, either 6.5 or 12 mm. I couldn't find an off the shelf hood that fit both my neck and head, so I had them make me a 12 mm. Much warmer now. Water hardly gets inside the hood at all, in fact on single dives the top of my head usually stays dry.

I personally observed the following in Cozumel a couple weeks ago. Everyone gets on the boat, the boat heads out, the DM says we have to stop at another pier to pick up tanks of nitrox for two of our divers. We stop at the pier, and someone hands down a couple tanks of nitrox - at least I...

The DM sharing air doesn't seem to be such an unusual occurrence in Coz...I saw it happen twice last week. Surprised me a little.

If a small light head is important to you, check out Dive Rite's 10w Sunspot HID. Very unobtrusive. Got about a hundred dives on mine so far with zero problems.

Without being able to get average depth from your computer, it will be difficult to make a good estimate (unless you just drop to the bottom and sit there). Five minute samples probably won't be very accurate. As an example, if I set my computer for a 15 second sampling rate it gives a much...

Yep, what Soggy said. We used air (21%) for bottom gas, and deco'd on 50% nitrox (MOD 59' @ PPO2 of 1.4) from a slung bottle. Fun way to dive, the rich mix clears a deco obligation quickly, or just adds extra safety margin, depending on how you use it.

148' at Dalco Wall, for Advanced Nitrox training. Very cool wall dive, I'd do that one again. One of the few local sites worth going deep on.

Had 50'-70' vis at Porpoise Bay last weekend. That was fun.

I own LP95's and HP130's, and at most of my LDS's it's usually equally difficult to get good fills (rated pressure when cold) on either of them. Then there's one LDS who will fill my 130's up to 4000 psi if I want (I don't!), but it's all I can do to get him to fill my 95's to 2640 psi. Unless...