Recommendations for Puget Sound and Hood Canal Diving

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Neah Bay is the best diving in Washington state by a long shot. Bill Minton sometimes takes his boat out there during the summer. Not this year. Waddah Fingers can be done from shore with a dive scooter.

 

[Trailboss123]

@Trailboss123 Thank you for all this information and the offer to dive with me. I will be in touch if/when my plans become concrete.

You mentioned solo diving - are the local Washington dive shops and dive boats generally tolerant of solo diving?

It sounds like Sund Rock is the main attraction in the Hood Canal. What about Octopus Hole? I did not find information on many other dive sites in the Hood Canal, except the Flagpole Point that you mentioned.

I found this Octo Buddy Dive Tours, which offers guided dives of both Sund Rock and Octopus Hole. Looks interesting, but a bit pricey for shore diving.

If Sund Rock is the main attraction in the Hood Canal, then I am not sure that I would want to travel and stay in that area for an extended period of time. I am wondering if Sund Rock would be viable as a day trip from closer to Seattle. I did find this shop on Bainbridge Island, which offers guided dives of Sund Rock.

Octopus Hole is a nice enough dive site and it is just up the road from Sund Rock a mile or two. It is free to dive there, but you just need to know where to pull off the road to access it and it can be a tricky little scramble to the water down a rocky and dirt path. Finding the actual wall structure can be a challenge the first time if going by yourself. All of the boats that I dive with are fine with solo diving, but also happy to buddy people up. I cannot speak to the San Juans. I have had two dedicated 3 day boat trips canceled in the last year. One due to weather and the other due to COVID.

 

[Andrew Dawson]

I live in Seattle and have traveled over to Sund Rock as a day trip a couple of times. It is definitely doable and makes a nice trip. My suggestion is to take the ferry from Seattle to Bremerton (or back) at least one of the ways to break up the long day of driving since the alternative is to drive all the way down through Olympia.

Just be aware that the ferries on the weekend are down to one boat....so wait times can be extensive [3+hours wait just to board on to the ferry].

Neah Bay is the best diving in Washington state by a long shot. Bill Minton sometimes takes his boat out there during the summer. Not this year. Waddah Fingers can be done from shore with a dive scooter.

Interesting, I have dove out at Neah Bay and Tatoosh Island and it was nice, just might have to set up a trip and you can let me see your spots ...IMHO...I would take up in the San Juans over Neah Bay for sure [James Island, Iceberg Island, Clark Island, Dinner Rocks, Jones Island, etc]...I have hundreds of dives up there from back when my uncle ran Lu-Jac's Quest. Bummer they are no longer running Bandito's Charters does do some San Juan Island trips tho.

Also, Mukilteo is a short trip from Seattle and has some great, reliable diving [lots of resident wolf eels, octopuses, etc].

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

you can let me see your spots ...IMHO...I would take up in the San Juans over Neah Bay for sure

Waddah Fingers. Amazing site. I could dive that day after day after day. A big area. I haven't seen anything in the San Juans that in my opinion compared. Yes, more sites, more times per year, so for a logistical standpoint the San Juans is more practical. But I highly recommend getting out to Neah Bay.

I hope one day to dive Duncan Rock, but only in flat conditions which do happen. Way too dangerous otherwise as we have learned the hard way.

 

[OrcasC205]

Andrew and Kosta, I would be happy to be an impartial judge and dive both Neah Bay and the San Juan Islands with you guys. Strictly for science, of course.

 

[Trailboss123]

Bandito's Charters does do some San Juan Island trips tho.

Yes they do, but they have suspended them for the time being and are sticking with Limited load trip (6 divers max) out of Tacoma. I was supposed to do a 3 day San Juan trip with Bandito over Labor Day weekend.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Andrew and Kosta, I would be happy to be an impartial judge and dive both Neah Bay and the San Juan Islands with you guys. Strictly for science, of course.

I'd recommend San Juan Islands for more diving than what is practical at Neah Bay. While I stand behind my statement that the diving is better (viz, sea life variety, colors) at sites like Waddah Fingers over anything I've seen in Washington, it just isn't practical, due to drive time and ferry traffic, lack of charters.

But it is a must place to dive at some point. Several points if you can swing it.

 

[Andrew Dawson]

Andrew and Kosta, I would be happy to be an impartial judge and dive both Neah Bay and the San Juan Islands with you guys. Strictly for science, of course.

Heck yeah!! I am down...lost a good titanium knife on the east side of Tatoosh Island I need to get back

Yes they do, but they have suspended them for the time being and are sticking with Limited load trip (6 divers max) out of Tacoma. I was supposed to do a 3 day San Juan trip with Bandito over Labor Day weekend.

I sorta heard this through the grapevine...but nothing definitive...until now, bummer

Can we crowdsource funds for a dive charter boat operation in the San Juans?

 

[Ironborn]

Those of you recommending Neah Bay - is there a local dive operator that you would recommend for boat dives or guided shore dives? All I found was Curley’s Resort and Dive Center, which looks like a motel with a tank filling station.

 

[DarrynSami]

@Seaweed Doc I started looking into the San Juan Islands as well. I did read about the wall diving there, which sounded interesting. I was also wondering if the environment there is any more pristine or richer in marine life simply by virtue of being more remote and removed from larger human population centers. I was looking for a more remote area to balance out the Seattle-based or Tacoma-based diving; would you say that these islands are a better fit in that regard than the Hood Canal?

I looked into local operators on the islands and found this Island Dive & Watersports. Is there another one that you would recommend?

I live on Bainbridge and use Exotic Aquatics as the LDS. They are diving now but with a limited schedule. There are a few good dive sites nearby such as Rockaway Beach. Contact them for info.