Diver's Paradise

In the past few weeks, I've been reminded of all the wonderful things I love about diving in the Pacific Northwest.

Let's start with Rescue. Well it wasn't exactly diving, but it was still supremely fun. Whether it's rescue in the pool, or demonstrating rescue techniques at the beach, Rescue classes are always a blast.

In a Rescue course, the instructors and assistants have just as much fun as the students, and the end result is a set of new Rescue divers with confidence and the ability to provide support in the event of an emergency. If you dive, and haven't taken the PADI Rescue course, it's definitely a must do!


Next I joined a TL Sea Diving PADI Deep Diver specialty course. We were diving Jorstad Creek; a beautiful location in Hoodsport, Washington.

Jorstad isn't the easiest location to dive due to the steep climb down from the road to the water, but once you reach the water, it's like spending a wonderful day at the beach. Every dive was amazing, starting and ending in 68^o water. Underwater, we found hundreds of oysters, clams, nudibranchs, several different variety of fish, a couple of giant pacific octopus, and more. Our final dive was a relaxing 44 minutes as we enjoyed the tropical like waters of the canal.

Yesterday, we took a couple of friends diving for their first two Advanced Open Water Diver dives. First thing we noticed was how well they dove for having only five total dives in their log book. This makes teaching so much easier and a lot of fun. Next, the day was absolutely perfect for diving. The sky was bright red and clear, and the water was wonderfully clear. Visibility was between 30 and 40 ft regardless of depth.

We saw at least three giant pacific octopus, one eating a beautiful crab, nudibranchs, several variety of crabs, starfish, large schools of needlenose fish, moonsnails, perch, sole, rock, sturgeon poacher, and blenny fish. With great visibility, wonderful weather, and fun friends, we all had a great time.

There are many places people can go to dive, but if you haven't tried diving the amazing waters of the Pacific Northwest, you are definitely missing out on something wonderful.