Archive for June, 2010

Diving in the Pacific Northwest

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

We recently had the pleasure of hosting a large group of divers at Tucker House Inn who came up to enjoy one of the weekend packages offered by Nak Nek Charters and Diving.  Who would have thought this area was reportedly Jacque Cousteau’s third favorite place in the world to dive?  With reefs, coral sponges, Puget Sound king crabs, heart crabs, octopus, rock fish, huge lingcod, wolf eels, greenlings and more to see in generally 20 to 30 feet of visibility, it’s no wonder the Pacific Northwest was voted “America’s best year-round cold water diving destination.”

The strong currents bring nutrients to feed the abundant marine life, but it’s the vertical walls that will amaze you.  At Stuart Island for example, there are places where the bow of a boat can be literally touching the rocks and the depth sounder will read almost 600 feet!  Layers of the wall are completely filled with different kinds of anemones.  At some dive sites you can’t even see the rocks from all the sea life there.  Pirates Cove on the north side of Long Island has solid walls of Plumrose Anemones, Puget Sound King Crabs, and nudibranches.  At Gull Rocks on the north of Flat Top Island, this pinnacle is host to a colony of cloud sponges down around the 100-foot mark; Strawberry Point on the west side of Long Island has a whole wall of cup corals and strawberry anemones – a very colorful site, and one of everyone’s favorites.  Wolf Eels hang out on the west side of Bell Island, and the nooks and crannies along the north wall of Stuart are home to several octopi and the ledges lazy ling cod.

For those who enjoy reef diving, Christmas Reef is a Reef counter’s dream, and one diver at Bell Island reported he added 20 invertebrates to his list. Nak Nek Charters and Diving is now an official REEF Field Station, so you can join them on July 16 for the Great American Fish Count with Seadoc.

Almost all the dives are current dependent – some done on ebbing currents, some on flooding currents, and others only at slack water.  At most sites you have to go at least 40 feet down to get past the broad leaf kelp that covers much of the rocks, though during the winter this kelp dies back a bit.  Of course, dry suits are the most comfortable way to go, and a live boat dive, where the boat drops you at one site and picks you up at another, allows you to spend more time enjoying the dive rather than fighting currents to get back to the boat.

For frequent San Juan Island visitors who feel they’ve “done it all,” or those looking for something different, diving the waters of the San Juans offers a whole new avenue of exploration and fun.  There’s so much more to the San Juans than meets the eye!

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Spring Shinnies Up the Pole on San Juan Island

Saturday, June 5th, 2010

Visitors to the island have been experiencing the type of Spring that Tom Robbins describes in his book “Still Life with Woodpecker” “ …spring came to the Puget Sound country as it frequently does, like a bride’s maid climbing a greased pole.  After a gradual, precarious ascent, spring, in a triumph of frills and blooms and body heat, would seem to have finally arrived, only to suddenly slide down into the mud again, leaving winter’s wet flag flapping stiffly and singularly at the top of the seasonal staff.  Then, girlish bosom heaving, spring would shinny slowly back up the pole.”

The colorful wildflowers we saw in April have given way to drizzly days for weeks now – a semblance of winter without the cold temperatures, but the island is still gloriously beautiful.  The rains seem to have made the surrounding landscape impossibly greener than it ever was.  I love driving to work down San Juan Valley road every day, checking out the scenery – it’s a view I never tire of.  There are herds of cattle on each side of the road.  On the north side, the pasture is a bit scrubby looking and the cows are always standing around rooting through the brush.  But the pasture lands on the south side are beautiful green rolling hills; the cattle there are often sitting down, just chillin’ out, enjoying the morning.  I’m told this is because they’ve already gotten their fill of food, and don’t need to keep foraging.  So the rain, though it may spoil picnic plans and cause frizzy hair for curly-headed folks, definitely has its advantages.

But here’s the thing I can’t stress enough: it’s STILL lovely here.  Do like the locals do – wear a waterproof jacket with a hood and fleece underneath, put on your waterproof boots, and just get out there anyway.  You won’t melt away, and you’ll have many of the great tourist spots all to yourself because most people will stay away.  Hike, whale watch, view the straits off Lime Kiln Point – it’s all good, and it’s all waiting for you.  Come enjoy.

By the way, cattle are not the only ones who forage on the island.  Read more about this at http://cohorestaurant.com/blog/

For news on what’s happening at our inns, go to http://www.tuckerhouse.com/blog/ and http://www.harrisonhousesuites.com/blog/.

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