From: sdodd@OES.ORST.EDU (Stephen M Dodd)
Subject: Re: Wanted: Oregon/Washington scuba info
Organization: Oregon Extension Service, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Or.
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 06:47:28 GMT

In article <1992Jul29.113146.854@zardoz> news@zardoz (usenet news administrator) writes:
>I am interested in Oregon/Washington area diving.  I have looked at
>the scuba archive on ames (an older copy that I have) and it looks
>like some interesting diving around Seattle.  But it doesn't say much
>about temperatures (drysuit needed for comfort/multiple dives?), how
>much of the year there is good (what is good in the Sound?)
>visibility, game opportunities, other diving areas, etc.  Any
>information would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.
>-- 
>Neil Gorsuch        INTERNET: neil@cpd.com          UUCP: uunet!zardoz!neil
>MAIL: 1209 E. Warner, Santa Ana, CA, USA, 92705     PHONE: +1 714 546 1100
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  Well, I done a half dozen dives in the sound but most of my action
  happens around Newport Oregon.  The conditions you ask about are
  similar in many ways.  Edmonds and Elki (sp?) point are two spots to
  consider right off.  I've had good times at both.

  Most highly active divers around here use dry suits in salt water.  I
  have also used up a lot of wet suits here.  But they bottom out
  about the time you get in a long ride in an open boat.  In fact some
  fishermen wear dry suits on their boats around here!

  I also have a 3mm wet suit for some fresh water places.  Offshore we
  expect about 50 degrees.  The open ocean and the sound are very
  different in some aspects of conditions.  The sound can get deadly
  rips going on some tides.  All tide conditions require planning in
  both places.  Sometimes a dozen feet of exchange can occur, while at
  other times there is little or no tideal exchange.  You need to know
  these details before getting wet.

  We go to the "reef" out of Newport sometimes.  This is a hardy ride
  under any circumstances.  The top of the reef is at about 35 feet and
  drops off to about 100.  It seems a very small point in a huge sea.
  We can expect great spear hunting here.   There are a lot of
  shellfish.  Not many divers get there so its in great shape.

  There are a lot of other spots on the Oregon Coast I'd like to do in
  time.  Port Orford is a good spot, and is included in some area dive
  books.  We may go out to Tillamook Head this summer.  It's out there a
  wys and is an high voltage place according to many.  Then  there is
  the rock pile lying 12 miles out from Newport.  It's supposed to be
  easy to chum up big sharks there.

  The vis and environmental conditions vary a lot.  A lot of us think of
  our coast as very "live".  There are several good diving guides to the
  area you should check out if you're serious about some site.  They
  cover everything more comprehensively than casual discusson on the
  net.  Vis can run from 4 feet to 40 claimed by a buddy of mine for
  today offshore.  Further out you can get a lot better vis.  I've heard
  of places off Vancouver Island in BC of 200 foot vis.  August Discover
  Diving tells of this place.

  I expect to see lots of life and a lot of color anytime I dive around
  here.  Take a light as you need it to reveal the color.

  Steve


-- 
- Stephen M. Dodd, System Analyst, Oregon Extension Service
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
sdodd@oes.orst.edu          Internet          Oregon State University
503-737-0699                                  Corvallis, OR 97331
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