Island Hopping in Northern Washington

By Barb Roy
Three easy-to-get-to islands in northern Washington State are Whidbey, Camano and Fidalgo. Having visited each of these islands with my family, I must admit, we did enjoy the variety of underwater critters and loved the topside scenery. Quite often, we will join a dive club outing to get the full camaraderie benefit, not to mention the yummy potluck picnic feast.
One local Dive club is Diver’s Down Under (DDU) out of Bellingham. “We try to organize one shore and one boat dive every month,” says Ron Akeson of DDU. “Since I sponsor the club through my store, Adventures Down Under, I give club members 10 percent off on local charters. For shore or boat dives the store organizes, I also offer a 50 percent discount on rental gear.”
DDU recently sponsored a shore dive to Keystone, on Whidbey Island. “We had two great dives!” said Akeson, “Our visibility was 20 to 25 feet with minimal current. We saw a good size octopus at the end of the jetty that quickly extended a couple of arms in and apparent greeting when
we arrived. Another diver in the group felt a tug on his fin and turned to find a harbor seal and his buddy trying to clear his flooded mask because he was laughing so hard!” The next DDU sponsored Keystone dive is October 17.

Whidbey Island
Whidbey Island is the largest of the three islands, running 36 to 62 miles long and 1½ to 12 miles wide. The island is accessible via a ferry at the southern end and over the Deception Pass Bridge in the north. Four popular dives are Deception Pass, Keystone, the Langley Tire Reef and the wreck of the Kehloken, AKA - Possession Point Ferry.
Pat Beach, owner of Whidbey Island Dive Center in Oak Harbor says that he sees many visitors who want to dive. “I have owned the shop since 1995 and plan to start a dive club very soon,” Beach says. “During the summer the shop offers monthly night dives to Keystone. Right now, we try to have a local shore diving excursion almost every weekend. When we organize boat dives we usually use the dive charter boats out of Anacortes.”
Speaking of Keystone night dives, I remember one I went on a while back when the moon was full and visibility was 50 feet (I kid you not!). We entered at the jetty and swam out to the end to find wolf eels, an octopus and a beautiful waterfall of white plumose anemones cascading down the boulder point. I watched multiple dive teams with their lights gather around the wolf eel den and the octopus, really in awe of being able to see it all! During that dive, I also saw grunt sculpins, helmet crabs and painted greenlings on the rocks. The jetty is a site divers regularly see huge lingcod, greenlings and striped sea perch, as well. I have always found that both wide angle and close-up lenses work for underwater photography at the jetty. Ron Akeson from the DDU club also mentioned that there is now a line that divers can follow connecting the jetty to the pilings of the old military Wharf.
Another dive my husband, Wayne Grant, and I recently went on was under the Deception Pass Bridge with Diver’s Dream Charters on their boat Lu Jac’s Quest. This is the area where Captain James Cook identified the body of water was actually a passage and not a peninsula of the mainland. The name ‘Whidbey’ was in honor of his assistant Joseph Whidbey. Wayne and I thought the kelp forest on the western side of Pass Island was simply awesome. The

rockfish and perch glittered in the sparkling sunbeams and when we swam along the wall, wow! A scaled down version of Browning Pass came to mind. Marine critters crowded almost every square inch. Swimming scallops wrapped in cloaks of pink and purple sponge. Barnacles, crimson anemones, burrowing sea cucumbers, finger sponge and all shapes and colors of tunicates could be seen. Macro and close-up lenses are my choice, unless you decide to hang around in the kelp.
We found the 42-foot Lu Jac’s Quest to be comfortable and accommodating. Captain Phil Jensen and his wife Judy have offered dive charters in the San Juans since 2005. The boat handles 14 divers and provides lunch for two-tank excursions. Quite often passengers are treated to a show of whales during surface intervals! “We can go as far as out as Port Angeles or Victoria because I have a 100 ton Inland License,” explains Phil, a veteran diver since 1971. “We can go all over Puget Sound or up into Canada. Divers must bring all their own gear including enough tanks, and we supply lunch. Typically, we let Dive Masters representing the group come for free because they have the insurance that covers the divers while they are underwater. Departure is from slip TD-22A at Skyline Marina (Anacortes).”
When asked if he offered dive charters around Whidbey Island Phil says his schedule is up to the shops and Dive Masters. “Our schedule is set by the shops or independent Dive Masters or Instructors wanting to book with us. We need a minimum of six paying customers and we are willing to take them where ever they want.” Phil recommended the following dive sites around Whidbey and Camano. “Deception Pass is an advanced current dive, but we limit our divers to ten for that one. Strawberry Island to the east of the pass is good. Onamac Point off the west side of Camano Island has an artificial reef but you need a boat to get to it. The barges off Hat Island down by Everett are ok. Possession Point Ferry is still a good dive but you need to check the current tables. The fingers off Possession Point State Park are good. You can now drive down below and off-load your gear.”

Camano Island
Camano Island is located between Whidbey Island and the Mainland west of Interstate 5 on State Highway 532. At only 15½ miles long and 6½ miles wide, the island is accessible by vehicle over a bridge. As Phil mentioned Onamac Point is nice, but I would recommend watching your currents and using a dive kayak. The walk down to the beach can be strenuous, so high tide may be a better option.
“I sometimes take divers from Seattle to Possession Point Ferry and Possession Point

Fingers,” says Howie Dickerman, owner and operator of the dive boat Aluminator. Dickerman has offered dive charters for over two years now. “Since I am traveling from Seattle with a high speed boat, I can get to any site between Tacoma and Everett in under an hour. We normally dive locations closer to Seattle, but when a group wants to go to Possession Point, and I am happy to (weather permitting),” adds Dickerman. “My boat is a 34-foot high-speed aluminum landing craft with a heated cabin and a head able to take six divers out. Most trips are two-tank dives, include a lunch of hot soup, bread, cheese, salami, fruit, chocolate and bottled water. I don’t provide any equipment – divers are expected to bring their own gear and we load at Elliott Bay Marina in Seattle.”

Fidalgo Island
Fidalgo Island is accessed over a bridge from Highway 20, about 78 miles north of Seattle. The island is separated from the mainland by the Swinomish Channel and by Deception Pass from Whidbey Island. Ferries depart Anacortes for the San Juans and British Columbia. “For those who want a shorter day,” adds Captain Jensen. “We can stay within an hour of port by diving Northwest Island off Rosario Beach just north of the Walla Walla Marine Research Station. You also have Sares Head, Biz Point, Williamson Rocks, Allen Island, Burrows Island, and Skyline wall (all on Fidalgo Island) to choose from depending on which way the wind and currents are coming.”
Rosario Beach, just before Deception Pass, is where I once took my dive students. It is a sheltered calm cove you can dive just about anytime. The shallow cove’s sandy floor is spotted with eelgrass and kelp. On the south side, a rocky outcropping is a good place to find octopus and young wolf eels. Within the cove, I have found juvenile giant skates, flounders, gunnels, sea pens, hermit crabs, nudibranchs and burrowing orange and brown sea cucumbers! There are picnic tables and toilets in the park as well. Dive kayaks can easily be launched at Rosario Beach to explore Northwest Island.
Although I did not mention all of the dive sites around these three islands, I encourage you to get together with your buddies over coffee and take a look at Betty Pratt-Johnson’s book – 151 Dives. In it, you will discover an assortment of sites to explore for a little northern island hopping! ■