Weekly dives are back! The first of our weekly club dives happened Wednesday, May 22nd at Mukilteo. Five SeaHorses hit the water for a visibility challenged exploration of Mukilteo’s habitat and attractions. George Barron and Ed Gullekson snuck in an early dive, and were able to tell us what to expect; chowder-like visibility down to about 80 feet, where it was still chowder-like, but our intrepid crew of George, Ed, Don Shingler, Dave Wakeley and Joe Sharp (me) suited up and hit the water, while our surface support team of Randy and LaRae Petersen and Benita Buchanan watched our bubbles and kept track of us.
It was the first cold-water dive for me since the Photoshoot last year, so I felt like a complete newbie. Everybody was very experienced in general, with each other and with this site, so buddy teams were a bit informal. We swam on the surface to the twin pilings to descend. I was the last to go down and by the time I got oriented, I could barely see a couple of dim lights in the distance (probably 10 feet away), but I could see George’s bright green Mares fins right in front of me, and since he’s been constructing the dive park I figured he knew where he was going so he was my buddy now. We followed the rock trail and descended slowly to 80 ft. and saw lots of life on the way, mostly crabs, starfish and flounders plus plumose anemones everywhere. At 80 ft., I saw a little of the geodome through the murk, but was focused mainly on not losing George and figuring out my buoyancy.
I failed at both of those things when I floated up a few feet and lost sight of George. But off to my left I saw a light and thought, “Okay. New buddy.” And joined up with who I thought was Ed. We paired up and swam slowly back up the trail together and “Ed” found an adorable little red octopus hiding under a clam shell. It came out and interacted with us for quite a while until we moved on. Visibility cleared slightly on the return trip and in addition to the octopus there were of course crabs and flounders, plus a bunch of small bottom fish that looked a bit like sculpins, with a wide, white band around their middle. I don’t know what they are, but maybe I’ll find out at the club meeting on Thursday, May 23rd when Ed Gullekson answers “WTF (What’s That Fish) Ed Gullekson?“
We made our way back to the entry point and in about 15 ft. I lost “Ed” but we were pretty much home anyway, so I made my way back a little further and surfaced after a fun, successful dive. After the dive, I found out that my 2nd half buddy “Ed” was actually Don Shingler, and he thought I was “Ed” the whole time because the real Ed and I use the same split fins. I guess we’re all Ed now.
Afterwards, the whole crew went over to the Diamond Knot for food and conversation. All in all, a great way to revive a club tradition.
Next Wednesday Dive(s), May 29th at Cove 2
Our next Wednesday dive will be on Wednesday, May 29th at Cove 2. Ed will be leading this one. He’s planning an early dive, meeting time at 3 PM, followed by the main dive meeting at 5 PM.
We’re Looking for Dive Leaders
We’re looking for people who are willing to lead our weekly dives, or other dives if you want to invite the club to join you. Besides the accolades and public admiration, dive leaders are eligible for the Dive Leader Air Card Program where you could earn up to two, 5-fill air cards per year for leading club dives.
It’s pretty easy to do. Email activities@seahorsediveclub.com for details.
