Seattle Diving - Seacrest Cove 2 (Alki)

March 15th, 2006

site name: Seacrest Cove 2
location: West Seattle
directions:

1. Take the West Seattle Bridge to (you guessed it) West Seattle.
2. Take the Harbor Avenue Exit (bear right).
3. Turn Right onto Harbor Avenue SW.
4. Drive 1.3 miles until you see Alki Crab & Fish Co. on the Right, pull in and park.

We usually park on the shoulder before you reach the Crab & Fish Co, since it’s a little closer to the entry point.

dive site summary:
This dive site is not very current intensive, so it’s a great place to try out new dive gear or to take inexperienced friends along. Of the 3 coves, Cove 2 is the best. There is actually a lot to see, despite its proximity to downtown Seattle. The views of Seattle from here are amazing and there are bathrooms, a rinsing station and showers to clean your gear after the dive. Being as it is that there are so many things about this site that make it a convenient option, there are many Open Water classes that do their dives here on the weekends, so plan on having a crowd if you’re heading out to the coves on a Saturday or Sunday.

The main attractions of this dive site are the “Honey Bear” wreck and the I-Beams. A typical route would be heading down from the tall skinny white buoy and following the ropes down toward the I-Beams (like those used in constructing large buildings), these are at about 90-100′. After perusing the beams, you can head back up the line and take a left at around 45′ or so to find the Honey Bear wreck, a small sunken boat that sometimes houses an octopus or two. As an alternative, you can do a dive from Cove 2 to Cove 3 which is rather interesting, but you have to be careful not to get into the fishing zone, for fear of giving a local fisherman his catch of a lifetime.

I prefer doing Cove 2 at night, on our Wednesday night club dives. There aren’t that many divers around stirring things up and you’re likely to see a group of seals that zip along using your dive torch to find food. It’s quite fun and these seals even surface with you and bark at you begging you to come back and play. Definitely a must-dive site in the PNW.

View the Cove 2 Gallery

Entry Filed under: Puget Sound, SCUBA