6-28-09
Marine Park, on Ruston Way, Tacoma.
Weather: Sunny
Air Temperature: 90 degrees
Surface: Turgid
Water Temperature: 55 degrees
Water Visibility: 2 feet.
Tide: Low
Marine Park, Tacoma WA.
I know it’s called the “Seattle Snorkel Guide”, but I can’t ignore our sister city and her miles of beaches – especially because one of my swim buddies lives there! I outfitted at a nearby scuba shop where I got, AGAIN, the lecture about why snorkeling in the Puget Sound is a bad idea, I should really learn to dive, there’s nothing to see here, why bother, etc…(YAWN).
They gave me a 7 mil wetsuit for 20$ but gloves, boots and hood were extra so it cost about 50$ for the day. The suit was so hot that I couldn’t wear it zipped up until I was in the water. The 7 mil full body suit is the suit of choice for a Puget Sound Diver, so I was sure to get hours and hours of swimming in today without having to turn back.
The site at Ruston way was promising from the car. Pilings jutted from the water and suggested shelter to marine life and a complex submarine landscape waiting for us to explore. We got out of the car and geared up about 50 feet from the water while the Sunday crowd motored slowly past blaring loud hip-hop, Abba, polka, and even Journey. But it was we who again elicited stares of disbelief as our growing band of intrepid snorkel explorers be-finned themselves for the unknown water in front of us.
Yuck.
We got in and the visibility was bad. This must be the water conditions for which the Sound has earned a terrible reputation. The water was like thick green soup. I took a photo oh my hand in front of the camera and this is what came out:
Murky Water at Low Tide
Had this been my first time in the Sound, it would have been my last.
We thought the water might clear up if we went out a bit further, so we went out to the posts and started looking for clearer water. Alas there was none to be found. In fact, I soon grew very concerned about half broken pilings just beneath my chest should a wave with a deep enough trough come by at the wrong time. In these kinds of conditions there is no way to see sharp metal or broken wooden pilings just beneath the surface, so we called it and jumped out.
The whole time, I was sweating like a dog in the 7 mil suit. It was WAY too much protection for me. When I moved, the water inside felt like hot broth trickling around inside. Nasty. It might be good for those who don’t favor the cold much, but Nordic Joe needs a lighter wetsuit for tootling around on the water surface.
Murky Water and Submarine Hazards = Danger.
Of Course, you can still find stuff here.
People always want to know what we are doing.
Impressions: I’m not terribly likely to revisit this spot. A week after this “low point” in our explorations, my buddy in the photo on the left sent me a photo of a beautiful pristine divers destination just another 10 minutes down the same road.
Lesson: Don’t settle for bad conditions. The Sound changes constantly as you travel along the beach. It could be sparkling clear around the next headland – you just need to know when and where to go. Also, low tide tends to suck for near-shore swims. Maybe revisit a site I like at highest of high tides?
