I started this trip doubting that it would be anything spectacular. For the price we were paying I didn’t expect much.  We were supposedly getting two nights accommodation at a bed and breakfast, one and a half days of boat diving, and dinner Saturday. Yeah, right.

Arriving at the bed and breakfast minutes before midnight I was greeted by a fellow diver with an acute bladder infection being taken to an emergency room about a half-hour away. "Great way to start the trip," I thought to myself. I went to sleep wondering if the rain would let up during the diving.

Things were beginning to look better in the morning. The trip to the emergency room had found antibiotics and painkillers. The rain had abated and a walk outside revealed a quaint country inn, patio furniture, a view of the water and islands beyond, fruit trees, flower gardens, chickens, nanny goats, a pair of golden retrievers and a calico cat. Things were definitely looking better at 8:00 a.m. as we assembled for breakfast in the dining room. There were chafing dishes filled with scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage and bacon. There was toast and jam. There was fresh fruit, yogurt and blueberry coffeecake. Apple and orange juice, coffee and tea were also awaiting us. I was beginning to think that if were fed like this for the rest of the trip that the eating alone would be worth the price.

The dive boat is a vintage 46-foot long 1920’s tugboat restored and converted for diving. It was a bit crowded for the ten of us divers and our gear, but we suited up in shifts and started our dives without bumping into each other. Our first dive at Fearny Bluffs had us all returning to the boat nearly delirious with excitement. We were diving at slack on a small exchange and the dive was a delightful free fall along vertical granite until huge, billowing cloud sponges began to appear at 90 feet. The wall continued to an unseen depth and during our dive the vis was about 60 feet. At 100 feet I had the wonderful sensation of being suspended in a cloud filled liquid night sky.

The second dive was at Moon Rock. Not much of interest there, although I found a huge Dendronotus rufos nudibranch. It was easily 200 mm long and speckled with tiny magenta spots.

Dinner after diving Saturday was far more extravagant than any dinner I’ve had on a dive trip--ever. Chris Kluftinger, our B&B owner/chef/charter operator, appeared dressed in a white chef’s uniform and served each of us our choice of grilled teriyaki salmon steaks or tandori chicken. There were also a delicious green salad, a potato salad, rolls, and cherry cheesecake for desert. The resort does not have a license to serve alcohol, but glasses were provided for the wine we brought with us. In addition to all of that, my dive buddies brought from Seattle a Pacific Desserts cake for my birthday. The day’s diving, the fine food, the birthday cake and the dive stories told around the dinner table added up to a tremendous birthday.

Sunday morning breakfast had the chafing dishes waiting again for us, but this time filled with blueberry pancakes. There was also a basket filled with fresh baked bran muffins. Fresh fruit, juice, milk, coffee and tea were also set out and waiting. Walking back to my room from breakfast, I pondered whether or not we should tell others about this place. It had been relatively easy for us to reserve the weekend for our group. But when word of this place gets around to the broader Puget Sound diving community I expect it won’t be so easy.

We decided to limit the day’s diving to just one dive since we wanted to get an early afternoon start on the five-hour trip back to Seattle. We dove at a site named The Power Lines, which is best known for its gorgonian corals. Again, we dove at slack down a granite wall. At 120 feet I hadn’t seen any gorgonians and I was getting a little concerned about depth. At 140 feet several GIANT gorgonians appeared. They were ten times the size I expected and shone bright red/orange in the beam of my buddy’s flashlight. I took half a dozen photos while keeping a close eye on my computer. Four minutes into the dive, with my computer just going into the caution zone, I signaled to my buddy and we started a careful ascent. Along the way saw several cloud sponges and overhangs filled with other invertebrates. There were also several Finfish around. Back on the boat others said they had found gorgonians at 110 feet, but smaller than the ones I described. Another diver described how he had seen and photographed a juvenile wolf eel watching him from atop a cloud sponge. We didn’t need a second dive after that. This is among the best Northwest diving available.