Why sharks? Seeking encounters with sharks has become a mild obsession of mine, and sharing their story is deeply personal. My interest in sharks was spurred by years of diving and not seeing sharks on those dives. The few sharks I did see were mostly nurse sharks, which did not conjure the same kind of excitement as sharks typically depicted in movies and media. It was the brief glimpse of a bull shark in the Florida Keys that grabbed my imagination.

But for this trip our group of seven met up with Don Coleman, owner and operator of Pacific Adventure at the Pleasant Harbor Marina on the west side of Hood Canal, off Highway 101. It was a typical chilly January day where air temperatures may have climbed to a balmy 30°F (-1°C). I was just happy for the warm sunshine and pleasant attitudes all around. The distance to carry our gear from the car to the boat was short, and the 38-foot (11.5-meter) boat had plenty of covered deck space to spread out on. A warm cabin below was great for changing into our dry suits.

When researching this unique area, I found there are over 170 different islands and reefs that have been named in the San Juan Archipelago. Of this spectacular array only four islands are serviced by the local ferry system—San Juan, Orcas, Lopez and Shaw—with daily departures from Anacortes.

Before embarking on the Nautilus Swell, there was a chance to spend a few days in Juneau. This town started as a gold-mining camp in 1880. When Alaska became the 49th state of the United States in 1959, Juneau became the capital.

 

What creatures eat can dictate how they appear. In the case of the sea anemone Actinia, it relies on algae for its nutrition. Algae comes in various colors including red. What give algae, and hence the anemone that consumes the algae, its red color is a substance called carotenoids.

 

Picking the right dive site at the right time of year and the right time of day with the right dive operator, those of us who are avid underwater photographers can capture some fantastic images on film. The people who live in the Pacific Northwest are friendly and casual, helpful folk. Neighborhood operators, who know the region like the back of their hands because they dive these sights for personal enjoyment weekly, are very happy to help newcomers enjoy the riches of the underwater realm found practically in their backyards.

 

Experts believe the population of the J, K and L pods that frequent the San Juan Islands and Puget Sound probably originally numbered between 100 and 200.

“Eighty-three is low. The real number that’s of concern is that we only have about a dozen reproductive females,” said Ken Balcomb, founder of the Center for Whale Research on San Juan Island.