West Seattle Blog…

22 Comments

1. Another great show! We’re getting awfully spoiled with these super videos. When do we get shots of the Puget Sound’s elusive six gill shark and giant octopus?

   Comment by kate — 11:31 pm October 9, 2011 #

2. Love these videos! Thanks for sharing Laura!

   Comment by J — 12:01 am October 10, 2011 #

3. kate, just for you….

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryTaLvNhtC4

   this is a full length encounter with a VERY large Giant Pacific Octopus… in my top 10 I think of thousands of dives, he had been ‘caught’ by a fisherman and broken free… but the lure would catch on stuff. I was not sure if we should try to cut it off, but as you can see in the video, we were able to, and it truly seems as though he ‘thanked’ us… of note, when they are not being tugged on and irritated, the octopus is able to get rid of the hook.

   if its octo eggs you want… here is a nest full from this summer, you can see the mom touching each egg with her suction cups…

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpKm-Mp_HUE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

   I have had a handful of wonderful Sixgill encounters (including a new new baby one – a gummysharksixgill) but as of yet no video.. I hear they are back though, down in the south sound, so i may have to break away from the wonders of west seattle and storm drain chasing, and go chase six gills.

   although not as spectacular as some of the other hatch videos we’ve seen in the past year, here are a few more for the octo fans…

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUx_2nW_eGw&feature=related

   Comment by DiverLaura — 12:17 am October 10, 2011 #

4. and if i have not said it already…

   THANK YOU! for watching, and a huge thank you to WSB for finding the underwater world interesting enough to pay the videos forward… You make it all worthwhile :)

   For those who are interested in helping preserve the amazing place that Puget Sound is, we have another TOX-ICK outreach coming up! I look forward to seeing you there!!!!!!!

   10/10/2011
   19:00 -20:00 Toxic Runoff Education Event – Your attendance will help the school win a $1,000 water cistern for its Earth Project
   Pathfinder Elementary School, Seattle WA

   Comment by DiverLaura — 12:49 am October 10, 2011 #

5. I am really appreciating all these videos too. Thanks to you and WSB for sharing the magic. I do enjoy them all, but I thought Sigur Ros with the Octo Dreams was really inspired! I am a fan of both :). Thank you!

   Comment by westseattledood — 12:49 am October 10, 2011 #

6. So great! No desire to dive myself (brrrr!), but these are welcome glimpses of what lurks so close by. Fascinating. Thank you!

   Comment by islewrite — 12:59 am October 10, 2011 #

7. By the way, that yawning rockfish is a pip!

   Comment by islewrite — 1:13 am October 10, 2011 #

8. Ive always loved the sea and sea life in general. Had an aquarium as a kid and year long passes to Moody Gardens and Aquarium while in Houston and passes to the Seattle Aquarium. These amazing videos of the sound make me long for learning how to dive again. Can a person with Asthma dive safely? Wonder if my service dog could dive too?!? Does anyone know of someone who might take us on as an experiment? Ive seen videos here and there of dogs in diving helmets! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtoTm62rx3Y

   Happy Tails To You!
   Mary McNeight, CPDT-KA, CCS, BGS
   Service Dog Academy, Seattle WA
   Owner/Head Trainer
   http://www.servicedogacademy.com
   mary@servicedogacademy.com
   206-355-9033

   Comment by Service Dog Academy — 3:57 am October 10, 2011 #

9. Very Fun, Thanks!

   Comment by Aman — 6:17 am October 10, 2011 #

10. Thank you for taking us somewhere most of us never get to see. It’s a wonderful reminder of the beauty and diversity of our world. Please keep them coming!!

    Comment by Jennifer — 8:00 am October 10, 2011 #

11. Just brilliant. Perfect music too. Great way to start the day!

    Comment by I. Ponder — 8:26 am October 10, 2011 #

12. Laura, thanks so much for letting us join YOU! I have no interest in diving myself but I so appreciate and love seeing all of the beauty we have right here in the chilly waters of our Puget Sound…who knew? Now we do, thanks to you. I also really enjoy your music choices that accompany your videos. Keep ‘em comin’!

    Comment by sun*e — 9:15 am October 10, 2011 #

13. Your video is so clear, so colorful…I always think of the Sound as murky and gray. What s beautiful surprise! And to music. You have a gift.

    Comment by happywalker — 10:07 am October 10, 2011 #

14. I enjoyed the video but note that most of the fish appear to be hiding in man-made objects, littered objects and old pipes that have become a de-facto reef.
    -
    The abundance of sea life seems at odds with the toxicity implied in the drain videos.
    -
    Has anyone analyzed what is in those plumes?

    Comment by nulu — 11:21 am October 10, 2011 #

15. Laura, Thank you for the fantastic videos – it really is fantastic to dive in this region and it is very hard to get such clear video – just awesome.

    In response in nulu – ‘abundance of sea life at odds with toxicity…’ Toxicity is an issue for the underwater life here just as air quality and soil quality are direct issues for humans. Just because there is life underwater does not mean that quantity/reproduction/health of animals are not affected.

    Comment by heather — 2:53 pm October 10, 2011 #

16. Lovely! I wish this could be played on the news or in Evening Magazine. What a great educational video!

    Comment by graysongirl — 6:29 pm October 10, 2011 #

17. Fantastic and beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

    Comment by Jo P — 6:46 pm October 10, 2011 #

18. Thank you for beautiful images. It gave me such joy. A real gift to all.

    Comment by tricia — 9:01 pm October 10, 2011 #

19. Thank you for sharing Laura. Beautiful.

    Comment by ttt — 9:41 pm October 10, 2011 #

20. THANKS LAURA! Awesome octy video! My parents are in town this week, from the Midwest, and they’ve gotten such a kick out of your videos. They’re renting a house on the beach off Alki and your videos have given them a really solid view of what’s in the water outside their front door. You’re a real treasure- keep up the great work! PS: They love Trileigh’s owl photos, too.

    Comment by kate — 11:21 pm October 10, 2011 #

21. nulu, i’m glad you noticed!!!

    one of the things i’m working on is called “beneath the looking glass project”. Part of what i’m trying to show IS indeed the amazingly beautiful life growing on human trash.

    the site that this video was taken at is called “the Alki Junkyard” and as a diver it becomes clear that there is a difference between ‘habitat’ and just plain garbage.

    Like it or not, anything we put down there becomes habitat, be it healthy for the critters or not. We need to educate people what is ‘ok’ to build habitats for marine life out of and what is just being selfish and discarding trash under the guise of ‘building a sanctuary’. There are people doing it right, look at the wonderful underwater park built by Bruce Higgins in Edmonds…

    I’m working to grow a ‘two pieces of trash’ movement that is not just underwater, but on the beach as well, because what is on the beach will end up underwater sooner or later, and maybe into the belly of a grey whale.

    We hope to make educational videos discussing what is a ‘good’ home to a critter and what must be removed.

    As stewards of this water planet, it is up to us to manage the debris that makes it into the ocean.

    My hope with these videos is to help people fall in love with Puget Sound all over again, and then, as i did so many years ago, come to the vivid realization that we must do everything in our power to protect it…

    people protect what they love…

    but they must know it to love it.

    Comment by DiverLaura — 11:29 pm October 10, 2011 #

22. I would love to know the names of the creatures seen in the ‘Another Peek…” video. They almost seem tropical.

    Comment by UW bound — 10:33 pm October 14, 2011 #

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